Opening Days of 2009 NHL Free Agency: Atlantic Division Team Reviews

With just a mere five days having already passed since the start of free agency, an astounding 58 players have changed teams and 34 others re-signed with their old team.

The mass number of trades has left the NHL in a complete different state than it was just a week ago, with some teams like the Devils feeling a little thin while other clubs like Montreal are beginning to look like one of the teams to beat.

There have been millions of dollars switched around in five days, salary cap statistics basically redone completely, and superstars moving cross-country since free agency began, but it's about time we all look at it from the team perspective and see how each and every team did in this frenzy of signings.

In this edition, I will cover the five Atlantic Division teams. The Southeastern Division edition is already out, and can be read if you follow this link. 

When the Northeastern Division and Western Conference editions come out, the link to them will be added to this section so you can eventually cover the entire league.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Acquired: Mike Rupp (NJD), Nate Guenin (PHI)

Lost: Hal Gill (MON), Matthieu Garon (COL), Rob Scuderi (LAK)

Re-signed: Craig Adams, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko

Following the most exciting, happiest moment in Penguins recent history, Pittsburgh had apparently decided to keep up it's exciting status, making several big moves already this offseason.

The Penguins kept Adams, Guerin, and Fedotenko, all of which were important parts of their Stanley Cup run. However, they did lose Hal Gill to Montreal and Rob Scuderi to Los Angeles, both of which were also important parts of the Cup winning team.

Goaltender Matthieu Garon, acquired from Edmonton at the trade deadline of last season, was also let go to Columbus. Garon appeared in just four games an never looked overly talented.

To attempt to replace Gill and Scuderi, the Pens managed to bring in Mike Rupp from New Jersey and defenseman Nate Guinen from rival Philadelphia. Rupp may turn out to be a nice addition, but it is unlikely that those two will come close to making up for the Pens' losses.

Philadelphia Flyers

Acquired: Brian Boucher (SJS), Ian LaPierre (COL)

Lost: Mike Knuble (WAS), Scott Munroe (NYI), Nate Guinen (PIT)

Re-signed: none

After making a decent showing last season, the Flyers managed to lose Mike Knuble this offseason (unfortunately for them), while losing and gaining several irrelevant players as well.

The only decent addition was Brian Boucher, who backed up to Evgeni Nabokov last year in San Jose. Boucher will complete with Ray Emery for starting goalie, although neither of which are loaded with skill.

The Flyers also singed Ian LaPierre from Colorado and lost Scott Munroe and Nate Guinen to two other in-division opponents, the Islanders and Penguins.

New York Rangers

Acquired: Donald Brashear (WAS), Marian Gaborik (MIN), Tyler Arnason (COL), Corey Locke (MIN)

Lost: Scott Gomez (MON), Colton Orr (TOR), Fredrik Sjostrom (CAL), Nik Antropov (ATL)

Re-signed: Pierre Parenteau

The Rangers may have been the most active team all of the NHL this past week, completely switching around their roster. Three top-six players were lost for the Rangers, but the acquisition of Marian Gaborik will also be huge.

New York has been left with a huge gap in their top two lines, which all of Scott Gomez, Fredrik Sjostrom, and Nik Antropov gone their separate ways. Colton Orr has also left for Toronto, and, all in all, the Rangers will have trouble replacing all of them.

However, they were able to at least replace Gomez, for the former-Wild Marian Gaborik has moved into town. Gaborik is likely an improvement over Gomez, in my opinion.

Also new in town is Donald Brashear, who may be able to improve the Rangers' physical presence, Tyler Arnason, and Corey Locke. Pierre Parenteau was the one Ranger resigned to a new contract.

New Jersey Devils

Acquired: none

Lost: Scott Clemmenson (FLA), Mike Rupp (PIT), John Madden (CHI), Brian Gionta (MON)

Re-signed: Johnny Oduya, Andy Greene

The Devils seem to have nothing going right for them. After being incredibly knocked out of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes in just 90 seconds, the Devils have now lost four key players while re-signing only two.

Backup goalie Scott Clemmenson, who filled in for Martin Brodeur for 39 games last year, has left for Florida. Defensemen Mike Rupp and John Madden are headed to Pittsburgh and Chicago, respectively. And finally, superstar Brian Gionta has found a home in newly-revamped Montreal.

The only two former Devils that were resigned were Oduya and Green, both of which being good players but neither of which all-stars.

New York Islanders

Acquired: Dwayne Roloson (EDM), Scott Munroe (PHI), Brett Westgarth (SJS), Jeremy Reich (BOS)

Lost: none

Re-signed: none

The Islanders had a decently successful week, losing no one while using a bit of spare cash to bring in a new goalie and several other lower-class players.

New York needed a replacement for Rick DiPietro, and they may have found it in Dwayne Roloson, who played starter at goalie for Edmonton last season. However, Roloson didn't have very impressive stats and his age is beginning to affect his game.

Also new are Scott Monroe (former Flyer), Brett Westgarth (former Shark), and Jeremy Reich (former Bruin). None of these players are likely to make much impact on the Islanders roster.