Quick thoughts on all 32 NHL offseasons (so far)

The NHL offseason moves fast and most of the big moves have already been made.

The 2024 NHL Draft is officially in the books, some big trades have been made and most of the top free agents have already found new teams. So let’s take a quick trip around the NHL and deliver some quick thoughts on the start of every team’s offseason so far.

Some teams have already rapidly improved themselves.

Some teams have made some really questionable investments.

A lot of teams still have a lot of work to do over the next couple of months.

Let’s talk about them.

Anaheim Ducks. I think the best way to put it is that the Ducks are trusting their process and banking on their young players taking a big leap forward because as of Tuesday they have done … nothing. It’s honestly not the worst idea, either. Trevor Zegras should be better, they will have a full season of Leo Carlsson, and they have some nice prospects making their way to the NHL. There is a lot of potential here. At some point though they are going to have to complement them a little more with outside help if they are going to start competing again.

Boston Bruins. I don’t like this offseason so far. Not even a little. They pretty much had to trade Linus Ullmark, but they didn’t get much back to help in the short-term and no longer having the two-headed monster in goal could be a problem. Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman masked a lot of flaws here and now half of that duo is gone. They needed to address center and defensive depth, but signing Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov for a combined $13 million per year doesn’t really move the needle much for me. Lindholm is another good, but not great center like the ones they already had, and Zadorov is the type of free agent signing you regret within two years. It’s an easy playoff team. Probably a really good playoff team. They will probably win a round (at least). But I don’t see a Stanley Cup here until they figure out a way to get a true game-changer down the middle. Unfortunately for them that is easier said than done.

Buffalo Sabres. If you look at the list of players that general manager Kevyn Adams has acquired over the past couple of years it is one of the least impressive, least imaginative lists of transactions in the entire NHL. Buying out Jeff Skinner and bringing in Jason Zucker, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and James Reimer is boring. You’re boring everybody. You have also missed the playoffs 13 years in a row and have to compete in one of the toughest divisions in hockey. How do you plan on snapping this streak with this roster?