NHL Teams Whose 2023 Offseason Pickups Are Paying Off Early
It's still too early to make any definitive conclusions about the 2023 NHL offseason. There are plenty of games left to play, to say nothing of the many years ahead that some moves were meant to influence.
The dawning of November means that most teams have completed eight to 10 games, or roughly 10 percent of the regular season. Players are settling in, line combinations are beginning to congeal and tactics are generally understood.
Enough hockey has been played for us to start analyzing all teams and form first impressions. A particular focus is of course put on players who are in new spots. No matter how good a player might fit on a team in theory, it has to be proved on the ice. Sometimes, even the best intended additions don't work out.
Other times, teams get exactly what they bargained for. Things can always go south but some general managers around the league are thrilled with the early returns.
Here are five of those teams.
New York Rangers
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Raises for young players, a few bad contracts, and a flat salary cap meant that general manager Chris Drury had to make every dollar count. His main three signings were Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick and Erik Gustafsson.
Wheeler, 37, ostensibly has failed so far. The former 90-point forward has yet to register his first as a Ranger in nine games. This does not tell the full story, however. Despite the Rangers having 4.53 expected goals with Wheeler on the ice, the team has failed to score. Simply put, he is creating chances but the puck isn't going in. That should change.
Meanwhile, he has been a strong defensive forward. The Rangers' third line is controlling possession and limiting time in the defensive zone.
Quick, the starting goaltender in Los Angeles for over a decade, has humbly accepted the definitive role of backup behind Igor Shesterkin. Though the Connecticut native has been shaky in previous seasons, he has reformed his game in New York. No longer as athletic as he was in his prime, Quick is standing deeper in his crease.
So far, it's working. He's won both of his starts, including a shutout, and sports a .962 save percentage in three games.
The biggest offseason addition, however, has been Gustafsson. The left defense spot on the Rangers' third pairing was a black hole for most of last season. Furthermore, the defense outside of Adam Fox struggled to break the puck out of the defensive zone. Gustafsson isn't a great defender, but he's moving the puck efficiently, slotting in nicely on the second power play unit and has tallied four points in nine games.
Per Evolving Hockey, Gustafsson is 11th among NHL defensemen by goals above replacement. That's unlikely to last, but he is a major upgrade to the team's biggest offseason need at a hilariously low $800K cap hit.
Detroit Red Wings
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Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman made the decision to sell at the 2023 trade deadline in order to amass cap space and assets. He then pivoted to an aggressive offseason.
The Red Wings' biggest move was the acquisition of winger Alex DeBrincat. The 24-year-old was coming off a mediocre season but had played at a point-per-game pace the prior two years. He wanted out of Ottawa and the Red Wings pounced, trading a package for him that included a 2024 first-round pick and signing the Michigan native to a four-year, $31.5 million contract.
He's been worth every penny so far. DeBrincat is tied with Frank Vatrano with a league-leading nine goals, along with four assists. Granted, DeBrincat entered the season with a career 14.4 shooting percentage and is currently doubling that rate. He's going to come down to earth. Still, his production early on has helped Detroit get off to a 6-3-1 start, and his chemistry with center Dylan Larkin is undeniable.
A more understated addition over the summer was defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. For whatever reasons, the former NCAA tournament MVP has never gotten the respect he deserves. Despite back-to-back 40-point seasons, the Red Wings were able to win his services with only a one-year contract.
Gostisbehere has started the season hot with three goals and six assists in 10 games. He's not a strong defender, but the Wings don't need him to be. Seider, Walman and Holl can take on tougher defensive assignments. His job is to light the lamp, and he's good at it.
J.T. Compher and Daniel Sprong have also been effective to start the season. Not every addition has been perfect, but the Red Wings have finally surrounded their franchise players with true firepower, and the Red Wings are in the best shape they have been since they last made the playoffs in 2016.
Boston Bruins
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One would understand if Boston Bruins president and general manager Don Sweeney had made some splashy moves over the summer to save face. The Bruins legends Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired and Taylor Hall was salary-dumped to Chicago. Those are three seismic losses.
The Bruins made a number of small free-agent signings instead: Morgan Geekie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Brown.
Sometimes, less is more.
JVR and Geekie have slotted in on the third line. Van Riemsdyk, 34, is a big power forward who has lost a step but can still produce offensively. He has two goals and three assists in five games. Geekie, with three points, has been an offensive driver. The Bruins are outscoring the opposition 8-3 at five-on-five when he is on the ice.
But the most important "addition" to the roster has been prospect Matthew Poitras. The 2022 64th overall pick always seemed like a very safe bet to make the NHL. That he would do so at age 19 is unexpected.
Poitras made the team out of training camp and has earned not only a spot on the roster but is also now playing first-line minutes. He has three goals and two assists in nine games and is also playing strong positional hockey.
The Bruins are certainly worse than they were during the 2022-23 record-breaking season. That was unavoidable. Instead of trying to overcompensate for the losses with gaudy moves, the Bruins have plugged the gaps cheaply. The defense and goaltending are strong enough to steer the ship and the team has been good enough to start the season 8-0-1.
New Jersey Devils
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The safe bet for where the New Jersey Devils would look to upgrade over the summer was in net. They chose not to do so. That may have been a mistake, but that's a subject for another day.
The one major addition they did make was at forward. Not satisfied with the spring acquisition of Timo Meier, the Devils also pushed Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick to Calgary in return for veteran winger Tyler Toffoli.
Toffoli, 31 years old and an unrestricted free agent in July, is a player whose presence signals that the Devils are ready to contend. The former Stanley Cup champion is a pure goal scorer who is a natural fit on Jack Hughes' wing. So far, that's proving true. Toffoli has seven goals (plus three assists) in his first eight games as a Devil.
A great sign for the Devils is that, although Toffoli is surely shooting at an unsustainable clip—he won't maintain a 72-goal pace—he's not purely on a shooting bender, either. His production is largely an outcome of shooting frequently (3.75 times per game) from high-scoring positions.
Upgrading from Sharangovich to Toffoli at the price of a third-round pick seemed like an obvious win for the Devils last June. It's paying off as well as anyone could have hoped to start the season.
Arizona Coyotes
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Funny enough, the Arizona Coyotes' headlining offseason moves have been banal. Matt Dumba has been OK, but the offensive defenseman has just one point in nine games. Alex Kerfoot has three assists in nine games, though he's been respectable defensively. Jason Zucker has two goals in five games and is now injured.
The big trade general manager Bill Armstrong made involved Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi. L.A. had a crowded blue line and needed to shed salary, so they sent the talented puck-mover to Arizona coming off his 38-point season.
It was a good move for the 25-year-old's career as he'd no longer be stuck constantly fighting for minutes. He's the No. 1 defenseman in Arizona and unquestionable power-play quarterback. He leads the team in ice time and is getting the chance to make plays alongside the team's top players.
He's rewarded the Coyotes with four goals and three assists in nine games. What's more, he hasn't been harmed by the call to play tougher minutes; the Coyotes have 59.1 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five when he's on the ice.
Troy Stecher, traded to Calgary at the deadline last season, has returned and he's playing strong shutdown hockey.
Look, even ignoring the arena situation, the Coyotes have a lot to do in order to get to where they want to be. But with Durzi as the centerpiece of a thrifty offseason, the team is off to a respectable 4-4-1 start.
Advanced statistics via Evolving Hockey unless otherwise noted
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