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Brad Treliving heard the same message over and over again from the agents he spoke with as the NHL’s free-agent market opened.
“The salary cap is going up,” the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager said. “They reminded me the salary cap was going up.”
For the first time in several years, the salary cap increased significantly, to $88 million per team, thanks to record revenue that led to a historic spending day. The biggest winners this year were the players who hit the market, with teams committing more than $1 billion in salaries.
Jake Guentzel got the most money of any team mover: $63 million over seven years from Tampa Bay, which acquired his rights from Carolina to get a head start on signing a top target. But the Lightning can’t be considered a real winner after letting longtime captain Steven Stamkos walk away to sign a $32 million deal with Nashville, days after trading teammate Mikhail Sergachev to Utah.
Stamkos’ departure after 16 seasons as the face of a franchise was the most bittersweet element of Monday’s day.
“The hardest part is trying to hold on to something that maybe isn’t trying to hold on to you,” Stamkos said.
THE WINNERS
SMASHVILLE : The Predators improved by signing Stamkos, along with 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault, reliable defenseman Brady Skjei and backup goalie Scott Wedgewood. The Predators also signed goaltender Juuse Saros to a long-term contract in what general manager Barry Trotz called a “really good day” for the organization he once coached that is back to try to win a title.
“When you start getting texts from your players saying, ‘I’m excited,’ I think that says a lot,” Trotz said. “Players know players, and they know we’re trying to win. I imagine one day we’ll have a parade down our Broadway.”
THE SERIES RACE IN THE EAST: The defending champion Florida Panthers won’t have an easy road in the Eastern Conference next spring, with the Atlantic Division rivals the Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, as well as the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals, among the improved teams.
OILERS : After losing to Florida in Game 7 of the final and parting ways with veteran forward Ken Holland, Edmonton didn’t sit idly by. The Oilers signed veteran forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, retained Mattias Janmark and signed forwards Corey Perry and Connor Brown to one-year extensions, among a dozen other moves.
LOSERS
HURRICANES : Even with new general manager Eric Tulsky suggesting there is plenty of time between now and the start of training camp to add to the roster, the free-agent market has the appearance of a defeat for Carolina. Even the eight-year contract extension offered to defenseman Jaccob Slavin doesn’t make up for the exodus of Guentzel, Skjei, Brett Pesce and Teuvo Teravainen, not to mention the uncertain status of restricted free agent Martin Necas.
The Hurricanes replaced what they lost with defenseman Sean Walker and forwards William Carrier, Tyson Jost and Eric Robinson, players who could be useful but aren’t likely to make them Stanley Cup contenders.
SABERS: General manager Kevyn Adams continues to struggle to lure established stars to Buffalo. After failing to make the cut in the trade market at last weekend’s NHL draft, Adams signed depth forwards Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Jason Zucker and Sam Lafferty, as well as defensemen Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert, who returns to Buffalo.
That’s not a good thing for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in the last 13 seasons, the worst stretch in the NHL, and bought out the remaining three years of Skinner’s contract.
RANGERS : Unable — or unwilling — to trade captain Jacob Trouba and free up cap space, New York turned to the trade market for a forward, trading two picks to acquire Reilly Smith from Pittsburgh. The Rangers aren’t offseason losers yet, but general manager Chris Drury has his work cut out for him after his team’s loss to Florida in the Eastern Conference final.
