FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: PART THREE: ATLANTIC

FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: ATLANTIC DIVISION:

Now that we've covered the free agency signings in the West, it's time to take a look at who signed where in the East. Some of these players were highly sought after by teams throughout the leauge, others were picked last minute to be healthy scratches in the minors just happy to be getting paid. Last seasaon the Atlantic Division was a race to the finish as only four points separated the four teams to make the playoffs. The changes made this offseason could make all the difference in this years battle for supremacy. These General Managers have been on their cell phones for months trying to negotiate with agents and communicate with their scouting department to acquire who they feel will help their organization. Some players struck gold, others struck out, but at least everyone on this list will be employed for the next year. So let's see who's going to pay them.

BOSTON BRUINS:
You could say it was a successful regular season for General Manager Skuci and his Bruins. Claude Giroux surpassed 100 points with 101 and John Gibson was a his usual self providing reliable goaltending on way to a third place finish in the division. It was enough to earn themselves a spot in the playoffs and at least four more games. And four games it was as the Florida Panthers had no problem sweeping them off to the golf course. This finish may have been the reason Skuci made the move to bring in big defenceman Seth Jones, a player that can eat up a lot of minutes and play a playoff style of hockey. After such a big trade fans were excited to see who the GM would be targetting in free agency. Nobody apparently. That or nobody wants to be a Bruin...

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

BUFFALO SABRES:
Last season Sabres fans got to experience a kind of success that is rarely seen in Buffalo resulting in table shortages city wide. Who can blame them as they got to watch team superstar Mathew Barzal reach 108 points, and their beloved Sabres claim first place in the division. Unfortunately the party was soon coming to an end as they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, only winning one game against the state rival Islanders. It could've been worse, they did at least win one game (Bruins fans). Regular season success followed by such a poor performance in the playoffs left General Manager Stuster with some big decisions to make this offseason. Big decisions were needed and bigger decisions were made. Stuster went all in this offseason trading for Aaron Ekblad and Ryan Suzuki in two of the biggest deals of the summer, followed by locking up defenceman Nate Schmidt for four years in free agency. With those moves along with a few minor league signings Buffalo looks to be in a good position to defend their Atlantic title.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(4) N.Schmidt, L.Flodell, T.Cross, L.Witkowski
2022 TOTAL:$6,450,000                            LARGEST CAP HIT:$4,200,000
TOTAL SPENT:$19,050,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$0

DETROIT RED WINGS:
It wasn't the best season Red Wings fans have witnessed in recent memory. To be honest last season, much like the local economy, Rock City almost hit rock bottom. Finishing second last in the division was enough to have Motor City fans ready to drive the team out of town. With little time to spare General Manager MacMang was diligent this offseason, making trades to move up in the Entry Draft and signing free agents that were willing to live in Detroit. Most free agents with options chose one of those other options, but some like Colin Blackwell decided Detroit was the best place to further their careers.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(6) C.Blackwell, C.Pickard, JF.Berube, C.Hebig, M.Letunov, R.Chartier
2022 TOTAL:$7,150,000                             LARGEST CAP HIT:$2,200,000
TOTAL SPENT:$15,700,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$650,000

FLORIDA PANTHERS:
The sunshine state showed they have more than just oranges, senior citizens and drug cartels. They're also home to the Panthers who were just four wins away from playin in the Stanley Cup Finals. For those that weren't payin attention, the Florida Panthers and their dominating defence led by Cale Makar and Victor Hedman finished second in the Atlantic last season, and proved to be one of the leagues top teams in the playoffs, sweeping the Bruins in round one and eliminating the Islanders in the conference semi finals. It wasn't until the Conference Finals against the Devils when the Panthers ran out of gas and were victim of a sweep themselves. Getting so close to the Stanley Cup had General Manager PKayne going into the offseason in good shape. A few good additions in free agency and his team should be poised to take the next step. So the GM was quick to hit the phones offering a spot on a team ready to win, in a state with no taxes and where covid doesnt exist. A pitch that landed free agents Jamie Oleksiak along with Jani Hakanpaa, Alex Chiasson and Michael Houser. Oh and did I mention they traded for Nathan MacKinnon? That might help too.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(4) J.Oleksiak, J.Hakanpaa, A.Chiasson, M.Houser
2022 TOTAL:$13,800,000                         LARGEST CAP HIT:$2,750,000
TOTAL SPENT:$26,350,000                     LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$8,200,000
    

MONTREAL CANADIENS:
I was going to write this article en francais for all the Habs fans out there, but after 52 losses last season they may not have fans to care anymore. Le bleu blanc et rouge was in a world of grey clouds last season and nothing GM Doddridge was doing seemed to break the funk. Injuries were an issue throughout the season and goalie tandem Micheal Houser and JF Berube were not performing as the team had hoped. This offseason Doddridge made the tough decision of letting go of both netminders and acquired Jordan Binnington and Stuart Skinner by way of trade. With much still to improve on, the team targetted key players in free agency resulting in the additions of veteran centre Paul Stastny and others including a pair of familiar faces, Joel Armia and Brett Kulak making their return to Montreal.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(12) P.Stastny, B.Kulak, T.Nosek, J.Armia, A.Bitetto, B.Baddock, M.Tennyson, A.Girduckis, K.Rau, D.Butt, D.Blujus, B.Beaudoin
2022 TOTAL:$23,500,000                        LARGEST CAP HIT:$6,000,000
TOTAL SPENT:$43,250,000                     LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$4,000,000
        

OTTAWA SENATORS:
What will we remember most of the Senators last season? It could be the unforgiving regular season falling just 8 points short of a playoff appearance. It could be the number of trades made by General Manager Noddan, trading players away for money to keep this financially unstable ship afloat. Then again, it may be the unexpected death to team owner Yu-Gene Nelmyck and the aftermath that took place after. It's still unclear what exactly took place, but sources tell me Noddan made an offer to purchase the team but the deal fell through due to the league not accepting IOUs. We havent confirmed the accuracy of this report but one thing we are certain of is Noddan is still the General Manager of the team and has been working all summer improving the Senators any way possible. In Free Agency the GM bruoght in forward Erik Haula and goaltender Mikko Koskinen along with a group of young players that should improve the Belleville farm squad.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(9) E.Haula, M.Koskinen, V.Brattstrom, P.Brown, J.Megna, J.Greaves, V.Berglund, J.Huntington, W.Duehr
2022 TOTAL:$17,460,000                         LARGEST CAP HIT:$3,000,000
TOTAL SPENT:$30,135,000                      LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$4,985,000              NTC: M.Koskinen, V.Brattstrom

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
By the end of last season Tampa fans were left asking the question "can lightning strike once?". Lets give them some credit I guess. They did find a way to claim 8th place in the Conference clinching the final wild card spot in the playoffs. But making the playoffs and winning in them are two different things and unfortunately the Lightning would be victim to the eventual Cup Champions. With the playoffs in the rearview General Manager JP Perron took to the offseason prepared to improve his teams chances this season to win that top draft pick. By trading out Phil "The Thrill" Kessel, Alex Tuch and Kailer Yamamoto the GM was able to bring in some young pieces along with another first round pick in the upcoming Entry Draft. The only thing left was to address his teams needs throuh free agency which apparently bringing in veteran defencemen Cody Franson, Paul LaDue and goalie Cameron Johnson. Now it's time to see if JP Perron has made the right moves to better the Lightnings future.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) C.Johnson, P.LaDue, C.Franson
2022 TOTAL:$2,250,000                             LARGEST CAP HIT:$750,000
TOTAL SPENT:$3,000,000                          LONGEST CONTRACT:2 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$0        

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS:
In the heart of the hockey world success has not been an easy thing to come by. The city has had parade routes planned for as long as I can remember. The ticket prices are enough to make anyone go broke, and yet, the fans fill those seats every night hoping "this is the year". 55 years since the last parade the Maple Leafs General Manager Led Tasso well aware this fan base deserves better and is tasked with the job of assembling the group that can do so. Last year Toronto finished the regular season ten points short of a playoff spot and with veterans Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty on the back nine of their careers, this offseason Tasso made trades to bring in some young blood and draft picks to ensure a healthy transition into the next generation of Leafs. Now with the young goalie trio of Alex Nedeljkovic, Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood patrolling the crease and the addition of Josh Norris not to mention a handful of promising prospects Toronto has the potential to improve on last season for years to come. The additions made in free agency may not grab the attention of most, but by adding players like Calvin DeHaan, Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Sam Lafferty the Leafs now have the depth needed to compete for 82 games and hopefully more.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(15) C.DeHaan, T.VanRiemsdyk, S.Lafferty, R.Nash, T.Grosenick, G.Dumont, D.Caggiula, S.Griffith, B.Trivigno, B.McMann, B.Tardif, T.Napier, Y.Kaldis, P.Giles, T.Ward
2022 TOTAL:$18,230,000                          LARGEST CAP HIT:$1,687,500
TOTAL SPENT:$41,500,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT:4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$2,525,000               NTC: S.Lafferty

Written By Islanders Insider Bot PacKenzie