FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: PART ONE: PACIFIC

FREE AGENT REVIEW 2022: PACIFIC:

Pre-Season is under way and teams are working out the kinks and learning who will be a contributing part of their lineups both pro and farm. Its a mix of emotions for the players as some are out there giving it their all trying to make the pro squad, while others are just getting back into the stride of things and avoiding injury at all cost. There is also a batch of players trying to familiarize themselves with new teammates and systems as they make their first impressions on the ice. Lets take a look at how the Pacific Division has changed from last season by way of free agent signings.  

ANAHEIM DUCKS:
After a second round exit in last years playoffs, it appears the Ducks will bring back much of the same roster with a few minor adjusments. Ducks GM VideoJ added some depth with a pair of signings, Brian Boyle and Jordan Oesterle, and managed to do so without emptying the owners bank account. VideoJ was able to acquire the two veterans from a safari zone in South Africa without giving out any signing bonuses or commiting to either player for more than 3 years. Its almost as if the GM has reallocated some of the team budget to travel expenses.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(2) B.Boyle, J.Oesterle
2022 TOTAL: $2,500,000               LARGEST CAP HIT: $1,250,000
TOTAL SPENT: $6,250,000            LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $0            

CALGARY FLAMES:
Flames fans had a season of ups and downs as they watched their team finish 9th in the conference.  Just a few points out of a wild card spot you would think the Flames would be eager to stir things up in an attempt to take the next step. Well fans, I hope you werent hoping for those chnges to happen by acquiring free agents. Flames GM Boud has other plans for his franchise as he focused on acquiring players that could fill out the Stockton Heat roster. With the most notable signing being Nicolas Deslauriers its doubtful fans will see many of these players in a Flames jersey anytime soon but perhaps they have a Calder Trophy in their future.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(6) N.Deslauriers, V.Desharnais, S.Element, S.Mattheos, T.Geisser, T.Felhaber
2022 TOTAL:$4,950,000                  LARGEST CAP HIT: $900,000
TOTAL SPENT:$10,150,000             LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$900,000        NTCs: N.Deslauriers

EDMONTON OILERS:
After a first round exit in last years playoffs Oilers GM Oily went about his business in acquiring some veteran players that he felt could take the team to the next level. By brining in experience on defence with Ryan Suter and scoring on the wing with Evgeni Dadonov, the Oilers should be in a good position to improve on both sides of the ice. That said, upon further research, it appears Oily moved Suter soon after his arrival in Edmonton for a second round pick. This move has left some fans scratching their heads when trying to navigate th direcion of the team. Only time will tell what the slippery GM has up his sleeve.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(15) R.Suter, E.Dadonov, B.Dillon, M.Benning, N.Thompson, I.Solovyov, J.Rikkola, M.Martin, A.Sustr, A.Hammond, A.Dell, C.O'Reilly, G.McKegg, A.Clendening, A.Agozzino
2022 TOTAL:$18,825,054               LARGEST CAP HIT:$2,500,000
TOTAL SPENT:$42,600,054            LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$2,200,054        

LOS ANGELES KINGS:
Last season was one to be forotten for Kings fans. Loaded with some of the best players in the game LA found themselves eleven points out of a playoff spot leavin some to question if the organization would make any big changes to the roster. With the preseason coming to a close we see that General Manager Notor has decided to give his players another chance to prove they can come together and get the job done. This season the pressure will be on the core group of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisatl, Adam Fox and Andrei Vasilevskiy to compete for the Cup as Fox is due for a substantial raise this offseason which will inevitably cause some change to the lineup. With that pending future Notor decided to go with no signings worth mentioning. So... ya.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(2) N.Cicek, B.Finkelstein
2022 TOTAL:$2,425,000               LARGEST CAP HIT:$925,000
TOTAL SPENT:$3,350,000            LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$750,000        

SAN JOSE SHARKS:
With an embarassing season in their rearview San Jose looks to rebound and make some serious waves.  Last season the Sharks found themselves at the bottom of the Pacific, but with Igor Shesterkin looking to put himself in the Vezina conversation Sharks fans have alot to look forward to this season. General manager Brrr was able to add some depth in net and up front by way of free agency hoping some veteran leaderhip can steer this ship in the right direction. With "Jumbo" Joe Thornton making his return to San Jose the team now has the experience needed to navigate through the regular season and into the playoffs.
Now its time to see will this new supporting cast can help these Sharks sink or swim.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(8) J.Halak, J.Thornton, S.Gagner, D.Carlile, B.Holtby, C.Ruhwedel, J.Hanley, T.Lewis
2022 TOTAL:$9,530,555                     LARGEST CAP HIT:$1,500,000
TOTAL SPENT:$23,580,555                LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$1,980,555        NTCs: Joe Thornton and Jaroslav Halak

SEATTLE KRAKEN:
It's been a busy offseason for Kraken GM Lord Stanley to say the least. The Seattle Kraken fans finally had some names to add to their jersey after a successful Expansion Draft that brought in Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Hampus Lindholm and Rasmus Ristolainen. Team management didnt stop there as they were quick to fascilitate a number of trades sending much of the originally drafted team, including Nugent Hopkins, Lindholm and Ristolainen, away for a far different looking lineup on and off the ice. That is to say lineups soon formed in the teams merchandise store as disgruntled fans demanded refunds for their RNH jerseys. The team then had to shift its focus to the Entry Draft and of course free agency, but with much of the team constructed through trades the Kraken made a few minor signings (none worth mentioning) as they prepared for their first training camp.

PLAYES SIGNED:(3) J.McKenna, C.Carrick, D.McIlrath
2022 TOTAL:$2,375,000                LARGEST CAP HIT:$825,000
TOTAL SPENT:$3,200,000             LONGEST CONTRACT:2 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$50,000        

VANCOUVER CANUCKS:
It was a quiet offseason for Canucks fans, for a minute anyways. After finishing 10th in the West last season GM Patrick Johnson had decided this was not the team that was going to win a Stanley Cup. With that decision made the Canucks started a complete rebuild trading away franchise player Nate MacKinnon for future assets and orchestrated a deal with the Kraken to take Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher in the Expansion Draft. Much focus was on the Entry Draft this year as Vancouver had 3 selections in the first round (Carter Savoie, Marco Kasper and Filip Mesar) so its easy to see why less attention was on free agency and the handful of signings made by the team. Then again, it could be because nobody worth talking about was on the list of names coming to Vancouver, unless you like Joonas Korpisalo.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(12) J.Korpisalo, G.Sparks, J.Dickinson, T.Spezia, T.Elson, C.Schneider, B.Malone, J.Frodin, B.Robinson, J.McCarron, M.Berry, P.Thompson
2022 TOTAL: $10,800,069            LARGEST CAP HIT: $2,100,000
TOTAL SPENT: $15,900,069        LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $300,000        

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS:
With a lackluster performance last season the Knights found themselves playing for draft position instead of playoff position. While gamblin is what Vegas is known for it became cler that being part of the Entry Draft lottery is not something ownership was happy about. We all know "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". That doesn't seem to be the case for the teams management as former GM Lord Stanley was shown the exit and new GM Fieri was introduced to the RHL world. We have yet to see what the new management group will be able to do to get this team off the ground, but after trading starting goalie Jordan Binnington it's clear they won't be scared to make big changes if needed. With the seventh pick in the draft the Knights selected Cutter Gauthier without question the most exciting acquistion of the offseason for Knights fans. GM Fieri was playing with house money in Free Agency but was only able to bring in Keith Kinkaid along with a handful of minor leaguers for the Silver Knights.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(6) K.Kinkaid, N.DeSimone, J.Taylor, A.Rinaldi, B.Estes, C.Maier
2022 TOTAL: $5,899,999                  LARGEST CAP HIT: $999,999
TOTAL SPENT: $10,879,998             LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $900,000        NTCs: Keith Kinkaid

Written by Islanders Insider: Bot PacKenzie