This thread is for NHL off season chatting. You are also welcome to talk about other hockey leagues like the OHL or KHL for example. Talk about trades that go down, or major signings during free agency, or even contract buyouts. Keep it hockey related please.


Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning the Stanley Cup for the third time in 6 years. They have built their team the right way and found a nice blend of core players and rentals, and have made appropriate trades more times than not. Gary Bettman used the word dynasty to describe the blackhawks before awarding the cup to Toews.

Seeing that they have won the cup 3 times in 6 years, I kind of feel bad for the flyers and lightning who were on the losing end of Chicago cup wins. They also beat Boston in the finals, but the bruins had won a cup recently so I don't feel bad for them (and they knocked out my leafs that year).

Kimmo Timonen played his final game in what has been a very impressive career. What makes this more impressive is that he was in life threatening condition just a year earlier and his career was greatly in doubt. I am happy he could retire with his name on the cup, but I feel bad for Brandon Morrow of the lightning for similar reasons, I don't know if he will be retiring yet though.


So we are into the NHL off season now with a very highly anticipated draft to look forward to. A once in a decade player in Connor Mcdavid will likely be drafted by the lucky winners of the draft lottery, the Edmonton Oilers. The next 4 picks belong to Buffalo, Arizona, Toronto, and Carolina. It is rumored that both Arizona and Toronto are open to trading their 1st round draft picks for the right deal, and perhaps that could be a wise decision because this draft is supposed to be extremely deep with top end prospects likely to be still available in the 2nd round.

Will Toronto go for the scorched earth approach to and trade away most of their players for draft picks and prospects? Will Colorado trade Ryan O'Reilly? Will Edmonton trade one of their top young players? How will teams fair with their new head coaches and general managers? Who will land the big fish in the free agency pool? We will find out soon enough.

   The NHL draft just went by, and during this time, it seems that the Bruins are sending off some big players after trading Lucic to the Kings for their 25 year old goaltender, Martin Jones, a prospect, and the first round pick. The other big move they made was trading Dougie Hamilton to the Flames for three draft picks in the first two rounds. And finally, they sent the right to Soderberg for a 6th round pick from the Avalanche, who in turn signed Soderberg to a 5 year deal. It seems that Boston is setting up a retooling after just missing out of a playoff run this year. 

It should be interesting to see what my Blackhawks do in the offseason here. The NHL salary cap really hampers teams, especially the teams that win the Stanley Cup but if anyone has proven that they are up to the task, it's the Bowman family - The family with 14 cups to their name. The father son duo really garners respect around the league, and guys are doing whatever they can to play for the Hawks.

Really a huge turnaround of how the team was 10 years ago under the old man Wirtz.

Things have been quiet so far with only the trading of Rannta to the Rangers for a Forward prospect, but I expect Sharpie and/or Bickell to the traded off soon in order to be able to re-sign guys like Saad and Kruger whom have been HUGE the last few years during their cup runs.

I was hoping that there was a chance they could sign Mike Reilly to the team, but it seems like he's gonna sign with the Wild. I thought he would be a good fit for the Hawks style of defense, but he has history in Minnesota, so I understand the thought process.

There have been some interesting trades so far this offseason. The goalies have clearly been on the forefront of the leagues attention as far as trades go. Here is a list of goalies that changed teams in the past couple days:

-Ottawa got the 21st overall pick from Buffalo for Robin Lehner(G) and David Legwand  (in my opinion the most timely trade made during the draft, since other goalies were traded for less)

-Lucic was traded to the kings from boston for Martin Jones(G), the 13th overall pick and colin miller (lucic seems like a bit of a richards replacement with his ability to score and lay big hits)

-the canucks got a 3rd and 7th round pick from carolina in exchange for eddy lack(G)

-dallas got the negotiating rights for anti neimi(G) from san jose for a 7th round pick (if he doesnt sign then he becomes an unrestricted free agent so the price was really cheap)

-ducks got anton khudobin(G) from carolina in exchange for james wisnewski

-the oilers got cam talbot(G) and a 7th round pick from the rangers for a 2nd, 3rd and 7th round pick

-blackhawks traded antti raanta(G) to the rangers for ryan haggerty



Based on these goalie trades, I think the winners were the ottawa senators for getting a deal done early and maximizing their goalies value. The bruins also got a great return for lucic with the 13th overall pick, a quality backup goalie in jones, and a respectable defensive prospect. San jose could also have made a good trade if neimi doesnt end up signing with dallas. Buffalo and edmonton got what they needed in potential starting goalies that are young and already have some nhl experience, but it is still to be seen if these goalies can backstop their new teams into the playoffs in the coming years. Im not surprised by the lack trade made by the canucks because they have miller and markstrom under contract already, but I was surprised by the khudobin trade made by the ducks. Perhaps gibson will be injured for a while and they dont want to rush him back, or maybe they felt that labarbra was a weak 3rd option after gibson got hurt. It was also a sort of salary dump, as wisnewski was an expensive cap hit. Perhaps the ducks will turn around and flip khudobin again, since they have andersen and gibson signed already. Rangers needed a backup after trading talbot, and the blackhawks have darling as their backup goalie already.


The offseason is young and free agency hasnt even begun yet. It should be an interesting summer for hockey.

(and yes I gave up on capitalizing proper names pretty quickly lol)

Kinda sad that the Hawks had to trade away Saad. But that's how the NHL works these days with salary cap constraints. His camp wanted too much money and honestly I felt like Bowman did the best he could with the given situation. Paying a guy like that 7mil a year for max years was going to really put the team behind the 8ball. If nothing else it should be interesting to see the way they handle the rest of free agency. Don't forget the Hawks already signed KHL Phenom Artemi Panarin as an insurance policy before the season even ended.

Which brings me to another team. The Penguins. Now that they have traded for Kessler, where does that leave them? Sure they have 3 great scoring threats, but where's the depth? Where's the defense? This is really going to hamper their ability to make a deep run to the playoffs. And if an injury happens? Forget about it. More than half the salary cap is being taken up by only a few players lol.

   Well, the Red Wings made two moves that I really didn't see coming. They signed Mike Green, the right handed defenseman to a three year deal, as well as Brad Richards. Richards' one year deal, coming in as a veteran forward is a deal that has not always gone well with Holland and the Wings (Modano is the prime example), but Richards being only 35, which is much younger than some of those other deals, makes this one that I actually like. 
   I really like the Green signing as well, although an offensive defenseman is something we seem to have a lot of here, without having any real defensive minded guys. Either way, getting a right handed shot on the point was necessary, so I like the move. And 3 years and $18 million seems like a good deal. As long as he can stay healthy, it should be good to have him, but I still think we could use another d-man, since the entire group of Kronwall, Ericsson, Quincey, Kindl, and Lashoff is not really a spot I like us being. Dekeyser is going to have to show what he's got this year.
   This year is also huge for Franzen, who has been underwhelming to say the least since he got his big deal. Injuries have plagued him, and he's been the streakiest player in the NHL I've ever seen, going on a stretch where he'll score ten goals in five games, and then not score for weeks and weeks. Really, I have no idea where he is health wise, but with how much cap room he's holding up, and now that we know who he is, being not at all consistent, and very frustrating to watch at times, it would be great to dump him off, and move on, but unfortunately, I don't see that ever happening, so we're stuck with him.

As an Islanders fan I'm scared for next season. Take a look at what the teams in the Metropolitan have done:

Pittsburgh: Added Phil Kessel
Washington: Added T.J. Oshie
Columbus: Added Saad
Islanders: Absolutely nothing

I think next year the Penguins will be the team to beat. They have three elite forwards in Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel; an elite defenseman in Letang; a rising star on defense in Maatta; and a solid goalie in Fleury.

tgags123 : I laughed out loud when Pittsburgh traded for Kessel until I thought about what it would mean for them. Whether he plays with Malkin or Crosby you finally have a legitimate 30+ goal scorer who hasn't had someone like Crosby to play with for 5 years. If he can develop chemistry with either one and stay healthy he could easily put up 50 goals. Add in Perron and Hornquivst as part of the top 6 and you have 2 legitimate scoring lines to shut down next year.



I'm also excited about Calgary. They didn't change tons but what they added is solid young talent. Dougie Hamilton from Boston and Frolik in FA from the Jets. Both players are probably going to continue improving along with the other young talent that Calgary has they should just get better over the next few years.

Although I understand the thought that the Pens have 3 legit big time scorers, it still doesn't answer the questions regarding team depth as well as defensive issues that still haven't been addressed. Honestly I don't see them being that big of a threat to go deep in the playoffs this year.

I don't think their defensive issues are as bad as you make them out to be. Sure they don't have a defence that anyone would be drooling over but I think it will be solid enough as long as they can stay healthy. After Letang you don't really have anyone standing out too much except for Maata but I think they can be solid. And if Fleury has a solid year I don't see much of a problem for Pittsburgh. I'm not picking them to go to the Finals but most years I don't get the 2 final teams right anyway. It's been that way ever since the lockout in 2005. Much more even among the top 8 teams in each conference.

I see what you are saying, but honestly with that much money tied up in just a few players, and depth becoming an issue, I don't feel that they will make the investments they made worth it. Because I don't see a team built that way able to make a long run in the playoffs.

A successful run during the season and even into the playoffs requires some sort of depth on the back end and I just don't see that with this team.

Chicago does it on the back of 3 defencemen basically. I'm not suggesting for a moment that the Penguins have 3 defencemen of that calibre but it is possible to do without a great 3rd pairing. I wouldn't want to try personally.

I agree that they don't have the depth needed for a long run if there are injuries. I think they are good enough if the offence is strong to get them into the 2nd and possibly 3rd rounds.

The problem with Pittsburgh is that if there isn't secondary scoring after Malkin and Crosby then the team generally falters in the playoffs. Not enough other people pick up their game or play through injuries and aren't effective.

I am hopeful that Calgary can come through with another strong year. I hope that instead of being known as the comeback kids that they can actually get ahead and win games without having to outscore other teams in the 3rd period. Hopefully with the additions they have brought in that they can have more balance in the scoring and more depth at defence. I'm pretty positive about most of the players Calgary has going right now.

The only real question I see is the goalie. There isn't a remotely close #1 goalie in Calgary and without one that position is always in question. I'm not saying I think any of Calgary's goalies are bad but none are clear #1 guys.

Chicago has been winning with 2 solid lines on Defense. Oduya, Hammer, Duncs and Seabs. So 4 total guys and from what I've seen, the Pens have nothing close to that.

Also, part of what the Hawks winning formula is that they have 4 strong forward lines of not only stars, but role players that try their hardest and make things difficult on the other opposing teams. With the Pens current makuep, I don't see that being the case either.

Fair enough. I think the truth about Pittsburgh will be somewhere in between what you and I are seeing. I think they have potential (if healthy) to be a dangerous team. However, losing any of their top guys and their issues with depth will become really obvious really fast.

I think that is the key. If they are a healthy team they will be dangerous. The moment they start getting injuries though their lack of quality NHL calibre depth will show up. Doesn't mean those guys can't also step up but I wouldn't be counting on it myself. I'd rather have a team with 4 strong lines that are pretty interchangeable than 2 star filled lines and then a weak bottom 6.

So, the Patrick Kane case is going before a grand jury to hear evidence to see if he should actually go to a full blown trial.

I'm still holding back judgment because I want to see/hear evidence before throwing him under the bus. However, with his history of getting in trouble I wouldn't be surprised if something does come of this. And if he is guilty of sexual assault or rape I hope they throw the book at him. He should be punished like ANYONE else would be.