Is there success in acquiring the castoffs from Stanley Cup winning teams?
The NHL is a copycat league. It’s a phrase I’ve brought up countless times in my articles, because we’ve witnessed the behavior far too often. When a team wins the Stanley Cup, several other teams are desperate to follow in their footsteps.
Sometimes, that means copying the blueprint of the Cup-winning team, their style of play, and what drives their success, and acquiring players similar to that style to shift the mold of the team. Other times, they’re copying the blueprint by hitting the market in search of the scraps of the Cup-winning teams to bring into their group.
The salary cap always causes winning teams to make changes, so naturally there’s going to be players traded or left unsigned, free to bring their experience to teams that need it. But how much success do teams have by acquiring these players? Do these players really end up being difference-makers or the pieces that push their new teams over the top? Or is there a reason the Cup-winning team viewed these players as expendable in the first place, as their recent success drives up their market prices to the point where it’s not worth it?
Today, I’m going to dive into the recent examples of teams acquiring the castoffs from Stanley Cup-winning teams, and look at how successful of a process this method actually is. We’ll look at all the individual signings and how they turned out for their respective teams, as well as the teams as a whole and how it works out for them.
First, let’s look at all of the players who won a Stanley Cup in the last 10 seasons prior to 2025, and then either signed with a new team in free agency or were traded to a new team (or in one instance, selected in the expansion draft). Also included will be the “acquisition cost” (either the money spent on their contract or the trade assets needed to get them), that player’s total goals above replacement during their time with that team, and the end result of that player’s tenure with the team.
Within the result column, the text will either be bolded to signify that the acquisition was a win (which was determined based on if the player a) won a Stanley Cup or got notable recognition for a season via an award or All-Star Game, b) had a career year, or c) had a 10+ GAR during their tenure with the team, unless they had a negative end to their tenure with the team), italicized to signify that the acquisition was a loss (which was determined based on if the player a) was bought out, traded or waived to end that tenure or b) had a negative or minimally positive GAR during their tenure), or in regular font to signify that the acquisition was just fine.
I won’t be including the players acquired from this year’s Florida Panthers team due to the fact that we have yet to see how they play with their new team, so this will only include players signed from the 2015 Chicago Blackhawks team to the 2024 Panthers.
| Player | Cup-Winning Team | New Team | Acquisition Cost (Contract/ Trade Assets) | GAR during tenure | Result |
| Brandon Montour | 2024 Florida Panthers | Seattle Kraken | $7,142,857 x 7 | 0.6 | Still with team |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 2024 Florida Panthers | Toronto Maple Leafs | $3.5M x 4 | 6.4 | Still with team |
| Anthony Stolarz | 2024 Florida Panthers | Toronto Maple Leafs | $2.5M x 2 | 37.3 | 5th in Vezina voting, career year, still with team |
| Kevin Stenlund | 2024 Florida Panthers | Utah Hockey Club | $2M x 2 | 2.8 | Had career year first season, still with team |
| Ryan Lomberg | 2024 Florida Panthers | Calgary Flames | $2M x 2 | -0.5 | Still with team |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | 2024 Florida Panthers | Detroit Red Wings | $4.75M x 2 | 6 | No playoffs, traded as salary dump after one season |
| Nick Cousins | 2024 Florida Panthers | Ottawa Senators | $800K x 1 | 3.9 | Still with team |
| Steven Lorentz | 2024 Florida Panthers | Toronto Maple Leafs | $775K x 1 | 10.3 | Still with team |
| Reilly Smith | 2023 Vegas Golden Knights | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3rd-round pick | 7.9 | No playoffs, traded after one season |
| Teddy Blueger | 2023 Vegas Golden Knights | Vancouver Canucks | $1.9M x 1 | 0.6 | Most productive stretch of career, still with team |
| Laurent Brossoit | 2023 Vegas Golden Knights | Winnipeg Jets | $1.75M x 1 | 16.3 | Team won Jennings, left after one year |
| Jonathan Quick | 2023 Vegas Golden Knights | New York Rangers | $825K x 1 | 9.1 | Still with team |
| Nicolas Aube-Kubel | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Toronto Maple Leafs | $1M x 1 | -1.1 | Placed and claimed on waivers after six games |
| Andre Burakovsky | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Seattle Kraken | $5.5M x 5 | 2.2 | Injured during 2023 playoff run, traded as cap dump |
| Darcy Kuemper | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Washington Capitals | $5.25M x 5 | 12.2 | Didn’t play in playoffs, traded in swap of damaged goods |
| Nico Sturm | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | San Jose Sharks | $2M x 3 | 4 | No playoffs,had career year first season, traded at 2025 trade deadline |
| Jack Johnson | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Chicago Blackhawks | $950K x 1 | -11.8 | Traded back to Avs at 2023 deadline for no meaningful assets |
| Nazem Kadri | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Calgary Flames | $7M x 7 | 29.7 | All-Star Game in 2023, still with team |
| Ryan Murray | 2022 Colorado Avalanche | Edmonton Oilers | $750K x 1 | -1.8 | Played 13 games, injured rest of season |
| Barclay Goodrow | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | New York Rangers | 7th-round pick & $3,641,667 x 6 | -0.8 | Placed and claimed on waivers as cap dump |
| Tyler Johnson | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | Chicago Blackhawks | Also got 2nd-round pick | -8.9 | No playoffs, played out contract |
| Blake Coleman | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | Calgary Flames | $4.9M x 6 | 9.5 | Had career year in 2023-24, still with team |
| Yanni Gourde | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | Seattle Kraken | Expansion draft selection | 22.3 | Played four seasons, traded back to Bolts at 2025 deadline |
| David Savard | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | Montreal Canadiens | $3.5M x 4 | -24.1 | Played all four seasons, made playoffs in final season |
| Luke Schenn | 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning | Vancouver Canucks | $850K x 2 | 1.2 | No playoffs, traded at 2023 deadline |
| Cedric Paquette | 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning | Ottawa Senators | Also got a 2nd-round pick | -1.1 | Played nine games, traded |
| Braydon Coburn | 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning | Ottawa Senators | Also got a 2nd-round pick | -1 | Played 16 games, traded |
| Zach Bogosian | 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning | Toronto Maple Leafs | $1M x 1 | 0.9 | Played out contract, blew 3-1 series vs. Habs |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning | Anaheim Ducks | $3.9M x 3 | 15.2 | Played out contract, no playoffs |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning | Florida Panthers | $1M x 2 | 31.4 | Won two Stanley Cups |
| Joel Edmundson | 2019 St. Louis Blues | Carolina Hurricanes | Part of return for Justin Faulk | -3.4 | Played one season, signing rights were traded |
| Patrick Maroon | 2019 St. Louis Blues | Tampa Bay Lightning | $900K x 1 | 3.3 | Won two Stanley Cups |
| Philipp Grubauer | 2018 Washington Capitals | Colorado Avalanche | Reward for acquiring and buying out Brooks Orpik | 42.5 | Vezina finalist in 2021, played three seasons before walking |
| Jay Beagle | 2018 Washington Capitals | Vancouver Canucks | $3M x 4 | -5.5 | Played three seasons, traded as cap dump |
| Alex Chiasson | 2018 Washington Capitals | Edmonton Oilers | $650K x 1 | 9.5 | Had career year first season, left after three seasons |
| Trevor Daley | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Detroit Red Wings | $3,166,666 x 3 | -7 | Played three seasons, retired |
| Ron Hainsey | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Toronto Maple Leafs | $3M x 2 | 7.9 | Played two seasons |
| Nick Bonino | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Nashville Predators | $4.1M x 4 | 26.2 | Played three seasons, traded |
| Chris Kunitz | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Tampa Bay Lightning | $2M x 1 | 2.3 | Left after one season |
| Mark Streit | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Montreal Canadiens | $700K x 1 | -0.1 | Played two games, placed on waivers, retired |
| Matt Cullen | 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins | Minnesota Wild | $1M x 1 | 0.1 | Left after one season |
| Beau Bennett | 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins | New Jersey Devils | 3rd-round pick | 0.8 | Had career year, left after one season |
| Ben Lovejoy | 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins | New Jersey Devils | $2,666,667 x 3 | 11.3 | Played three seasons, traded at 2019 deadline |
| Jeff Zatkoff | 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins | Los Angeles Kings | $900K x 2 | -8.5 | Played 13 games, never played in NHL again |
| Antti Raanta | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | New York Rangers | Ryan Haggerty | 19 | Traded after two seasons |
| Brandon Saad | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Columbus Blue Jackets | Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, 4th-round pick | 26.2 | All-Star Game in 2016, played two seasons before traded back to Chicago |
| Patrick Sharp | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Dallas Stars | Trevor Daley & Ryan Garbutt | -3.2 | Left after two seasons |
| Kris Versteeg | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Carolina Hurricanes | Also got Nordstrom & 3rd-round pick | 3.9 | Traded at 2016 deadline |
| Joakim Nordstrom | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Carolina Hurricanes | Reward for taking on Versteeg’s contract | 0 | Had career year in 2015-16, left after three seasons |
| Brad Richards | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Detroit Red Wings | $3M x 1 | 2.5 | Retired after one season |
| Antoine Vermette | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Arizona Coyotes | $3.75M x 2 | -1.1 | Bought out after one season |
| Johnny Oduya | 2015 Chicago Blackhawks | Dallas Stars | $3.75M x 2 | 3.1 | Traded back to Chicago at 2017 deadline |
Based on the thresholds that I’ve established, there’s a somewhat even chance that a team can bring in a castoff and either see the addition pay off or see it blow up in their face. Twenty of the 52 acquisitions (or 38.46%) ended up classified as a win, while 24 (or 46.15%) of them end up as losses, while the remaining eight (or 15.39%) came and went without anything of note. That said, it’s still more than 50% of the time that these deals don’t end up in favor of the team.
However, that’s just looking at the success of the player within the team. If you’re hoping for team success from bringing in a castoff, your chances are very, very slim, as only two players who left a Stanley Cup-winning team won another Stanley Cup at their next stop: Patrick Maroon and Carter Verhaeghe. In fact, both players won two at their next stop. But two out of 52 leaves just a 3.85% success rate for teams, which is not one you’d want to rely on.
Now, that’s not to say that a team who brings in a castoff immediately seals their fate of not winning a championship, or that there’s even a strong relationship between the two. But what it definitely does tell us is that going out of your way to bring in a player from the defending champions isn’t a guaranteed success either.
Now that we’ve broken all of that down, let’s also take a look at which teams are acquiring the most castoffs from Stanley Cup-winning teams, as well as their success rate with those additions.
| Team | Total # of Castoff Aqusitions | Wins – Draws – Losses |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 6 | 2-2-2 |
| Calgary Flames | 3 | 2-0-1 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 3 | 1-1-1 |
| New York Rangers | 3 | 1-1-1 |
| Seattle Kraken | 3 | 1-0-2 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 3 | 1-0-2 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 3 | 0-1-2 |
| Ottawa Senators | 3 | 0-1-2 |
| New Jersey Devils | 2 | 2-0-0 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 2 | 1-1-0 |
| Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club | 2 | 1-0-1 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 2 | 1-0-1 |
| Dallas Stars | 2 | 0-1-1 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2 | 0-0-2 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 2 | 0-0-2 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Florida Panthers | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Nashville Predators | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| San Jose Sharks | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Minnesota Wild | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Washington Capitals | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Boston Bruins | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| New York Islanders | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| St. Louis Blues | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 0 | 0-0-0 |
First, the obvious point: the Maple Leafs really like to bring in castoffs. They have double the number of acquisitions as the next closest team, and it’s not just because of one general manager. All three GMs that oversaw the team during this span contributed to it, with Lou Lamoriello bringing in Ron Hainsey, Kyle Dubas signing Zach Bogosian and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Brad Treliving acquiring all of Anthony Stolarz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Steven Lorentz last year (although Treliving also has two more on his resume during his Flames tenure).
We’ll never know the true reason for this from the outside, but you wonder if this is due to the Leafs hoping that these types of winners will change the culture of the team, or if it’s just due to the pressure of the market as a whole. But then again, if teams struggling to take their next step thought that acquiring castoffs helped change the culture of the team, why haven’t the Sabres brought in a single one themselves?
Another thing to note is that, looking at each team’s success rate, it lines up with our previous discovery that 38.46% of castoffs find some form of success with their new teams. Only 10 of the 26 teams who have made at least one acquisition are batting above 50% in terms of their success rate, which works out to… 38.46%.
However, that number changes a bit when you look at teams that have brought in more than one castoff, as seven of those 10 teams with a success rate above 50% only made one acquisition. When you look at the 15 teams that have added more than one castoff, it’s just three of 15 moves, a success rate of 20%. So, if you want to bring in this type of player, the smartest move is to be extremely diligent and pick your players wisely, as opposed to going after as many as you can.
But perhaps the most interesting piece of info here may be the fact that teams that have won the Stanley Cup during this span aren’t chasing after other teams’ castoffs. Yes, we already saw that only two players signed fresh off a Cup win and won another with their new team, but these teams don’t go after these types of players at all. Of the 52 players signed during this timeframe, only six players total were signed by teams that won the Cup in that same span, just 11.54% of this pool.
So we know that this isn’t exactly a winning method, but why? There isn’t one simple answer to this question, but there’s certainly a few possibilities.
It’s likely that going after a castoff means you’re paying a bit of a premium on this player compared to other players like them. Teams are more biased towards these players not only because of the success, but also due to watching a lot more of that player during their deep run. Players like Brandon Montour, Blake Coleman and Jay Beagle all likely got an extra $500K to $1 million on their cap hits thanks to their Stanley Cup wins, while there may have been other players on the market that brought just as much value for a lesser cost.
However, what this really might show is just how quickly players, teams and even the league evolve, and that teams should be two or three steps ahead of the game to win down the road, as opposed to one step behind the best teams. Sure, it may make sense to adjust your team to the mold of the current winners because that’s the successful formula, but by the time you bring in the players and make the adjustments, a completely different style of team is winning the Cup.
It’s not that teams should just avoid former Stanley Cup champions completely. You’d have to go back to the 1989 Flames to find the last team to win the Stanley Cup without a single player on their roster with a Cup ring, so it is an important element of success.
But what teams should do is make sure that the experienced players that they bring in fit the mold of the team that they’re trying to build. Whether that’s Maroon bringing some snarl to the Lightning’s grinding bottom six or Andre Burakovsky’s speed and skill fitting like a glove with the Avalanche, how the player meshes with the team is just as important as the experience factor.
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