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NHL teams open training camp in just under two months. Yet a few franchises have been surprisingly quiet this offseason. Here are five clubs that I think may not be finished tweaking their respective rosters.
New York Islanders
Coming off a dismal 2021-22 season, I expected GM Lou Lamoriello to be active this off season. But aside from firing head coach Barry Trotz and replacing him with longtime assistant Lane Lambert, Lamoriello has essentially done nothing to improve his aging club.
The Islanders are bloated from a contractual standpoint. And their top-end players experienced a notable regression last year. Going into this offseason, Lamoriello needed to inject some speed and creativity into the lineup.
At the NHL Draft, rumors swirled about Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller coming to Long Island. He’s exactly the type of player the Islanders need. But nothing came of it.
But for me, the elephant in the room is Mathew Barzal. He can skate like the wind and has all the tools to be a star in the NHL. Yet I don’t think we’ve seen his best. Barzal needs skill flanking him. And so far this summer, Lamoriello hasn’t addressed that void.
Winnipeg Jets
Full disclosure: last season I picked the Jets to win the Stanley Cup. I thought their roster was loaded top to bottom with hard-working players that possessed the skill necessary to succeed in the postseason. Connor Hellebuyck had been a rock in goal, and I thought Paul Maurice had the right chemistry to work with behind the bench.
My warm and fuzzy feelings were gone by American Thanksgiving. Things didn’t click on the ice, Maurice stepped down and the Jets were never better than mediocre.
The organization is at a crossroads with veterans Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Pierre-Luc Dubois doesn’t plan on sticking around past next season. And multiple coaching candidates spurned Winnipeg’s advances.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff ended up hiring Rick Bowness as head coach, a move that was wholly uninspiring. The team hasn’t been able to draw free-agent signings. And I believe the Jets will look very different without Andrew Copp, who was dealt to the New York Rangers at last year’s trade deadline.
I think Winnipeg needs a reboot. Enough discussions with players. Enough pondering. Make something happen. Because trotting out the same middling lineup this coming fall won’t serve any purpose.
St. Louis Blues
In my opinion, the Blues pushed the Colorado Avalanche just as hard as the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs. St. Louis may have been a little beat up, especially on the blueline, but the team’s performance was admirable.
But that’s the problem. The Blues were good, but could they have beaten the Avalanche, even with a full roster? That’s where I look at the moves made so far this offseason by GM Doug Armstrong and wonder: is St. Louis better or worse?
There’s reason to be excited about young talent like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. But can Kyrou replace the proven goal-scoring of David Perron, who signed a two-year pact with the Detroit Red Wings? Or is the scoring replaced by a committee?
To me, there’s a lot of hope but no guarantees. And I get why bringing back Perron didn’t make sense, especially a year or two down the road. Kyrou is due a big contract. And so is star centerman Ryan O’Reilly.
The Blues were able to score last season, but defense was always a concern. Which is why retaining blueliner Nick Leddy made sense — even if the four-year term on the contract might have been a bit of a premium. And while losing Ville Husso via trade before he became a free agent wasn’t ideal, I really like the Thomas Greiss signing. He should provide solid goaltending in tandem with Jordan Binnington.
But I do think the Blues have been somewhat handcuffed. Moving out a few contracts would have given the team a chance to land St. Louis native Matthew Tkachuk. And even if they missed out on a deal with the Calgary Flames, the added cap space would have provided some flexibility.
Vancouver Canucks
Here’s my hangup with the Canucks and many other teams around the NHL for that matter. They all talk about wanting cap space. But nothing seems to happen. For the most part, it’s all lip-service. A never-ending quest for a virtually unattainable commodity — unless a franchise is in a full rebuild.
Maybe it’s because Vancouver is a hot spot for the rumor mill, but I’ve heard the name of just about every player on the roster associated with a potential trade. Yet here we are at the end of July and nothing has really happened.
Vancouver opted to sign Brock Boeser to a three-year pact. Miller remains a Canuck. The team is thin on the blueline. And there is no clear plan for a No. 2 goaltender behind Thatcher Demko.
Signing Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year deal was a nice move. And bringing over Andrei Kuzmenko from the KHL could prove to be the under-the-radar move of the offseason. But are the Canucks really that different from last season? I don’t think so.
And maybe that’s a good thing. Bruce Boudreau worked wonders with the Canucks after being brought in as a midseason replacement for former head coach Travis Green. If Boudreau is able to harness that same positive energy at the start of the 2022-23 season, Vancouver could contend for a Stanley Cup playoff spot in a weak Pacific Division.
But I still believe the Canucks roster needs work, and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford has never been afraid to make a bold move. We’ll soon find out if Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin is of the same mold.
Philadelphia Flyers
For a team that has commitment from ownership to make big changes, very little has happened in Philadelphia this summer. Sure, John Tortorella signed on to be the next head coach of the storied franchise. And Tony DeAngelo agreed to a two-year deal worth $5 million a year.
But aside from that, what else has changed? Another summer, another questionable contract. Nicolas Deslauriers is tough as nails, but is he necessary at $1.75 million for the next four years? That’s a lot for a player who was healthy-scratched by the Minnesota Wild this past spring during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Philadelphia GM Chuck Fletcher had every opportunity to land Johnny Gaudreau this summer in free agency but wasn’t able to create enough cap space to make a competitive offer. I know it’s hard to move contracts. And uncertainty about the health of defenseman Ryan Ellis doesn’t make things any easier. But when someone like Gaudreau is available — a player who has never shied away from the idea of coming home to Philly — mountains need to be moved.
Right now I don’t think the aggressive messaging matches the relative inaction seen so far this offseason. A full rebuild is clearly not in the cards. But I also haven’t seen a willingness from the Flyers to move on from certain players.
The X-factor is Tortorella. If there’s anyone that can coax performance out of under-performing players, it’s him. Tortorella will weed out individuals who aren’t willing to put in the work. But even that takes time. And I don’t think Philadelphia has that luxury. The Flyers need to be good right out of the gate in a stacked Metropolitan division.
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