The NHL's Eight Best Offseasons

This offseason came with many teams spending tons of money and other teams going quietly about their business, making the best of their cap space.

The draft, free agency, trades, and so on are all fair game, and money spent doesn't necessarily mean a great offseason.

As well, these are not predictions for the season.

Just because a team had a good offseason doesn't mean it will have a great year; a team may have had a great draft and done a good job in free agency, yet finish near the bottom of the standings this season.

As long as the team has made good moves that are beneficial in the long run, it can have a great offseason.

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a wreck for sure, but with the first overall pick this season, the Islanders did exactly what they needed to do: Draft a player that can not only help them on the ice, but help them as an organization.

If it wasn't for the signing of three (yes, three!) free agent goaltenders as backups for the very injury-prone Rick DiPietro, they would've done even better.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Chris Pronger trade gives Philly the best defense in the East, and puts them firmly into win-now mode.

They gave up quite a bit to get him, and the extension may hurt them if he plays into his 40s, but if they win a Cup, it makes it worth it.

Bringing in Ray Emery to start is a risky decision and could be a great move for this team or could bite them hard.

It will be interesting to watch for sure.

Edmonton Oilers

This pick will definitely raise some eyebrows, but the new coaching staff, Pat Quinn and Tom Renney, will be a big boost for this young, talented team.

Nikolai Khabibulin is past his prime, but played great for Chicago last season.

They may not be instantly competitive, but this team will improve and not getting Dany Heatley may have been a blessing in disguise.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks' resigning of the Sedins for a very good deal (not the 12-year deal that was rumoured) with a very manageable cap hit was a great move for this team.

Losing Mattias Ohlund is a bigger loss than some people realize, but if the signing of Schneider happens for less than $2.5 million or so, Vancouver could have given itself a very good chance at resigning Roberto Luongo, which is the ultimate goal.

Anaheim Ducks

The Pronger trade was a trade that benefits both teams.

The bounty they got from Philly will be a big help in keeping the cupboards stocked with good young talent, and it also freed up some cap space.

After the Ryan Getzlaf/Corey Perry/Bobby Ryan line, there wasn't much offense, so Saku Koivu was brought in to get his Finnish teammate, Teemu Selanne, producing again.

The defense is not as mean as it was with Pronger there, but it is a solid group.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is another team that won't have a great season this year, but that doesn't diminish the fact that this was a very good offseason for this team.

They built a good foundation moving forward with the signing of Mike Komaserik.

He is not a flashy pickup, but every good team has a player like him and that is not a coincidence.

Combine those pickups with a very solid draft and the Maple Leafs have done well this offseason.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay has a great group of forwards, but with the additions of Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund, the back end improved immensely.

Hedman is the franchise D-man that Tampa has been lacking and Ohlund provides a steady presence to mentor him.

This defense, along with Steven Stamkos, will be a major cornerstone for this franchise for a long time.

This offseason will be the basis of many years of good hockey in Tampa.

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames managed to add the best defenseman on the market on a very good contract before the market even opened.

They brought in Brent Sutter to coach and actually added depth at many positions. The team wanted to focus on defense this season and both of these moves point to that very goal.

This team is very firmly in win-now mode.

Teams That Have People Fooled about Their Offseason

Einstein defined insanity as, "repeating the same task over and over again, and expecting different results."

Montreal spent millions on bringing in small, talented forwards to replace the ones that left.

The New York Rangers created cap space by trading away a bad, long-term signee and then used that cap space on another bad, long-term signing.

Chicago destroyed its cap space by signing Marian Hossa and finds itself in a fiasco with restricted free agents, meaning they have $45 million committed to 12 players (not including Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith).

All three teams added talent, but this offseason will haunt those teams for the next decade.