One big takeaway on every NHL team's offseason

We have 32 takeaways for 32 teams.

Outside of a brief flurry of moves right before the NHL Draft this has been an alarming dull offseason across the league, even by the NHL’s typically dull offseason standards.

We were promised big moves. Big trades. The greatest trades you’ve ever seen. You wouldn’t believe the names that could be involved in these trades.

Then there has mostly been a giant goose egg the rest of the summer.

There might still be another move or two that sneaks in before the season, but with training camps opening this month (within a couple of weeks, actually) most rosters are pretty much set with what they are going to look like.

So let’s take a quick tour around the league and offer one takeaway (the bolded part is the key take takeaway) on every team.

Anaheim Ducks. Chris Kreider is a good bounce back candidate offensively and I actually think he will be a really good addition here. They badly overpaid Mikael Granlund for what he is and what he might do. I don’t blame them for moving on from Trevor Zegras, but there’s a big risk involved. A big risk. They could end up with egg on their faces there. It’s not the worst team in the league. It’s also not a playoff team.

Boston Bruins. They are headed for an extended run of mediocrity and Don Sweeney has more than overstayed his welcome as general manager. They should have moved him on instead of extending him. Why are you giving Tanner Jeannot a five-year contract worth almost $3.5 million per season? Why does he keep getting to hire new coaches when the problem is clearly the roster he has constructed?

Buffalo Sabres. How is the only major move you make this offseason to trade JJ Peterka for Michael Kesserling? Kesserling is fine. Peterka has flaws and didn’t want to re-sign in Buffalo. Fine. Make that move. But to do nothing else of consequence to this point? While again still having $5 million in salary cap space to work with (after playing the 2024-25 season with a similar amount open) and being a team that’s missed the playoffs 14 year in a row? There is no reason for optimism here.

Calgary Flames. They were a great defensive team a year ago and would have made the playoffs with an even somewhat average offense. But they are likely to trade their best defenseman (Rasmus Andersson) at some point and didn’t really make a meaningful offensive addition. They are stuck in no-man’s land.

Carolina Hurricanes. I know they can not quite get over the hump that is the Eastern Conference Final, but there is still something to be said for going deep into the playoffs every year. I like the roster and I love the offseason to add Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller. With $10 million in salary cap space still at their disposal and Stanley Cup expectations I feel like they need to make another big move before the season begins.

Chicago Blackhawks. They have effectively wasted Connor Bedard’s cheapest contract years in the NHL. They will tell you this is all part of the plan and now they are finally going to get a chance to see a lot of their prospects play, but just simply throwing a bunch of rookies into a losing environment isn’t going to go well. This is one of the worst teams in hockey. Again. Watch them win the Gavin McKenna lottery.

Colorado Avalanche. Gabriel Landeskog and what he is able to do over a full season is the big X-factor here. As long as they have Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar they are going to be a factor in the Western Conference, but I still do not love the overall depth here.

Columbus Blue Jackets. I thought Columbus had a chance to be one of the most fascinating teams in the league this offseason. They were swimming in salary cap space, had two first-round picks they were willing to deal and a huge prospect pool to use as trade bait. Instead their only moves were to add Charlie Coyle and re-sign Ivan Provorov to an insane contract. It is one of those “oh wow that’s going to be terrible” contracts that you knew was going to flop the second the terms were announced. I still like the young talent here a lot, and this could be a really good team, but they missed the boat this offseason.

Dallas Stars. Simply one of the best teams in the league again, and their ceiling will largely be determined by how good Mikko Rantanen is. But they have one major flaw on the right side of their defense that could be a huge problem.

Detroit Red Wings. They needed more offense. They needed more defense. They needed more stable goaltending. The only one of those areas they even somewhat addressed was adding John Gibson, another mediocre goalie on a roster that has been full of mediocre goalies in recent years. Steve Yzerman’s seat should not only be hot, it should be a raging inferno. You can not keep blaming Ken Holland’s mess to give Yzerman a pass. You can not just keep waiting for prospects to develop. It is now year seven. Shit or get off the pot.

Edmonton Oilers. Going into the final year of Connor McDavid’s contract, knowing they need to win, with the same goalie duo that has failed them is an insane choice. Insane. Absolutely insane.