Photo: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
With the high-profile players on the free agent and trade boards taken, many teams across the NHL improved, worsened, or did not move very much at all after adding and/or losing pieces of their roster. NoVa Caps grades every team across the league’s offseason in our annual post free agency grades by division, concluding with the Metropolitan.
Grading Scale
- A: significantly improved roster for both the long-term and short-term
- B: improved roster, though it may have come at a cost of the future or did not do so significantly
- C: did not do much to improve roster
- D: roster got worse and team put themselves in position to struggle in future
- F: roster got significantly worse and team put themselves in horrible position for future
Teams will earn a “+” if they achieved such a grade to a high degree, “-“ to a low degree, or not get a sign if not significantly in either direction
Columbus Blue Jackets
Acquired: C Sean Monahan (five-year contract, $5.5 million cap hit), 2024 60th overall pick, 2025 fourth-round pick, G Zachary Sawchenko (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Dylan Gambrell (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Jack Johnson (one-year, $775,000 contract)
Re-signed: RW Yegor Chinakov (two-year contract, $2.1 million cap hit), D Jake Christiansen (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000)
Lost: RW Alex Nylander, D Jake Bean, D Adam Boqvist, 2024 69th overall pick, 2024 133rd overall pick, C Alexandre Texier, C Carson Meyer, D Billy Sweezey, C Josh Dunne, D Nick Blankenberg, C Tyler Angle, D Jakub Zboril, D Marcus Bjork, G Malcolm Subban, Head Coach Pascal Vincent
First-Round Pick(s): C Cayden Lindstrom (fourth)
Remaining RFAs: RW Kirill Marchenko, C Cole Sillinger, LW Kent Johnson, D Tim Berni
Columbus signed Monahan, who is coming off of a bounce back season, to help their rebuild but still need a head coach.
Grade: C+
Trending: Same
New Jersey Devils
Acquired: LW Adam Beckman, G Jacob Markstrom, RW Tomas Tatar (one-year, $1.8 million contract), LW Mike Hardman (two-year, two-way contract — $775,000 cap hit), RW Stefan Noesen (three-year contract, $2.75 million cap hit), D Brenden Dillon (three-year contract, $4 million cap hit), D Brett Pesce (five-year contract, $5.5 million cap hit), D Jonathan Kovacevic, LW Paul Cotter, 2025 third-round pick, 2024 85th overall pick, 2025 sixth-round pick, 2024 146th overall pick, 2024 49th overall pick, 2025 second-round pick, Head Coach Sheldon Keefe
Re-signed: D Nick DeSimone (one-year, $775,000 contract), RW Graeme Clark
Lost: D Kevin Bahl, top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick, RW Tyce Thompson, D Brendan Smith, C Tomas Nosek, C Michael McLeod, D Cal Foote, D Michael Vukojevic, 2026 fourth-round pick, G Akira Schmid, C Alexander Holtz, 2024 75th overall pick, D John Marino, 2024 153rd overall pick, C Chris Tierney, D Michael Vukojevic, G Keith Kinkaid, G Erik Kallgren, Head Coach Lindy Ruff
First-Round Pick(s): D Anton Silayev (10th)
Remaining RFAs: Beckman, LW Nolan Foote, RW Dawson Mercer, D Santeri Hatakka, G Nico Daws
New Jersey finally landed the No. 1 goalie they have needed in Markstrom, though parting with a first-rounder to acquire a goaltender who has posted save percentages of .905 at the highest in three of the past four years was pricey. The Devils improved their blueline, signing Pesce and Dillon, and signed Noesen and Tatar for their third-line. They seemed awfully quick to pull the trigger on trading Holtz, who was coming off of a nice first full NHL campaign, and still need to get Mercer, who has 64 goals in his first three NHL seasons, under contract.
Grade: B
Trending: Up
Philadelphia Flyers
Acquired: C Anthony Richard (two-year, two-way contract — $775,000 cap hit), 2024 107th overall pick, 2024 59th overall pick, conditional top-12 protected (2025 or 2026) first-round pick, 2024 13th overall pick, 2025 third-round pick
Re-signed: D Adam Ginning (two-year, two-way/one-way contract — $787,500 cap hit), D Egor Zamula (two-year contract, $1.7 million cap hit), RW Bobby Brink (two-year contract, $1.5 million cap hit), RW Garnet Hathaway (two-year contract extension, $2.4 million cap hit), D Erik Johnson (one-year, $1 million contract)
Lost: RW Hayden Hodgson, G Felix Sandstrom, C Tanner Lacynski, G Carter Hart, D Mason Millman, D Will Zmolek, 2024 150th overall pick, 2024 177th overall pick, 2024 77th overall pick, 2025 third-round picks, 2024 32nd overall pick, 2024 12th overall pick, RW Cam Atkinson, RW Denis Gurianov, D Marc Staal, C Adam Brooks, D Victor Mete, D Will Zmolek
First-Round Pick(s): C Jeff Luchanko (13th)
Remaining RFAs: N/A
Philadelphia is sticking to the script they set last year despite a surprising season as their only major moves were buying out the rest of Atkinson’s contract and letting Hart go but have Matvei Michkov on the way. The Flyers re-signed Hathaway, Johnson, and Zamula to aid their rebuild.
Grade: C
Trending: Same
Pittsburgh Penguins
Acquired: D Matt Grzelyck (one-year, $2.75 million contract), LW Bennett MacArthur, C Kevin Hayes, 2025 second-round pick, D Sebastian Aho (two-year contract, $775,000 cap hit), C Blake Lizotte (two-year contract, $1.85 million cap hit), LW Bokondji Imama (one-year, $775,000 contract), D Nathan Clurman (one-year, $775,000 contract), C Jimmy Huntington (one-year, $775,000 contract), LW Anthony Beauvillier (one-year, $1.25 million contract), D Mac Hollowell (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), 2027 second-round pick, 2025 conditional fifth-round pick (lower of New York Islanders or Minnesota Wild’s)
Re-signed: G Alex Nedeljkovic (two-year contract, $2.5 million cap hit), D Jack St. Ivany (three-year contract, $775,000 cap hit), RW Corey Andonovski (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Emil Bemstrom (one-year, $775,000 contract), D Ryan Shea (one-year, $775,000 contract)
Lost: D Pierre-Olivier Joseph, C Lukas Svejkovsky, D Jack Rathbone, RW Jansen Harkins, RW Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Reilly Smith, LW Dillon Hamaliuk, RW Maxim Cajkovic, D Xavier Ouellet, D Taylor Fedun, D Dmitri Samorukov, G Ludovic Waeber, C Jeff Carter
First-Round Pick(s): N/A
Remaining RFAs: RW Kasper Bjorkqvist, C Filip Hallander, G Filip Lindberg
Pittsburgh began their rebuild trading Smith and parting with Joseph and Harkins. Signing Grzelyck and Beauvillier should help a team that needs depth at both forward and defense. The Penguins re-signed Nedeljkovic and took on a salary dump when they acquired Hayes.
Grade: B-
Trending: Down
New York Islanders
Acquired: Thompson (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), 2024 20th overall pick, 2024 54th overall pick, 2024 61st overall pick, C Liam Foudy (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Fredrik Karlstrom (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), RW Anthony Duclair (four-year contract, $3.5 million cap hit), G Marcus Hogberg (two-year contract, $775,000 cap hit)
Re-signed: D Mike Reilly (one-year, $1.25 million contract), C Kyle MacLean (three-year contract, $775,000 cap hit), RW Simon Holmstrom (one-year, $850,000 contract)
Lost: Aho, 2024 18th overall pick, 2024 50th overall pick, C Reece Newkirk, LW Matt Martin, RW Cal Clutterbuck, D Robert Bortuzzo, RW Karson Kuhlman, D Paul LaDue, D Robin Salo
First-Round Pick(s): LW Cole Eiserman (20th)
Remaining RFAs: RW Oliver Wahlstrom, C Ruslan Iskhakov, D Dennis Cholowski
The Islanders landed four-time 20-goal scorer Duclair to bring some more offensive firepower and got a steal in the first round of the draft. With New Jersey and the Washington Capitals significantly improving their roster, New York did not do enough even with an upgrade up front.
Grade: B-
Trending: Down
Carolina Hurricanes
Acquired: LW Eric Robinson (one-year, $950,000 contract), 2024 69th overall pick, 2024 133rd overall pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2024 34th overall pick, 2024 50th overall pick, C Josiah Slavin (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Jack Roslovic (one-year, $2.8 million contract), D Riley Stillman (one-year, $775,000 contract), D Sean Walker (five-year contract, $3.6 million cap hit), D Shayne Gostisbehere (three-year contract, $3.2 million cap hit), C Tyson Jost (one-year, $775,000 contract), RW William Carrier (six-year contract, $2 million cap hit), D Joakim Ryan (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), GM Eric Tulsky
Re-signed: D Ty Smith (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Jalen Chatfield (three-year contract, $3 million cap hit), C Ryan Suzuki (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Jaccob Slavin (eight-year contract extension, $6.43 million cap hit), RW Jordan Martinook (three-year contract, $3.05 million cap hit), C Jack Drury (two-year contract, $1.725 million cap hit)
Lost: Pesce, Noesen, LW Maxime Comtois, RW Tuukka Tieksola, C Blake Murray, D Griffin Mendel, LW Jake Guentzel, 2024 60th overall pick, 2024 92nd overall pick, 2024 27th overall pick, D Dylan Coghlan, D Tory Dello, C Cal Burke, D Brady Skjei, LW Teuvo Teravainen, D Tony DeAngelo, G Antti Raanta, C Evgeny Kuznetsov, GM Don Waddell
First-Round Pick(s): N/A
Remaining RFAs: C Martin Necas, RW Seth Jarvis, D Tarmo Reunanen, D Joey Keane, D Jesper Sellgren
Although they re-signed Slavin, Carolina got significantly worse with two top-four blueliners and two top-six forwards gone. The Hurricanes made a few adds that should help pad the leak, including Roslovic, Walker, Gostisbehere, and Jost, though giving Carrier six years was confusing. The team signed Chatfield to a reasonable extension but still have a lot of work left to do, including determining what to do with Necas after the 25-year-old requested a trade out of Raleigh and re-signing young star Jarvis.
Grade: Incomplete (C- right now)
Trending: Down
New York Rangers
Acquired: Reilly Smith, C Sam Carrick (three-year contract, $1 million cap hit), 2024 119th overall pick, C Bo Groulx (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Casey Fitzgerald (two-year, two-way contract — $775,000 cap hit)
Re-signed: RW Kaapo Kakko (one-year, $2.4 million contract), D Braden Schneider (two-year contract, $2.2 million cap hit), D Chad Ruhwedel (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Matthew Robertson (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000)
Lost: Roslovic, Hollowell, D Erik Gustafsson, 2027 second-round pick, conditional 2025 fifth-round pick, 2024 127th overall pick, 2026 seventh-round pick, RW Barclay Goodrow, C Alexander Wennberg, RW Blake Wheeler, C Tyler Pitlick, C Nic Petan, LW Bobby Trivigno, G Olaf Lindbom
First-Round Pick(s): D EJ Emery (30th)
Remaining RFAs: D Ryan Lindgren, RW Lauri Pajuniemi, C Karl Henriksson
New York did not change much after coming up two wins short of the Stanley Cup Final, adding a nice complimentary piece to their top-nine forward group in Smith. They also inked Carrick for their fourth line and re-signed Kakko and Schneider. The Rangers did not lose anyone significant and got out of Goodrow’s contract without having to sweeten the pot. The team still needs to re-sign Lindgren and is reportedly trying to trade captain Jacob Trouba.
Grade: A-
Trending: Same
Washington Capitals
Acquired: 2024 212th overall pick, G Logan Thompson, 2024 75th overall pick, 2024 43rd overall pick, LW Andrew Mangiapane, C Pierre-Luc Dubois, C Luke Philip (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), RW Spencer Smallman (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), RW Taylor Raddysh (one-year, $1 million contract), LW Brandon Duhaime (two-year contract, $1.85 million cap hit), D Jakob Chychrun, D Matt Roy (six-year contract, $5.75 million cap hit)
Re-signed: C Alex Limoges (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), D Hardy Haman Aktell (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Riley Sutter (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), C Connor McMichael (two-year contract, $2.1 million cap hit), G Mitchell Gibson (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000), RW Ethen Frank (two-year, two-way/one-way contract — $775,000 cap hit), D Chase Priskie (one-year, two-way contract — $775,000)
Lost: Huntington, 2025 sixth-round pick, 2024 83rd overall pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2024 82nd overall pick, 2024 146th overall pick, LW Beck Malenstyn, 2025 second-round pick, G Darcy Kuemper, RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, D Nick Jensen, 2026 third-round pick, LW Max Pacioretty, D Lucas Johansen, RW Matthew Philipps
First-Round Pick(s): RW Terik Parascak (17th)
Remaining RFAs: C Henrik Borgstrom, D Tobias Geisser
Washington is arguably the most improved team after acquiring Chychrun and Roy on defense; Thompson in goal after offloading with Kuemper’s contract; Mangiapane and Dubois, who both come with expensive contracts but could rebound under head coach Spencer Carbery, up front; and Raddysh and Duhaime for their fourth-line. The Capitals managed to get better without parting with any coveted futures as they gave up just one pick higher than the third round. They were also able to get a lot of value for Malenstyn and signed McMichael to a fairly low contract after the 23-year-old established himself in the NHL last season, when he scored 18 goals and 33 points in 80 games.
Grade: A-
Trending: Up
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By Harrison Brown