The summer season is in full swing, and here's a look at a notable acquisition by each team since June.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Anaheim Ducks
With Ryan Kesler injured and antagonizer Corey Perry moved on, the Ducks need someone to stir the pot. Winger Nicolas Deslauriers was acquired from Montreal for a fourth-round pick. Among hits leaders, he ranks ninth the past five seasons combined at 3.16 per game.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes haven’t had a reliable sharpshooter since the days of Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick in the late 1990s. Phil Kessel is of that ilk, with six seasons of 30-plus goals. There’s a good chance he eclipses the 19 goals leader Brad Richardson had in 2018-19 by Christmas.
Calgary Flames
Cam Talbot will be the 11th goalie in six seasons of Brad Treliving’s tenure as GM. Talbot, 32, is a reclamation project who had a career year to finish fourth in Vezina voting in 2016-17. His one-year deal for $2.75 million falls into the Robin Lehner’s prove-it category from a year ago.
Chicago Blackhawks
It may take a while for Calvin de Haan to make his Hawks debut due to off-season shoulder surgery, but once he returns, Chicago will have a veteran defensive specialist to help the back end. Acquired from Carolina, de Haan has struggled in recent years, mainly due to injury.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche needed to add depth scoring and a second-line pivot. Nazem Kadri checks both boxes. He’s a good fit behind Nathan MacKinnon. Plugged back into a second-line role with the chains off, Kadri has 30-goal, 60-point potential in Colorado’s ever-improving attack.
Dallas Stars
Andrej Sekera’s signing flew under the radar the day Dallas signed two intriguing free-agent forwards, but the veteran defenseman brings stability to the third pairing and can move up the lineup in a pinch. He’s been limited to 60 games the past two seasons due to injury.
Edmonton Oilers
The versatility of Markus Granlund made him an interesting signing. He plays all three forward positions – although he’s just 40.8 percent in 1,678 career NHL faceoffs – and can play up and down the lineup, with the skill to play in the top six or the speed to spice up the bottom six.
Los Angeles Kings
Joakim Ryan moves down the California coast after four seasons in the San Jose system (106 NHL games, 140 AHL games). The Cornell grad is a no-nonsense, simple-play defender who is best suited for the 6-7 role on the Kings blueline. Ryan, 26, averaged just 12:46 TOI in 2018-19.
Minnesota Wild
Measured by per-game production, Mats Zuccarello’s 12-goal, 40-point season in 48 games was his best offensive campaign. He’s going to help what was a toothless Minnesota attack, but he’ll also be 32 in September. That doesn’t help an aging Wild squad get younger.
Nashville Predators
Steve Santini is no P.K. Subban, but the rearguard is a cost-effective third-pair defender who is nothing if not reliable. At Boston College, Santini was Hockey East’s best defensive defenseman in 2015-16. He enters the rotation alongside Dan Hamhuis, Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin.
San Jose Sharks
With no real “new guy” applicants, let’s look at San Jose’s most active guy. That is GM Doug Wilson. He made six trades on Day 2 of the draft, mostly dealing picks to jockey around selection spots. He also made seven player signings – his own RFAs, prospects or AHLers – July 1-2.
St. Louis Blues
It feels like a lifetime ago, but defenseman Derrick Pouliot was once considered one of the game’s brightest prospects. Now, he’s an interesting rebound candidate. He’s going to have to fight for his ice time, but maybe St. Louis can be where he finally puts it all together at 25.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have a blueline with 50 percent turnover – Tyler Myers, Jordie Benn, Quinn Hughes and Oscar Fantenberg are new regulars. But it’s winger J.T. Miller who looks to be the biggest needle-mover. He’ll have a top-six job next to Elias Pettersson or Bo Horvat.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights are so tight against the salary cap, they’re sure to have minimum-wage rookies in the No. 6 and/or 7 spot on the blueline. Top ‘D’ prospect Nic Hague, 20, has the inside track, but Dylan Coghlan and Zach Whitecloud will battle hard in training camp.
Winnipeg Jets
Acquired from the New York Rangers in the Jacob Trouba trade, the pressure is on D-man Neal Pionk to prove the Jets weren’t taken to the cleaners in the swap. He has the offensive tools to make an impact on the power play. It’s his defensive acumen that’s in question.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston Bruins
The cap-crunched Bruins couldn’t hunt for big-game UFAs, settling on power forward Brett Ritchie. He hasn’t lived up to his 16-goal breakout in 2016-17 with Dallas, but he’s just 26 and averages more than two hits per game. He replaces Noel Acciari on the physical fourth line.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres fortified the right side of their blueline acquiring Colin Miller from Vegas. He played sheltered minutes there, ranking high in offensive zone starts, but he crushed his easy assignments, posting elite possession stats. He’ll aid Buffalo’s power play, which ranked 16th.
Carolina Hurricanes
Coming over from Vegas, the speedy Erik Haula missed much of this past season due to a knee injury, but his stint with the Golden Knights proved he can be an impactful scorer. Haula flirted with 30 goals in 2017-18 and was only dealt because Vegas was in a cap crunch.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus offense took a hit July 1, but GM Jarmo Kekalainen landed one replacement in Gustav Nyquist, formerly of San Jose. Smart, skilled and versatile, Nyquist is a crafty forward, and his finesse game will be a nice contrast to some of the Jackets’ burly attackers.
Detroit Red Wings
Valtteri Filppula, 35, isn’t a “sexy” signing for new Wings GM Steve Yzerman, but Filppula brings Cup-winning experience, kills penalties, can work a second power-play unit and handles faceoffs. He also prevents prospects Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno from being rushed to the NHL.
Florida Panthers
Brett Connolly was a bargain with an unexpected 22 goals for Washington at $1.5 million. Now a $3.5-million man for the next four years in Florida, he’s expected to score that much. He was a productive third-liner, ranking among the NHL’s top forwards in points per 60 minutes.
Montreal Canadiens
Keith Kinkaid won’t be more than a backup goalie to lighten Carey Price’s workload, but Kinkaid also makes for a fine cheerleader in a hockey-mad market. He’s known for sending out funny, emoji-riddled tweets and memes to celebrate victories. He will become a fan favorite.
New Jersey Devils
He’s not the force he once was, but power forward Wayne Simmonds can still contribute. Coming in on a one-year, $5-million deal, Simmonds is a net-front presence on the power play while adding toughness to a lineup that includes young stars Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.
New York Islanders
It was surprising when Robin Lehner was allowed to walk, but the Islanders filled the vacancy by grabbing Colorado UFA Semyon Varlamov. The price was high – a four-year deal for a 31-year-old who has battled injuries – but Varlamov behind that defense should be a good fit.
New York Rangers
New toys abound in New York, and one of the youngest gems is Vitali Kravtsov, who spent most of the past two seasons in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Big, smart and skilled, he can play center, but the wing is a good place to start in his first season on North American ice.
Ottawa Senators
Senators GM Pierre Dorion named Connor Brown the “most excited” of the three players Ottawa got in its trade with Toronto. Brown’s ice time went from 16:12 to 15:01 to 13:48 over three seasons, and his goals slipped from 20 to 14 to eight. He’ll receive a much bigger role now.
Philadelphia Flyers
Trading for the rights to pending UFA Kevin Hayes paid off for the Flyers – and Hayes. The 27-year-old nabbed a seven-year contract worth $50 million, which is a lot for a second-line center. But his size, reach and offense made him attractive to a Flyers team in need of depth.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Getting full value for Phil Kessel was going to be tough when teams knew the sniper was on the outs with the Pens, but Alex Galchenyuk at least offers the potential to make up some of that offense. The 25-year-old has one 30-goal NHL season under his belt and brings versatility.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Curtis McElhinney is 36 but has established himself as a premier backup. In the equivalent of a starter’s workload the past three seasons, he’s 39-24-5 with a 2.51 GAA, .919 SP and six shutouts in 63 starts. Yet Tampa had a fine backup in Louis Domingue. He’s trade bait now.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs love filling out their fourth line with cheap vets. Jason Spezza is the new Tyler Ennis. Spezza, 36, averaged $7 million-plus the past 11 seasons, so it didn’t sting to accept a league-minimum $700,000 deal. He brings faceoff prowess, some offense and a sunny disposition.
Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik retired, but the Caps replaced his physicality on the blueline when they traded Matt Niskanen to Philadelphia for Radko Gudas. The rambunctious veteran can sometimes go over the line with his hits, leading to suspensions, but he also keeps opponents on their toes.