Winners and Losers of 2024 NHL Free Agency
Viktor Arvidsson dealt with a lower-body injury and had back surgery, spoiling his final season with the Kings. The Edmonton Oilers added him to become a critical piece to their next Cup run after a runner-up finish in 2024. PHOTO USA TODAY The tsunami of action on the opening day of free agency eased to a trickle, with only a few notable signings remaining and the focus shifting to the start of training camp in two short months.
The vast majority of action was completed following a crazy stretch that included the Stanley Cup Final, the draft, buyouts and free agency.
There is time to pause, take a step back, and sift through the results.
With that in mind, here are the eight teams that stand out—four winners and four losers—from the frenzied festivities.
Winner: Edmonton Oilers
After losing Game 7 of the finals to the Florida Panthers, the Oilers quickly kept pending UFAs Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Corey Perry and then added to their forward ranks a couple of excellent pieces in Viktor Arvidsson from the Los Angeles Kings and Jeff Skinner from the Buffalo Sabres.
Edmonton needs to add on defense, is in a bind with a couple of young RFAs in forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg, and must keep an eye on the future with Leon Draisaitl one year away from free agency and Connor McDavid two years away. However, the Oilers are favorites for the 2025 Cup chase.
Loser: New York Rangers
The regular season champions were unceremoniously ousted in the semifinals by the Panthers and have since done, well, pretty much nothing noteworthy. They re-signed Kaapo Kakko, used waivers to jettison Barclay Goodrow, acquired via trade Reilly Smith, and watched forwards Jack Roslovic and Alex Wennberg and defenseman Erik Gustafsson depart.
Sure, all of those are depth players, but the Rangers shockingly stood pat.
Winner: New Jersey Devils
After missing the playoffs, the Devils appear destined for a big rebound. Simply having a healthy Dougie Hamilton on defense and adding a legitimate number-one goalie in Jacob Markstrom via trade with Calgary helps. But the Devils wisely were aggressive, signing defensemen Brett Pesce (Carolina Hurricanes) and Brenden Dillon (Winnipeg Jets), as well as forwards Stefen Noesen (Carolina) and Tomas Tatar (Seattle Kraken).
Loser: Los Angeles Kings
Truth: moving on from the mistake of acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois is a huge positive, but the Kings are no better. They allowed Arvidsson and Matt Roy to depart and instead re-signed third-pairing blueliner Joel Edmundson to a four-year contract and signed depth forward Warren Foegele (Edmonton) with a three-year pact.
Acquiring goalie Darcy Kuemper, who has three more years on his contract at $5.25 million per season, in the Dubois trade is hardly a step forward, either. The gap between the Kings and legitimate Cup contenders has grown.
Winner: Nashville Predators
Apr 2, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates the puck into the offensive zone during the third period against the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena. credits: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports The Predators may pay down the road, but Nashville was bold by adding a pair of scoring forwards with Cup pedigrees in Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Jonathan Marchessault (Vegas Golden Knights), as well as defenseman Brady Skjei (Carolina) and backup goalie Scott Wedgewood (Dallas Stars) to caddy for star Juuse Saros, who signed an eight-year contract extension.
Loser: Vegas Golden Knights
Have the Golden Knights finally crapped out following years of salary cap gymnastics and dealing away first-round picks? Vegas watched plenty of offense leave in Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and Michael Amadio and is left hoping young trade acquisitions Alexander Holtz and Victor Olofsson can fill the gap.
Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs
Yes, the Maple Leafs are chronic big-market, big-spending underachievers who rely too much on their top-end forwards. That is why focusing on defense by adding Chris Tanev (Dallas) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Florida) was the right path for a team that has struggled to keep pucks out of the net.
Loser: Carolina Hurricanes
Replacing Pesce and Skjei with Sean Walker (Colorado Avalanche) and Shayne Gostisbehere (Detroit Red Wings) is a step backwards. Carolina paid dearly to acquire Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline to watch him walk after a second-round ousting, and then saw its depth weakened further with Teuvo Teravainen and Noesen leaving. Adding Roslovic and William Carrier (Vegas) is not going to replace what was lost.