Five NHL teams that got noticeably weaker in the 2023-24 offseason
Earlier this week, I outlined five NHL teams that look the most improved going into the 2023-24 season. But as some teams taketh during productive offseasons, other teams giveth away, forced to weaken their lineups due to salary cap constraints, player retirements or, in some cases, as part of a tanking plan.
Which franchises have gotten noticeably worse on paper as training camps approach? I’ve marked down five.
5. Winnipeg Jets
Out: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler, David Rittich, Sam Gagner
In: Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Laurent Brossoit
If you’re a Jets fan, would you rather see them higher on this list, having also traded Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele? We knew GM Kevin Cheveldayoff eyed some significant changes entering the offseason, but he’s opted for more of a half measure at the moment after shipping out Pierre-Luc Dubois in a blockbuster with the Los Angeles Kings and buying out Blake Wheeler. As it stands, the Jets have replaced two of their top-nine forwards with lower-ceiling depth, albeit Gabe Vilardi did break out for 23 goals last season. But they’re also still in possession of Hellebuyck and Scheifele for now, meaning they haven’t totally turned over their team identity. Is this team a contender or stuck in limbo between retool and rebuild? Whatever they are, they don’t look like a better team than they were a year ago.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
Out: Michael Bunting, Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, Noel Acciari, Alex Kerfoot, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, Zach Aston-Reese
In: Tyler Bertuzzi, John Klingberg, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves, Martin Jones, Simon Benoit
New GM Brad Treliving took over as GM of the Leafs in late May and, after roughly a month of assessing his roster, went to work making over the team with an evident focus on intangibles. The likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves don’t constitute upgrades over the losses in Toronto’s top nine, but they theoretically bring more of the pushback Toronto lacked at crucial moments during their Round-2 defeat to the Florida Panthers last spring. John Klingberg makes for an interesting reclamation project, but he’s a wobbly replacement for Luke Schenn, who was Toronto’s best all-around defenseman after coming over as a trade-deadline rental last winter. This team has injected plenty of personality and vigor but looks decidedly shallower and less defensively conscientious than it was by the 2022-23 season’s end. If you’re trying to see a silver lining? Tell yourself that the Leafs have traded in a few regular-season wins for the fiery types of players who help will them to a few more playoff wins.
3. Florida Panthers
Out: Anthony Duclair, Radko Gudas, Patric Hornqvist, Alex Lyon, Marc Staal, Eric Staal, Colin White
In: Evan Rodrigues, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, Anthony Stolarz, Rasmus Asplund
It’s one thing to lose a top-nine forward in Anthony Duclair or a menacing defensive presence in Radko Gudas from the group that reached the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Final. But when you factor in that top-four blueliners Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour could miss the start of the season as they recover from shoulder surgeries, the Panthers’ opening-night lineup could look little like the team of destiny from last spring. The versatile Evan Rodrigues was an excellent add by GM Bill Zito, but the parade of left-shot depth defenseman Florida added doesn’t seem like a great solution for a team whose losses were primarily on the right side.
2. Philadelphia Flyers
Out: Ivan Provorov, Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, Tony DeAngelo, Justin Braun, Brendan Lemieux
In: Garnet Hathaway, Cal Petersen, Sean Walker, Ryan Poehling, Marc Staal, Victor Mete
So GM Danny Briere didn’t completely strip the Flyers down to the studs and find trades for Travis Konecny and Carter Hart. That’s OK. There’s plenty of time to drum up interest for those two this season. Konecny could have significant trade deadline appeal as a two-year rental at a highly reasonable $5.5 million AAV. At least the Flyers turned Provorov into a meaty trade package that included prospect defenseman Helge Grans and an additional first-round pick that turned into Oliver Bonk. And by giving away Kevin Hayes and buying out Tony DeAngelo, the Flyers have ensured that they enter 2023-24 with what has to be the weakest roster in the Eastern Conference. It isn’t even particularly close. After scoring Matvei Michkov with the 2023 Draft’s seventh overall pick, the Flyers rank among the frontrunners to win the 2024 lottery. Consider them weakened by design.
1. Boston Bruins
Out: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, Nick Foligno, Garnet Hathaway, Connor Clifton, Craig Smith, Mike Reilly, Tomas Nosek
In: James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Milan Lucic, Morgan Geekie, Jesper Boqvist, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula
Wow. The losses to the Bruins roster are truly staggering: their top two centers in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci; two top-nine left wingers in Taylor Hall and Bertuzzi; a top-four defenseman in Dmitry Orlov; and so on. Typically, any team coming off a 65-win season would be a shoo-in to make the playoffs the following season. But this roster is decimated. On top of Boston’s losses, the performance bonus overages for Bergeron and Krejci’s final seasons amounted to $4.5 million in cap space and hindered their ability to make meaningful replacement additions.
Adding 30-something vets in James van Riemsdyk, Milan Lucic and Kevin Shattenkirk, along with a litany of depth signings, won’t come close to replacing what Boston lost. It’s difficult to remember a summer roster turnover more significant than this one in the cap era. As a result, Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle are slated to play higher in the lineup as Boston’s top two centers. Are we sure this is still even a top-four team in the Atlantic Division? They still have a 60-goal superstar in David Pastrnak, a future Hall of Fame forward in Brad Marchand, a legit No. 1 defenseman in Charlie McAvoy and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Linus Ullmark, so they should be competitive. But they could win 20-25 fewer games in the process.
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