Winners and Losers from the 2023 NHL Preseason
The 2023 NHL preseason schedule wrapped up on Saturday. All 32 teams will spend the next couple of days making their final roster cuts in preparation for the start of the 2023-24 regular season on Tuesday.
Since preseason play began Sept. 23, general managers and coaches have been evaluating their clubs' strengths and weaknesses. They've also focused on promising prospects and aging veterans to determine who could make the cut for the upcoming campaign.
This year's preseason has also had its share of interesting stories. Those include the NHL staging its first games in Australia, contract negotiations involving a couple of noteworthy restricted free agents and the promising debut of a potential future superstar.
From these stories, we've compiled a list of the biggest winners and losers of the preseason period. If you agree or disagree with our takes, or feel we omitted something, let us know in the comments section.
Winners: Australian Hockey Fans
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For the first time in NHL history, the league staged games in the southern hemisphere.
The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings kicked off the 2023 preseason with back-to-back games on Sept. 23 and 24 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the 2023 Global Series. The Coyotes won the first game 5-3, while the Kings took the second 3-2.
Both games were sellouts as over 13,000 Australian hockey fans turned out to watch their first live NHL contests. Their enthusiastic support impressed the Coyotes and Kings.
"The atmosphere here was unbelievable," said Kings goaltender Cam Talbot. Coyotes coach André Tourigny was also amazed by the exuberance of the Australians. "There's way more hockey fans than I knew," he said.
There were logistical issues to overcome, including the long travel for the players to Australia. Nevertheless, the reaction of the fans was a clear indication that the quality of play didn't suffer. The highlight was Coyotes' rookie Logan Cooley's impressive winning goal in the first game, bringing the crowd to their feet.
Time will tell if the NHL makes more sojourns to Australia and if future contests will involve regular-season games. Nevertheless, that nation's hockey fans got a rare treat with the 2023 Global Series, one that can only help to grow the game's international footprint.
Losers: Tampa Bay Lightning's Goaltending Depth
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Every NHL team needs a strong starting goaltender to carry them through the regular season and the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning have one of the best in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Since taking over in the role in 2016-17, he's backstopped them to Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021, winning the Vezina Trophy in 2019 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021.
A team must also ensure it has a reliable, experienced backup netminder in case its starter is sidelined by injury. Due to salary-cap constraints, however, the Lightning have been forced to rely this season on a more affordable and less experienced option in 28-year-old Jonas Johansson.
With Vasilevskiy now sidelined for eight to 10 weeks following lower-back surgery on Sept. 28, the Lightning are left with Johansson and Matt Tomkins as their goalie tandem. Johansson has just 35 games of big league regular-season experience, while Tomkins is a 29-year-old rookie.
To their credit, both played well in preseason play as of Friday. Johansson won both of his games by shutout, while Tomkins won two of his three starts. However, there's a big difference between preseason and regular-season games where the level of competition is much higher and the quality of the opponents far better.
If the Lightning had more cap space, they would probably shop around for a more seasoned goalie to fill the starter's role until Vasilevskiy's return. Instead, they could be forced to stick with the inexperienced Johansson-Tomkins tandem. If those two aren't up to the task, it could derail the Lightning's season.
Winners: Anaheim Ducks Re-Sign Trevor Zegras
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The Anaheim Ducks opened preseason without their most talented forward. Trevor Zegras missed all but the final few days of their schedule before he was finally signed to a three-year contract.
Zegras, 22, was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract. He didn't have arbitration rights and didn't receive an offer sheet from a rival club. That lack of leverage left him little choice but to agree to his new deal, which comes with an average annual value of $5.75 million.
Playing hardball with his best player was a risky move by Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek. Zegras was runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2021-22 and led the rebuilding Ducks last season with a career-best 65 points in 81 games. He'll need extra time to get up to speed after missing most of training camp and preseason action.
Nevertheless, Verbeek got Zegras under a team-friendly contract. Comparable players such as the Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy ($7 million AAV) and the Montreal Canadiens' Cole Caufield ($7.85 million) earn considerably more on longer-term deals. It can also be argued that the Ducks avoided overpaying Zegras before he reached his full potential.
Verbeek also got promising defenseman Jamie Drysdale under contract, but locking up Zegras was the most important. The young center's contract provides a ceiling for Verbeek's future talks with center Mason McTavish. It could also motivate Zegras to prove he'll be worth a much more lucrative deal once his contract expires.
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Losers: Ottawa Senators' Negotiations With Shane Pinto
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The Ottawa Senators entered the preseason with heightened expectations that this franchise is heading in the right direction following several years of rebuilding. Their roster features young stars such as Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle, while the recent sale of the franchise to billionaire Michael Andlauer promises a new era of stable ownership.
However, the dominant news throughout the preseason was the ongoing contract standoff between Senators management and Shane Pinto. The 22-year-old restricted free agent is coming off a 20-goal rookie performance. He completed his entry-level contract lacking arbitration rights or eligibility to receive an offer sheet from a rival club.
On Sept. 30, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the gap between the two sides widened with Pinto disappointed by the club's one-year, $1 million offer. The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch indicated the Pinto camp sought an average annual value of $2.5 million.
Pinto's salary request isn't unreasonable given his performance last season and would be affordable if the Senators had sufficient salary-cap space. However, general manager Pierre Dorion opted to sign other players first, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5 million contract, leaving the Senators with limited cap space for Pinto.
With the regular season fast approaching, the Senators must get Pinto signed soon. Concern over the health of oft-injured Josh Norris could leave them thin at the center position. They could be forced to move a lower-salaried player in a cost-cutting deal to free up sufficient cap room for Pinto's new contract.
Winners: Chicago Blackhawks
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Chicago isn't expected to be a playoff contender this season. Entering their second full year of a rebuild under general manager Kyle Davidson, they stand a better chance of winning the 2024 NHL draft lottery next spring than the Stanley Cup.
They haven't done too badly in preseason play, sporting a record of two wins, one loss and two overtime losses through five games as of Oct. 6. Nevertheless, there's a new buzz among fans of the Windy City franchise courtesy of promising young center Connor Bedard.
Chosen first overall in the 2023 draft, Bedard has already garnered plenty of attention for his skating and playmaking abilities. The 18-year-old center's five points (as of Oct. 6) ranks among preseason points leaders. That includes a three-point performance in a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Even a failed shootout attempt against Minnesota drew headlines.
The presence of Bedard has already provided Chicago with a financial boost. The Hockey News' Matt Carlson reported the team's overall ticket sales are up by 10 percent compared to this time last season, while merchandise sales have doubled over the first quarter of its fiscal year.
Bedard will face his next big test when the puck drops on his first NHL season this week. Time will tell how well he handles the pressure and his effect on Chicago's performance this season. As far as the preseason goes, he's been an instant hit for the club, providing its fans with some much-needed hope.
Losers: New York Rangers
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The New York Rangers have been among the top teams in the Eastern Conference for the past two seasons, finishing with 110 and 107 points, respectively. They are considered a lock as a playoff entrant entering 2023-24 as well as a potential Stanley Cup contender.
However, you'd never know it by the caliber of their performance in this year's preseason, finishing with just one win in six games while managing just 12 goals and giving up 21. That's a disappointing effort for a club featuring scoring stars like Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, a usually solid defense anchored by Adam Fox and a star goalie like Igor Shesterkin.
To be fair, the Rangers aren't the only talented club having a poor postseason. The Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche and the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are also near the bottom of the overall standings. All four clubs will likely return to their winning ways once the regular season begins.
Nevertheless, the Rangers' struggles have raised some eyebrows. The club is still adjusting to new head coach Peter Laviolette's way of doing things. Losing third-line center Filip Chytil to an upper-body injury hasn't helped matters, while former first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere has drawn criticism for his on-ice difficulties.
Given the Rangers' talent depth, it's unlikely that they'll be this bad over the course of the regular season. Still, their shaky preseason puts them in the loser category on this list.
Preseason stats and standings (as of Oct. 6, 2023) via CBS Sports with line combinations and salary info via Cap Friendly.
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