FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: PART FOUR: METROPOLITAN

FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: METROPOLITAN DIVISION:

Our recap of this offseasons free agent signings is coming to an end. So how better to finish than with the Metropolitan Division. 
It is of course home to the 2022 RHL Champion New Jersey Devils. The Metro last season was a battle for supremacy right to the final games. Teams watched themselves shift up and down the standings and really had to fight for every last point. In the end New Jersey found themselves on top winning the Prince of Wales Trophy for best team in the East on their way to lifting the Cup and having a summer they will never forget. It's been a long offseason for all and these teams have been signing players to prepare for a new year. One to remain on the thrown and the rest to claim it their own. Let's see how they did.

CAROLINA HURRICANES:
Last year the Hurricanes found themselves battling for a playoff spot but came short finishing sixth in the division and eleventh in the East. This result and well over $10 million in cap space had a lot of eyes on GM Smartty as a potential landing spot for some of this years biggest free agents. Which is why so many were baffled to see that the Hurricanes didn't sign a single player, and aside from trading for Samuel Girard look to play the upcoming season with much of the same roster. Some would say this shows a great deal of faith in his players and perhaps they build off the confidence to reach a new level. Others may say trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is a sign of insanity. With 82 games still to go we are about to find out.

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

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS:
It was a bit nerve racking for Columbus management last season. Sure they finished second in the division and conference, but they did so winning only 3 of their last 10 games leaving a sense of concern amongst the team and fans. The good news is the Blue Jackets got back to their winning ways and took down the Philadelphia Flyers in an exciting best of seven. The bad news is the second round would be against the eventual Champions. The Blue Jackets were able to push the series to game six but that was all for the cannons that year. With team management and GM MixtureBill feeling the team had reached its ceiling they decided to make a number of surprising trades this offseason to bring in a bunch of draft picks and start a major overhaul of the roster. Among the players to leave were future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, Zach Hyman, Max Pacioretty and Adam Lowry. Which brings us to Free Agency and the players that would come in. Evan Rodrigues and Casey DeSmith. I'm not sure they will fill the skates of Patrick Kane, but they are young with potential and Bill was able to lock them up for 4 years.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(3) E.Rodgrigues, C.DeSmith, J.Gross
2022 TOTAL:$12,675,000                           LARGEST CAP HIT:$2,250,000
TOTAL SPENT:$25,350,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$8,450,000    

NEW YORK ISLANDERS:
Entering the 2021-22 season with a rookie general manager and an aging roster had many critics expecting a year of problems on and off the ice. That however is not what the Islanders had in store for their fans exceeding expectations and finishing fifth in the East. New General Manager Pacman was clearly impressed stating that he was also prepared for some tough years ahead. Entering the playoffs as underdogs to the Atlantic Champion Buffalo Sabres it was another lowered expectations situation, but the Islanders proved to be too much for the Sabres ending the series in five and punching their ticket to the second round. It was in the second round that the Islanders fairytale season would come to an end as they would eventually lose in seven to the Florida Panthers in a game decided by one goal. Even still the team showed fans and management they still had some productive years ahead leading to Pacman"s decision to stay course and slowly build toward the future while remaining competitive now. At the Entry Draft the Islanders were able to add Brad Lambert in the first round and executed a trade to acquire Chase Stillman with Anaheim's first round pick. Pacman also added Mike Hoffman and Jason Spezza with his usual "pay me to take your trash" ways, and in free agency added Jack Johnson, Jonathon Dahlen and JJ Moser along with some more depth pieces to fill out the Brideport lineup. They haven't signed Benjamin Button yet but perhaps this group of thirty year olds can turn back time and use their experience to their advantage.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(16) J.Johnson, J.Dahlen, R.Grimaldi, TJ.Tynan, C.Delia, P.Bajkov, JJ.Moser, W.Bitten, A.Huska, B.Siebenaler, G.Hofmann, E.Tuulola, D.Jaskin, C.Cassels, R.Elie, K.Appleby
2022 TOTAL:$19,000,000                           LARGEST CAP HIT:$1,700,000
TOTAL SPENT:$33,500,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$4,100,000    

NEW YORK RANGERS:
Only five points out of last years playoffs the Rangers entered this offseason feeling they are on their way to being a top team in the East. With a young core of forwards and promising young goalie Nico Daws in the fold General Manager NewStar entered the Entry Draft wanting to bring some youth to his aging defensive unit. With Kevin Korchinski available at the sixteenth pick the Rangers were more than happy to make their selection and do just as they set out to. The only thing left was free agency and with defensive depth still in mind NewStar signed four depth defencemen, Robert Bortuzzo being the better of the four. They likely wont be the impact players fans were hoping for but with all the movement happening this summer Rangers fans are hoping its enough to get into the playoffs. 

PLAYERS SIGNED:(4) R.Bortuzzo, K.Connauton, M.Kempny, D.Pouliot
2022 TOTAL:$6,160,000                            LARGEST CAP HIT:$2,500,000
TOTAL SPENT:$9,310,000                         LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$510,000    

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS:
Last season Pens fans were in the pits watching their team lose more games than they won and finishing third worst in the Eastern Conference. With a history of watching some of the best to play the game these fans can't be too impressed with the current group their rooting for. General Manager Radapex is well aware of the high expectations in this organization and entered the offseason with that in mind when tackling free agency. After acquiring Ryan Suter, Danton Heinen and Petr Mrazek in trades and Matt Savoie in the draft, Radapex landed some of the biggest names in this summers free agent market. Cam Atkinson and Brayden McNabb both signed with the club for four years and will be welcome additions to the lineup. The team also signed Kris Russell and Jordie Benn to bring in some depth and experience on the blueline, and Arvid Soderblom for a potential goalie of the future. Radapex was a bit loose with the No Trade Clauses awarding them to McNabb, Russell and Jujhar Khaira, but that may have been the price of business to bring players to his failing team. 

PLAYERS SIGNED:(8) C.Atkinson, B.McNabb, J.Benn, K.Russell, J.Khaira, N.Cousins, S.Harrington, A.Soderblom
2022 TOTAL:$30,375,000                          LARGEST CAP HIT:$5,600,000
TOTAL SPENT:$67,350,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$11,600,000             NTC:(3) B.McNabb, K.Russell, J.Khaira

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS:
The city of brotherly love, home to the Broad Street Bullies, Rocky and cheesesteaks. Last year the Flyers finished third in the division, led by superstar forwards Seabstian Aho and Sean Couturier, earning a playoff series against the rival Columbus Blue Jackets. Philly held there own and took the series to seven, unfortunately a 5-3 loss in game seven would be the end of the teams season. Following a successful season the team entered the offseason looking to make the transactions that made sense in improving their roster. After the departure of Ondrej Palat and Jake McCabe, General Manager Banana Duck was able to bring in Josh Manson and Jeff Petry to address the defensive holes, but the big splash came in Free Agency. Along with a bunch of minor leaguers you have never heard of, Banana Duck signed one of the biggest names in free agency, future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Now with the net in good hands and an imroved defensive squad it's time to see if the Flyers can improve on last seasons success.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(12) MA.Fleury, G.Valatti, J.LeGuerrier, C.Coskey, C.Andree, JD.Greenway, M.Barnaby, F.Hora, B.Flynn, J.Bailey, A.Belzile, P.Nagle
2022 TOTAL:$15,400,000                          LARGEST CAP HIT:$5,650,000
TOTAL SPENT:$24,050,000                       LONGEST CONTRACT: 2 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$1,500,000    

WASHINGTON CAPITALS:
Are Capitals fans prepareabled for a big time rebuild or do we call last season a wash? Alex Lyon was in net for the bulk of the teams starts last year and in doing so the team allowed the leagues most goals against (335) on route to a last place finish in the Eastern Conference. In the offseason General Manager Karp was business as usual trading away Martin Necas and Pierre Luc Dubois to bring in draft picks giving them three selections in the first round of the summers Entry Draft. With those three picks Karp selected Logan Cooley, David Jiricek and Ivan Miroshnichenko, all expected to be big impact players for the Capitals in the future. In free agency the GM was able to make a number of depth and minor league additions, including former Capitals Richard Panik and Devante Smith-Pelley, but I doubt any will be able to contribute at the RHL level. So to answer my earlier question, Alex Lyon is still the starting goalie and it looks like a long road ahead for Caps fans.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(12) M.Mamin, M.Vecchione, B.Scanlin, M.Karow, A.Poganski, P.Dube, D.Smith-Pelley, A.Golyshev, J.Lucchini, R.Panik, M.Mannek, C.Bardreau
2022 TOTAL:$10,225,015                           LARGEST CAP HIT:$1,000,000
TOTAL SPENT:$19,950,015                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 3 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$250,015    

NEW JERSEY DEVILS "2022 RHL STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS":
Where do we start when it comes to the New Jersey Devils' 2021/22 season. Winners of the Metropolitan Division, Winners of the Prince of Wales Trophy for Eastern Conference Champions, and last but not least, Winners of what we're all playing for, the Stanley Cup. This will be the last time we congratulate General Manager MatsLP and the New Jersey Devils on their recent accomplishments as that was months ago and we are now looking at what they will do in their pursuit of the repeat. The Devils lost big man Brent Burns and one of their top playoff scorers Alexander Radulov in trades to acquire draft picks and cap space, so many were watching to see what MatsLP was going to do in Free Agency. With limited cap space the GM would have to be creative in bringing in players that could fit his cap structure and play important roles on the team. He seems to have done a decent job replacing big man Burns with even bigger man Zdeno Chara. Even though "Big Z" is running on fumes his playoff experience and penalty killing abilites will be a welcome addition. The Devils also signed a number of depth pieces (Garnet Hathaway, Andrew Ladd, Martin Jones) and players that can play with the Comets in Utica.

PLAYERS SIGNED:(14) Z.Chara, G.Hathaway, L.Johansen, M.Jones, J.Kawaguchi, S.Koekkoek, A.Ladd, L.Eriksson, CJ.Suess, J.Leivo, J.Cates, D.Miromanov, G.Mendel, M.Hellickson
2022 TOTAL:$21,601,000                           LARGEST CAP HIT:$1,400,000
TOTAL SPENT:$35,176,000                        LONGEST CONTRACT: 4 years
SIGNING BONUSES:$7,976,000    

Written By Islanders Insider Bot PacKenzie

MixtureBill

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FREE AGENCY REVIEW 2022: PART FOUR: METROPOLITAN
Metropolitan Free Agency Recap 2022

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Parcels My bad, error fixed

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