NHL Free Agent News: Grading the Offseason Moves for All 30 Teams

The NHL offseason is almost over, and teams will soon be starting training camps.

The summer is a vitally important time for teams to improve their roster for a Stanley Cup run the next season, and certain teams, like the San Jose Sharks, did just that.

Teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning went into the summer hoping to re-sign players crucial to the franchise's long term success. Some succeeded, others did not.

Let's take a look at offseason grades for every NHL team.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report, and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter. Follow @NicholasGoss35

Anaheim Ducks: C+

The Anaheim Ducks haven’t made too many offseason moves, but they did acquire Andrew Cogliano who should be a good fit and contribute well offensively.

If star goaltender Jonas Hiller does not come back well from injury then the Ducks will wish they had gotten a better backup with starting capability.

Boston Bruins: C+

A grade of “C+” may be harsh for the Bruins after winning the Stanley Cup, but they have done little to improve the team.

Granted the roster didn’t need much improving, but they let two talented players in winger Michael Ryder and defenseman Tomas Kaberle walk in free agency, and still haven’t signed Brad Marchand who is a restricted free agent.

The only additions they’ve made have been defenseman Joe Corvo from Carolina and Benoit Pouliot from Montreal.

Buffalo Sabres: A

The Buffalo Sabres greatly improved this summer by making many moves to better the team now and for the future.

They signed former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a 10 year, $40 million contract to give them a puck moving d-man, and acquired former Calgary Flames star Robyn Regehr.

The Sabres also signed former Philadelphia Flyers winger Ville Leino, who will greatly help the team’s offense.

Their only real loss was center Tim Connolly, but he had become quite injury prone during his tenure in Buffalo.

Calgary Flames: B-

The Calgary Flames did not sign top free agent center Brad Richards this summer, forcing them to instead retain their own free agents.

They signed Curtis Glencross, Alex Tanguay, and Scott Hannan, but lost Robyn Regehr.

The Flames still don’t have a Stanley Cup contending team, and may be forced to finally trade Jarome Iginla this season to help the inevitable rebuilding process.

Carolina Hurricanes: B

The Carolina Hurricanes barely missed the playoffs last season, and they went into this summer looking to find the missing pieces.

They signed offensive defenseman Tomas Kaberle to help their powerplay, and re-signed one of the better defenseman, Joni Pitkanen.

The Hurricanes also signed Alex Ponikarovsky and veteran goalie Brian Boucher. They did however lose Eric Cole and Joe Corvo, but those departures won’t prove too costly for the ‘Canes.

Not a bad summer of signings for Carolina.

Chicago Blackhawks: B

The Chicago Blackhawks made some solid moves this summer. They finally got rid of Brian Campbell’s massive contract, and also lost Tomas Kopecky, Jeff Taffe, and Troy Brouwer.

They did sign Steve Montador, Daniel Carcillo, and Andrew Brunette to add some depth.

Their best signing was extending the contract of winger Patrick Sharp, who is a quality scorer and has great versatility.

Colorado Avalanche: B-

The Avalanche acquired two goaltenders that have good experience in J.S. Giguere and Seymon Varlamov.

They didn’t lose anyone major and signed veteran forward Milan Hejduk.

It was a good offseason for Colorado, who will be relying on their young players to develop further this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets: A-

The Columbus Blue Jackets made a number of moves this summer to help them return to the NHL playoffs for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

They traded for former Philadelphia Flyers forward Jeff Carter who can be a 30-goal scorer, and signed former Montreal Canadiens offensive defenseman James Wisnewski to a big contract.

They also signed veteran forward Vinny Prospal.

The Blue Jackets really upgraded their offense and blueline this summer, and will be much improved this season.

Dallas Stars: D-

The Dallas Stars lost their best offensive player in center Brad Richards via free agency this summer, and made no significant moves to replace him.

They overpaid for former Bruins winger Michael Ryder, who was horribly inconsistent during his tenure in Boston.

The Stars will be worse this season and won’t even sniff the playoffs.

Detroit Red Wings: B+

The Red Wings did not have any major departures except the retirement of defenseman Brian Rafalski, but they have several young defenseman within the organization who will step up this season and next.

They re-signed Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, but have not found a long-term replacement for him, but to be fair, that’s a task for next summer.

Detroit signed Mike Commodore and Patrick Eaves among others, in what was a good summer for the franchise.

Edmonton Oilers: B-

The Edmonton Oilers began their summer by selecting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the number one overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.

He and last year’s top pick Taylor Hall will lead the youth movement in Edmonton.

They also added defenseman Cam Barker, Ben Eager, and Eric Belanger to bolster their depth.

Not a bad summer for Edmonton.

Florida Panthers: C-

2011 was another bad summer for one of pro sport’s worst franchises, as the Florida Panthers made a number of signings but overpaid for most of them.

The severely paid for defenseman Ed Jovanovski who is 36 years old, and gave too much money to former Blue Jackets forward Scottie Upshall.

The Panthers also lost Tomas Vokoun, who is an underrated goalie and was dependable each night. It’s going to be another long hockey season in South Florida this year.

Los Angeles Kings: B (B+ If Drew Doughty Signs)

The Los Angeles Kings have had a good summer and have made some big additions.

They acquired former Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards via trade before the draft, and also signed playoff tested veteran Simon Gagne, who played with Richards in Philly before last season.

The Kings still must re-sign franchise defenseman Drew Doughty who remains a restricted free agent, but both Doughty and the Kings want to get a deal done.

The Kings have assembled a roster good enough to make a deep run in the Western Conference playoffs this season.

Minnesota Wild: B

The Minnesota Wild needed offense, so they acquired Dany Heatley via trade with the San Jose Sharks in one of the three trades the two teams made this summer.

They also acquired Charlie Coyle and Devon Setoguchi from San Jose, as Martin Havlat and Brent Burns made their way to the Sharks.

The Wild still need more defense, but they’ve upgraded their offense significantly this summer and will be a more competitive and exciting team to watch.

Montreal Canadiens: C

The Montreal Canadiens allowed some key players to leave this summer, including defenseman James Wisniewski, Roman Hamrlik, and Jeff Halpern.

But they did acquire Erik Cole who has 50-point capability.

The Canadiens couldn’t really spend much this summer when star goalie Carey Price and franchise defenseman PK Subban are due for big deals soon.

Nashville Predators: D+

The Nashville Predaotrs had to re-sign one of the best defenseman in the NHL and team captain Shea Weber to a long-term extension this season, but failed.

Now it appears Weber’s days in Nashville are numbered, and a trade may be inevitable.

The Predators also lost Matthew Lombardi, Cody Franson, Steve Sullivan, and Joel Ward this summer. 

New Jersey Devils: D

The New Jersey Devils did very little to improve their team this season, making no significant additions and failing to re-sign franchise forward Zach Parise to a long term contract.

Their best move was signing Andy Green, which is pretty poor for a team used to deep playoff runs. The Devils have to sign Parise to more than a one year deal if they wish to remain competitive for the near future.

New York Islanders: C

The New York Islanders summer was dampened by ownership and arena issues, and they didn’t impress their fans by making improvements either.

The Islanders added Marty Reasoner and re-signed Michael Grabner to bolster their offense, but lost Bruno Gervais and Zenon Konopka.

New York will hope its young players will continue to develop and improve next season in order to fight for a potential playoff spot in a few years.

New York Rangers: A-

The New York Rangers desperately needed a top line center to give their offense a real chance to win games for star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, and they pulled in the best available free agent forward of the summer in Brad Richards.

Richards signed a nine-year, $60 million deal in July, and will help set up winger Marian Gaborik on the first line.

The Rangers also added veteran players like Steve Eminger, Mike Rupp, and Ruslan Fedetenko. They also didn’t lose much and should make an improved playoff run next season.

Ottawa Senators: C-

It was a disappointing offseason for the Senators this summer, as they made no big signings and did not improve their roster to make another run at a playoff spot.

Their best move was signing Alex Auld, but other than a couple of other small moves, the Sens were very quiet.

Ottawa has salary cap space, whether they use it or not remains to be seen.

Philadelphia Flyers: B+

Some Flyers fans might not agree with my “B+” grade but they needed a top goalie so bad, and they got one with the signing of former Phoenix Coyotes star Ilya Bryzgalov.

If the Flyers had a top goalie the past two seasons, they might have won two Stanley Cups.

The Flyers did give up a lot of offense when they traded Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings and Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They also lost Daniel Carcillo, Ville Leino, and Brian Boucher.

The Flyers also acquired young players Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and Brayden Schenn in trades, and signed free agents Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot.

The Flyers acquired a great goalie and added some quality offensive players, not a bad summer for sure.

Phoenix Coyotes: C

The Phoenix Coyotes are battling ownership issues and possible relocation, and their offseason moves this summer haven’t helped their cause.

They lost star goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov through free agency and only replaced him with Mike Smith, and also lost defenseman Ed Jovanovski.

The Coyotes did re-sign young defenseman Keith Yandle and signed veteran Raffi Torres, but his best days are behind him.

Yesterday, they traded Lee Stempniak to Calgary for Daymond Langkow, not a good move for the Coyotes.

Pittsburgh Penguins: B-

With Sidney Crosby possibly missing the season opener with concussion symptoms, the Penguins needed to add some depth at center, and failed to do so.

They did add winger Steve Sullivan, and will get superstar forward Evgeni Malkin back after his recovery from knee surgery.

Their only real loss was Maxime Talbot, who went to the Flyers.

Not a great summer for Pittsburgh, but not a bad one either.

San Jose Sharks: A

The San Jose Sharks came up short again in the Western Conference Finals last season, losing to the Vancouver Canucks in five games.

But they had a great offseason this summer and improved their team greatly.

San Jose added star defenseman Brent Burns, traded away the perennial playoff failure Dany Heatley, acquired Martin Havlat, and signed Logan Couture to a contract extension.

The Sharks have built an amazing team on paper, but their final grade will ultimately be based on their playoff success.

St. Louis Blues: B-

The St. Louis Blues have playoff expectations this year after a disappointing 2011 season.

They did not lose any key players, and signed veterans Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott. The Blues did a good job of re-signging their own players, but did little to improve the team from the outside.

Tampa Bay Lightning: B+

The Tampa Bay Lightning had to re-sign Steven Stamkos, one of the best players in the NHL at age 21, to a long term contract this summer, and they were successful.

Stamkos signed a five year deal, and the team also added young defenseman Matt Gilroy.

They did lose backup goalie Mike Smith and Simon Gagne, but they re-signed Teddy Purcell and did not lose any major contributors.

General manager Steve Yzerman has built a Stanley Cup contending team in Tampa Bay.

Toronto Maple Leafs: B+

The Toronto Maple Leafs added quality center Tim Connolly to their roster but he must prove he can be consistently healthy. When he is injury free, he’s a very good offensive player.

The Maple Leafs also added Matthew Lombardi, Cody Franson, and John-Michael Liles, who will add depth and talent to the team.

They also did not lose anyone major, but must also make sure to sign young defenseman Luke Schenn to a long-term contract. He is still a restricted free agent.

Vancouver Canucks: C

The Vancouver Canucks did not add much strength or size this summer, which were two weaknesses the Boston Bruins exposed in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals.

The Canucks could not sign defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, who left for Buffalo, but they did re-sign Kevin Bieksa who was a dependable d-man last year.

Losing Raffi Torres wasn’t a major loss, and they also signed Marco Sturm.

With Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond going into training camp nursing injuries, the Canucks should have acquired more forward depth.

Washington Capitals: A-

The Capitals needed depth, playoff experience, and a dependable goaltender this summer, and they acquired all three needs.

The addition of veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun from Florida was a great move, and signing Troy Brouwer, Jeff Halpern, and Roman Hamrlik will add solid depth to the roster.

With good additions and no key departures, the Capitals have the talent to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in team history.

Winnipeg Jets: C

The Winnipeg Jets are back and they will bring new excitement to the sport and Canada.

They did keep captain Andrew Ladd around long-term, but made little additions outside of that. They won’t make a playoff run this season, but do have some promising young players for the future.