FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: PART TWO: CENTRAL

FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: CENTRAL DIVISION:

With the offseason coming to a close, coaches have begun looking at lineup possibilites and players are preparing for training camp. The players that have contracts that is.  Managers and scouts have been diligently trying to persuade the available players that they believe can improve their organzations, while agents have been busy on the phones accumulating as much money as they can for their clients (and themselves). Some free agents hit home runs this offseason, others were happy enough to find themselves on contending teams, and some were just happy to still have a job. Lets take a look at who went where and how each GM decided to spend their teams money in the Central Division.

ARIZONA COYOTES:
Believe it or not it has only been a few months since the New Jersey Devils took their "Jersey" jerseys into Glendale's Gila River Arena and shutout the home team Coyotes to win the Stanley Cup. I strongly doubt Arizona fans wanted the memory of the Devils hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup in what would be the final game at the Gila, however this is not the first time the Hockey Gods have been unkind to the Coyotes, so the fans are likely used to it. On the bright side they were able to sellout the arena with 18,000 fans, and that's something that won't happen for years to come. With the next 3 seasons to be played at the Mullet Arena its no surprise GM YouKnowWho was unable to convince anyone to want to play for the Coyotes this season resulting in the easiest math possible for this article.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(*no signings)
2022 TOTAL: $0                                 LARGEST CAP HIT: $0
TOTAL SPENT: $0                              LONGEST CONTRACT: 0 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $0        

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS:
The Blackhawks were the definition of a dumpster fire last season. With issues on and off the ice, the team was able to win a remarkable 12 games all season. At least the consolation prize for being the leagues worst team was Shane Wright. Wright has all the tools to be a franchise player someday soon and with 5 picks in the first three rounds next draft perhaps the future won't be as grim for the Blackhawks. As for now the team focuses on winning more than a dozen games, but not enough to be out of the Connor Bedard conversation. General Manager NickyG will have plenty of work in his future as he tries to rebuild a team and a culture in Chicago. With that in mind he was able to bring in veteran free agent Corey Perry, a player that has won at every level of the game and someone that can bring a winning attitude into the locker room. The Peterborough native will be a welcome addition for the Blackhawks youngsters looking to be the future of the franchise.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) C.Perry, J.Danforth, C.Zech
2022 TOTAL: $7,250,002                        LARGEST CAP HIT: $4,000,000
TOTAL SPENT: $12,450,002                  LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $1,300,002        

COLORADO AVALANCHE:
There was alot to like from the Avalanche last season. A strong defensive game resulted in a Conference low in goals against and a third place finish in the Central Division. The defence was good but they ran out of gas in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as they were downed by division rival Winnipeg while allowing 20 oals in just five games. General Manager Blix was able to add to the teams strong defensive game this offseason with the addition of free agent Adam Larsson. Another defenceman used to logging a lot of minutes, Larsson will provide a steady presence on the blueline and joins the likes of Darnell Nurse, Torey Krug and TJ Brodie as one of the leagues strongest top four.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) A.Larsson, M.McLaughlin, A.Poturalski
2022 TOTAL: $13,775,000                           LARGEST CAP HIT: $3,500,000
TOTAL SPENT: $26,900,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $8,500,000        

DALLAS STARS:
45 wins last season was just enough for the Stars to find space in the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West. It was an exciting end to the year with a nail biting game seven finish, losing by only one goal to their division rival Jets. The Stars may have been one goal from the second round and General Manager ODeezy made it clear he believes his team is trending in the right direction. After losing Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Blake Coleman in the Expansion Draft, ODeezy was left with holes up front this offseasaon and was able to address such by bringing in free agent forwards Darren Helm, Paul Byron and Ross Johnston. I wouldnt expect any to play up alongside Kaprizov and Kucherov but could provide the depth needed to get them to a 20 man roster.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) D.Helm, P.Byron, R.Johnston
2022 TOTAL: $3,250,043                            LARGEST CAP HIT: $750,000
TOTAL SPENT: $6,250,043                         LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $1,000,043         

MINNESOTA WILD:
The Wild finished the 2021-22 regular season fifth in the division earning thema wild card spot in the playoffs.  The Wild were a Wild Card... thats wild no? Anyways, the Wild weren't able to capitalize on their playoff opportunity as they lost in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks, a team created by Disney and managed by VideoJ. It's no secret Sidney Crosby is coming to the end of his career and would like to add as many Cups to his resume before that happens. This is likely what General Manager Souche was thinking when he made the blockbuster trade of the offseason acquiring the goal scoring phenom Austin Matthews. This left little work to be done during free agency for the Wild, however they did add four players to help their farm team in Iowa.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(4) B.Constantinou, F.Claesson, K.Poulin, J.Tinordi
2022 TOTAL: $3,000,000                          LARGEST CAP HIT: $750,000
TOTAL SPENT: $5,250,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $0        

NASHVILLE PREDATORS:
It was a successful season for General Manager Robby and the Predators... wasn't it? They did finish second in the division, tied for second in the Western Conference, however some may say it was there league leading 19 overtime LOSSES that got them there. How would that translate to playoff hockey? Well ladies and gentlemen, an overtime loss in the playoffs is a loss, and with that the Predators were ousted in the first round. In an effort to win now the team traded its top draft picks for Bo Horvat, a player the GM has had his eye on for some time. This didn't leave much room for acquiring players in free agency, but Robby did acquire Yushiroh Hirano and two others adding to the depth and diversity of the Milwaukee Admirals.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) Y.Hirano, T.Nielson, B.Lashoff
2022 TOTAL: $3,200,000                           LARGEST CAP HIT: $925,000
TOTAL SPENT: $5,050,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $600,000        

ST. LOUIS BLUES:
After finding themselves outside of the playoffs, Blues General Manager Rsyzygy went out and acquired ironman goal scorer Phil "The Thrill" Kessel. He wasn't finished there drafting three times in the first round of the Entry Draft selecting Denton Mateychuk, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Frank Nazar. Finally, the team management shifted it's focus to free agency and Rsyzygy was able to spend where he saw fit, acquiring veteran winger Tanner Pearson and netminder Mike Smith along with a good number of depth players that should be capable of being called up if such a situation should occur.  

PLAYERS SIGNED:(10) T.Pearson, M.Smith, P.Nemeth, S.Ryfors, Z.Sanford, V.Puustinen, B.Gates, A.Wingerli, S.Carrick, W.Simmonds
2022 TOTAL: $23,225,000                          LARGEST CAP HIT: $3,250,000
TOTAL SPENT: $40,450,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $10,375,000    

WINNIPEG JETS:
Jets fans may still be healing from the heart break of last years playoffs. The President's Trophy Winners were one goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately they weren't able to et that goal as they lost 2-1 in game seven at home to the almost homeless Arizona Coyotes. This devastating end to the season caused ownership to open up its wallet and have General Manager Rbk go out and acquire players that could be difference makers. Instead Rbk acquired Erik Johnson, James Neal and Tyler Bozak. That said, he was able to land one of the more sought after forwards in Reilly Smith and with that Jets fans are looking forward to an exciting 2022 season.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(16) R.Smith, E.Johnson, L.Glendenin, S.Mayfield, T.Greiss, B.Connolly, C.Jaros, N.Beaulieu, X.Ouellet, J.Beagle, J.Neal, J.Moore, T.Bozak, B.Richardson, C.Scevior, C.Rowney
2022 TOTAL: $35,415,000                        LARGEST CAP HIT: $3,750,000
TOTAL SPENT: $70,165,000                     LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES: $15,415,000           NTC: Thomas Greiss

Written By: Islanders Insider Bot PacKenzie