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Grading the offseason's early winners, losers Print
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Written by Blake Benzel   
Saturday, July 10, 2010 01:34
In the NHL, it’s the summer of Ilya Kovalchuk. But he is still a free agent.

In other parts of the sporting world, it’s the summer of LeBron James. But that’s the last time we’ll mention him.

So while it might not be obvious to the casual fan, there have been enough wheelings and dealings, and signings and draftings, to declare some early winners and losers in the NHL.

The prefatory prose complete, here are some premature prognostications:

Winners

Florida Panthers

Before going silent in free agency, the Panthers earned mention here for their work on draft day.

New general manager Dale Tallon made the biggest trade of the draft by sending Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich to Vancouver for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner and a first-round pick. That left him with seven picks among the first 70 in the draft, in a class believed to be deep with NHL talent into the early 100s.

The Panthers' free agency can be summed up with a couple small signings: Forward Chris Higgins got a low-risk, one-year deal, and seventh defenseman Nathan Paetsch signed a one-year pact.

Don't be fooled, though. Tallon has started rebuilding with a bang.

Philadelphia Flyers

If it's true that in order to win it all, you first have to experience heartbreak in the playoffs, the Flyers are on the right track. Coming off a six-game loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers seem to think the next step will only come with a stronger defense.

General manager Paul Holmgren acquired Andrej Meszaros from Tampa Bay for a second-round 2012 draft pick, then signed Sean O'Donnell as a free agent. On Friday, they signed KHL free agent and former Columbus Blue Jacket Nikolai Zherdev.

The hope in Philadelphia is that these are the missing pieces. But the GM's work isn't done.

Holmgren has exploited a rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by 10 percent before October 1. As it stands, the Flyers would have to shed more than $1.4 million to get under the cap ceiling – and that's if they don't add to their current total of 22 players.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Losing Sergei Gonchar to free agency came with a noticeable sting for Penguins fans. The sting wore off when Pittsburgh landed two of the summer's most coveted free agent defensemen in Zybnek Michalek and Paul Martin.

Michalek and Martin give Pittsburgh a defense that could be one of the best in the league, which is good news for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

While the Pens have yet to nab the top-six winger they've needed since the departure of Marian Hossa, there hasn't been much to complain about in Pittsburgh.

Add this to a draft that saw the Pens add depth up front, and they might be back in the title picture soon.

Losers

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have been in on the discussions for some of the best free agents on the market, but haven't signed anyone. At all.

They were hoping to nab Ilya Kovalchuk to bolster their forward corps, and were content to let veteran defenseman Sean O'Donnell walk, probably thinking they could find an upgrade via free agency or trades.

Neither has happened so far. The Kings had a solid if uninspiring draft day, but have failed to improve their present team one bit since losing in the first round to the Vancouver Canucks.

Considering they play in one of the league's most enticing cities, someone should have been enticed by now.

Calgary Flames

It's not hard to guess where this one is going: Zero picks before the third round, and only a pair of "marquee" free-agent signings – Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay – who played in Calgary previously and were dubbed failures at the time.

In fact, their best off-season move was hiring Jay Feaster as an assistant general manager.

By signing Jokinen, Tanguay, Tim Jackman and Raitis Ivanans, the Flames aren't looking any better than they did at the end of the season. The logical guess is that they will be on the outside of the playoffs looking in again.

New York Rangers

So far, the Rangers' off-season has been a mixed bag.

Defenseman Dylan McIlrath, their first-round draft pick (10th overall), has been roundly criticized. But McIlrath could be good addition if he adds some much-needed grit and toughness on the blue line to complement the Rangers' offensive-minded D-men, namely Michael Del Zotto.

Free-agent signee Marty Biron isn't a marquee name, but he gives starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist an inexpensive backup for two years at $875,000 per season.

The name that gets the Rangers on this list is Derek Boogaard. The one-dimensional brawler is not a marquee player, nor is he cheap at four years and $1.65 million per season.

Many of the Rangers' organizational needs were met in the draft, but free agency and trades have done nothing to make them better short-term.

If your team isn't on this list, it's because it didn't do anything stupid or brilliant enough to warrant a snap judgment. Don't worry – training camp is a full two months away and plenty of players are still available.

Now if only a certain player would make up his mind.

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Last Updated on Thursday, August 12, 2010 15:57