NHL: Canadian teams have kept busy this off-season after playoff shutout
From top draft picks to new coaches to big-time free agent signings, Canadian teams have been among the busiest in the NHL this off-season following the first spring without playoff hockey in Canada in 46 years. CALGARY FLAMES Biggest: Traded for Brian Elliott.
The Flames haven’t stopped moving this off-season, pulling off significant changes in key areas.
Glen Gulutzan was hired to replace Bob Hartley, the 2014-15 Jack Adams Trophy winner, as Calgary’s head coach.
Calgary also took serious steps toward addressing a goaltending situation that was woeful last season. The club traded for new No. 1 Brian Elliott and then signed Chad Johnson to be his backup on July 1. Elliott boasts the second-best save percentage in the league (.925) over the past five seasons, a substantial upgrade. EDMONTON OILERS Biggest: Traded Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson.
Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli made no secret of his intention to find help on defence following a 10th straight season without playoff hockey. Chiarelli made that happen by sending former No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall to New Jersey for 23-year-old Adam Larsson.
Edmonton also plunged deep into the free agent market and came up with winger Milan Lucic on a sevenyear deal worth $42 million (U.S.). Lucic was arguably the top available free agent on July 1 and adds a rough, if pricey, veteran edge up front.
Edmonton’s high-potential forward group has also gotten deeper. Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi was plucked with the fourth-overall pick and Drake Caggiula, a Pickering Ont., native who led the University of North Dakota to a Frozen Four title, was signed to a two-year deal. MONTREAL CANADIENS Biggest Move: Traded P.K. Subban for Shea Weber.
Montreal won’t soon forget this off-season. On the same day that Edmonton dealt Hall, Montreal sent away 27-year-old defenceman and former Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban, flipping him to Nashville for 30-year-old Shea Weber. Rumours of discontent had bubbled around Subban and the Canadiens for some time.
Bergevin continued his bold summer by signing 30-year-old winger Alex Radulov for one season. Radulov left the NHL in 2012 after a messy tenure in Nashville, starring in the KHL for four seasons before joining the Habs. The Radulov signing came on the heels of a trade for Andrew Shaw, the feisty former Chicago Blackhawk. OTTAWA SENATORS Biggest Move: Guy Boucher as head coach.
The quietest of the seven Canadian teams this off-season, the Senators made their biggest splash May 8 when they hired Boucher to replace Dave Cameron behind the bench. Boucher, who last ran an NHL bench with Tampa in 2013, is the fifth Senators coach since 2008, hoping to turn around a squad that gave up a league-leading 32.8 shots per game last season. VANCOUVER CANUCKS Biggest Move: Signed Loui Eriksson to six-year deal.
Canucks GM Jim Benning let it be known his club was chasing the most attractive summer assets — Stamkos and Subban — a move for which his club was penalized $50,000 for tampering. Benning managed to strike on July 1, however, inking Swedish winger Loui Eriksson to a six-year deal worth $36 million.
The club did sign Jacob Markstrom, the (hopeful) long-term solution in goal, to a three-year deal which takes effect in 2017, also selecting promising Finnish defenceman Olli Juolevi with the fifth-overall pick at the draft. WINNIPEG JETS Biggest Move: Drafted Patrik Laine with No. 2 overall pick.
The Jets were the surprise winner at the draft lottery, leaping past four teams for the right to pick second and select Finnish highlight-maker Patrik Laine. Laine joins one of the league’s most impressive groups of young talent, which includes 23-yearold Mark Scheifele, 20-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor, who led the NCAA with 71 points as a University of Michigan freshman.
Beyond the draft, the Jets were also busy locking up key members of their current core while also adding a piece from the outside. Scheifele, a restricted free agent who had a careerhigh 29 goals and 61 points last season, was inked for eight years and $49 million. Mathieu Perreault, who wasn’t due to be a free agent until next summer, was signed for four years. Goaltender Michael Hutchinson re-upped for this year and next.