NHL Free Agency: Winners and Losers From the Opening Weekend

The first weekend of the 2023 NHL free agency is complete. Adam Proteau picks three teams that impressed and three that did the opposite at an early glance.

The first weekend of the NHL’s 2023 free agency season came and went, and, as usual, there was a frenzy of signings that took place as teams scrambled to spend their salary cap space. 

It’s never a good idea to pronounce winners and losers this early into free agency, given that the true results don’t register until well into the subsequent regular season. But we can still have some fun picking the teams that came away from the weekend looking improved and those that appear to have taken a step back. 

Here is one writer’s opinion on the weekend’s free agency winners and losers.

The Canes were a solid-enough team heading into free agency, but the management of their cap space gave them every opportunity to get better and deeper – and that’s exactly what they did. 

First, Carolina GM Don Waddell signed the best available defenseman on the market when he landed veteran Dmitry Orlov on a two-year, $15.5-million contract (all financial numbers courtesy of PuckPedia). Then, the Hurricanes added grit and scoring when they signed former Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting to a three-year, $13.5-million deal. And Waddell kept hold of many of his UFAs, retaining goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta on a combined cap hit of $4.9 million, a number that many teams spend on just one netminder.

Carolina now has the league’s best defense corps – and that’s with or without potential trade block D-man Brett Pesce – and they’ve still got $4.17 million in cap space to use during the season. That’s about as good as it gets for teams in the off-season.

They had very little in cap space heading into free agency day, but the Rangers did use their space to make smart, short-term, low-money investments into five of 10 UFAs they signed on the weekend. 

First, they signed longtime Jets winger Blake Wheeler to a one-year, $800,000 contract. They followed that up with the signing of depth forward Nick Bonino for the same term and cost as Wheeler, and they added fourth-liner Tyler Pitlick on a one-year, $787,500 contract, as well as veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson for one year and $825,000. Finally, they locked up three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick (for one year and $825,000) to serve as Igor Shesterkin’s backup in net.

All in all, Rangers GM Chris Drury used approximately $4 million on the five UFAs, and even if you don’t agree with all of his signings Saturday, you have to give him credit for securing veteran talent without breaking the bank of mortgaging the future. The top part of the Metropolitan Division will be frightening this coming season, and the Blueshirts’ moves on free agency day underscored the fact they’re a Metro team to reckon with.

After their Western Conference final appearance this past season, the Stars didn’t need to reinvent the wheel this summer. As such, Dallas GM Jim Nill made only a few moves, but they were very good moves that make the Stars even deeper than they were – and they already were quite deep. 

Nill found enough cap space to sign former Predators winger Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3-million contract, then added depth in forward Sam Steel, who was one of THN.com’s RFAs to watch who didn't receive qualifying offers. Both of those players should help Dallas produce more offense and provide support to Dallas’ well-balanced core. 

Nill won this year’s GM of the year award and for good reason. Time after time, he goes out and adds to the Stars’ attack while trading away few assets in return. Saturday’s production by him is no different.

Don’t get us wrong; we’re not suggesting the Predators didn’t add talent to their lineup Saturday. They did, but that’s the problem. 

Once again, it looks like the Preds have enough skill on the roster to challenge for a playoff spot, but nobody is mistaking them for a legitimate Cup contender, and it’s also possible they’ll miss out on the post-season altogether. In other words, a franchise that, with a new GM incoming in Barry Trotz, squandered another opportunity to completely tear down the roster and build the most proven way, through drafting and development.

After the 2023-24 season, the Predators are projected to have 11 UFAs or RFAs. Struggling through this season would’ve been worth it to land a true cornerstone talent, but that now is a bridge too far for Nashville. You can be a winner in the short term and a loser in the long term, and that’s what was true of the Preds at the end of the day Saturday.

The Wings also added talent on the weekend, signing four forwards, two defensemen, and two goaltenders to one-way contracts. But something felt off about many of the deals, mostly because they seemed to be given to players who must play better to justify their new contracts. 

At center, J.T. Compher is now earning $5.1 million through 2027-28, and he’s being paid like a second-liner when in equal likelihood, he’s a third-liner. Winger Christian Fischer got a $1.25-million contract for one year on Sunday, but he needs to rediscover his 33-point rookie season to prove he deserves a longer term and bigger salary next year. 

On defense, Justin Holl somehow got $3.4 million for the next three seasons, and anyone who watched Leafs hockey regularly this past season understands why eyebrows raised when Yzerman gave him that deal. In goal, Ville Husso’s new understudy is 35-year-old journeyman James Reimer, and they brought in Alex Lyon on a two-year, one-way deal as well. 

In a season where five teams from the highly competitive Metropolitan may limit the Atlantic Division to just three playoff sports, the Wings’ moves on the weekend didn’t feel like the final pieces of the championship puzzle. Not even close. Detroit will need all the stars to line up just right to secure a post-season berth, and you know how that usually ends. Not well.

The Bruins had no choice but to let go of UFAs, including Nick Foligno, Orlov, Garnet Hathaway and Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as forward Taylor Hall via trade, just to have enough cap space to fill out their roster. 

Boston remains a good bet to make the playoffs in '23-24, but they did not make themselves younger and faster with the UFA signings of James van Riemsdyk, Milan Lucic and Patrick Brown at forward.

The Bruins’ main water carriers will have to carry even more water if Boston is to again repeat as Presidents’ Trophy winners and go on a much deeper playoff run this time around. The challenges they face are inevitably faced by all teams under the cap, and the B's need more than just the return of cornerstone forwards Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to keep them at the level they played at last season. Saturday’s signings really didn’t change that situation at all.