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Winners: They know what they’re doing

Buffalo Sabres –

Buffalo’s moves leave me with a feeling of indifference this offseason.  In all honesty, Teppo Numminen’s heart still scares me, but I hope he keeps playing.  Still, the Sabres made some good moves by bringing in Craig Rivet through trade with San Jose, and they signed Gaustad.  Oh, and they signed Ryan Miller to a long term contract.  Ryan Miller is easily a top 5 goalie in my opinion.  I originally had Buffalo as a “Unknown” team but after thinking it through, they’ve earned the winner status by locking up their star goaltender for years and continuing to slowly improve.

Boston Bruins –

Boston didn’t do much, but the little they did was impressive.  They re-signed Mark Stuart, which will keep Bruins fans happy I’m sure.  They also signed free agent Michael Ryder, who had decent numbers when playing in Montreal.  They also signed Martin St. Pierre, who’s put up an average above one point per game in the last 2 season in the AHL.  Dennis Wideman should stiffen up the blue line, along with Johnny Boychuk, who was acquired from Colorado through trade.  Expect better things from Boston this year.

New York Rangers –

The Rangers definitely made some good off-season moves considering Jagr was pretty much expected to go (and he did).  With the cap space that would have been spent on Jagr, they invested on stiffening up their D-line by signing Wade Redden.  They also acquired two excellent forwards, Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche, from Columbus for Tyutin and Backman.  I think the Rangers won out in this trade.  They’ve also signed Markus Naslund, who still has a lot left in him, while also re-signing Nigel Dawes, backup goalie Steve Valiquette, Paul Mara, and Nigel Dawes.  I think a combo of Mara and Redden may be a good defensive pairing that few will reckon with.  The Rangers have greatly improved their team, and I’d expect them to have a much bigger impact this year in an Atlantic division that shows no mercy.

Pittsburgh Penguins –

Ugh.  As a Flyers fan do I really have to be un-biased.  Damn.  Sorry Brian.  I hate the Pens, a whole lot, but I have to admit, they did make good moves.  Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko sign, and Pascal Dupuis comes back after a short time in Atlanta.  Remember the Pens did lose Ryan Malone, whom had a big impact last year.  Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton also return, and Matt Cooke joins the Pens from the Caps.  Every inch of my being hates to admit this, and this is truly painful to write, but the Pens did great moves and earn the right to be considered a winner.  They’re easily considered one of the teams to take the Eastern Conference again this year, so as always, keep an eye on them.

Tampa Bay Lightning –

Tampa, first off, in recent news, just took in Andrej Meszaros, who was a RFA for Ottawa, and signed him for 6 years.  That’s a beautiful move, hands down, in the trade where they gave up Kuba and Picard.  Oh yeah, did I mention a guy that we know from the draft known as Steve Stamkos was drafted first overall this year, and I’ll add him into this description because he should (hopefully) be starting for the Lightning.  The Lightning’s new owners have done a great job with the team, adding on Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts.  Other notable additions are Vaclav Prospal, who is back after a rental in Philadelphia, as well as signing Radim Vrbata, Adam Hall, Chris Gratton, and Mark Recchi.  They’ve also acquired Matt Carle from San Jose, and have also signed goalie Olaf Kolzig.  Keep an eye on the Lightning this year.  Their new owners have something up their sleeve, and have perked my interests.

Montreal Canadian –

Alex.  F***in.  Tanguary.  Montreal could easily make it into the winners just off that signing alone.  On top of that, they bring in Laraque to toughen up the team, goalie Marc Denis to back up Carey Price, and have re-signed Maxim Lapierre, who shined in the few games he had after coming up from the AHL (14 points in 19 games….impressive!).  Montreal is incredibly improved and should have no problem picking up where they left off last season.

Washington Capitals –

The Caps made a vital move in locking up Mike Green, a phenomenal defensemen, and a likely future all-star, for 4 more years.  On top of that, one of Russia’s most famous players, Sergei Federov, re-signed and will continue his career at least one more year in Washington.  Plus, Jose Theodore has been signed and will fill in the gap that Cristobal Huet left when he went off to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrisonn, and Boyd Gordon re-join the squad also.  As with Montreal, expect the Caps to be a greatly improved team to come out at the start of the season with a lot of steam.

Losers: Teams that might leave their fans going “WTF?”

Atlanta Thrashers –

Hedburg and “Let Them In” Kari Lehtonen are still around.  Eric Boulton’s sticking around.  Other than that, Marty Reasoner, I guess.  That being said, as a horrible team, the Thrashers needed to pull the Flyers and Tampa Bay strategy of signing big names to give the fans hope.  That being said, they did nothing to write home about, and they will likely remain a bottom-feeder of the league this year.

New Jersey Devils –

Their biggest move is Brian Rolston, who I admit will fit in, but not the biggest impact player.  Pandolfo’s been re-signed, and they brough Scott Clemmensen back, whom apparently missed his job of sitting the bench 75 out of the 82 nights a year that he had with NJ back in 2006/2007.  They’ve also signed Bryce Salvador and Bobby Holik, an overrated defenseman and a washed up forward.  Except for Rolston, the Devils did nothing to get their fans excited.  I still have the belief that Lou is the best GM (not coach, though) in the league, and as always, I think he has something up his sleeve.  That, and the Devils always remain to be a strong team, so just because they get a bad grade in off-season moves doesn’t mean you should count them out.  But to be fair, the Devils have never been a team to make big moves in the off-season.

Toronto Maple Leafs –

Ryan Hollweg joins from trade, and you sign Jeff Finger.  Yawn.  Other than that, it’s worth noting the Leafs signed goaltender Curtis Joseph, which assuming he still isn’t in the “washed-up” category, should improve goaltending for Toronto.  Regardless, they’re about to lose Sundin, most likely, and possibly McCabe, so maybe they’ll make some moves once that cap space clears up.  Until then, FAIL.

New York Islanders –

The Islanders continue to be, as my friend Dave put it, the Island of Misfit Toys.  Random signings.  Veteran Doug Weight, whom is starting to fade off over the horizon, has signed.  On top of that, Mark Streit joins the team for a ridiculous amount of money for what he’s worth ($4.1 million per).  Jeff Tambellini also signs.  Other than that, nothing big.  In a really competitive Atlantic division, the Islanders didn’t do nearly enough to catch up with the rest of the division, so they’ll be thrown into the loser category and will likely finish last in the division, as expected.

Unknowns: We’ll see…

Ottawa Senators –

After losing Ray Emery, the Senators made a move for a goalie by signing Alex Auld, which though not the best goalie, should fit in nicely.  They’ve also re-signed Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly, and also managed to sign Jason Smith (which as a Flyers fan, I can tell you will do wonders in terms of adding some grit to a team).   They did lose Meszaros, though.  A mix of good moves and bad moves, Ottawa was originally in my winner list until the Meszaros trade.

Carolina Hurricanes –

Wade Brookbank re-signing and Joni Pitkanen joining the team through trade is the only big news to Hurricanes this season.  Pitkanen has been problematic in the past and who knows what will happen with him in Carolina.  Regardless, nothing too big happened that has me excited.  Carolina is still a great team, just they’ve earned the unknown spot in terms of off-season moves.

Florida Panthers –

I’m still anxious to see how Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton fit into the Panthers, after the Olli Jokinen trade on draft day.  They’ve re-sign Rostislav Olesz  and the incredibly hyped Jay Bouwmeester, which are vital.  The only thing is for a horrible Florida team, they’ve made moves, and good moves, but not enough moves in my opinion.  That’s the only reason they’ve made it into the unknowns, otherwise consider them in the win.  This team needs a turn around, and quickly, or they’ll keep proving (along with Tampa Bay) why people think there shouldn’t be any NHL teams in Florida.

Philadelphia Flyers –

And last but not least, my favorite team.  I’m gonna get torn a new one for not putting them in the winners category, but there’s still a few question marks with the Flyers in terms of the new guys (the rest of the team is fine, I have no doubt about that).  Jeff Carter re-signed, which was absolutely vital to locking up the young guns in Philly.  Randy Jones and Riley Cote re-sign, and Arron Asham signs, making the chance of having a Cote-Downie-Asham line a scary possibility.  Lupul is re-signed as well, but his health has me concerned after being knocked out for about 20 games last season in a hit from teammate Derian Hatcher.  Also, Ossi Vaananen and Steve Eminger join the squad, as well as various signings on defense.  I have zero clue what the Flyers are doing with their defense with all the signings, but Eminger and Vaananen should be on the starting team, I just don’t know how well they’ll fit in or if they’ll step up, which is why the Flyers are in the unknowns.  Was Eminger a fluke in the playoffs for Washington or is he the real deal?  The Flyers are on the bubble for the winner category, but as a fan, I want to see how well it works before I get my hopes up.