It was a hell of an offseason for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But how does it stack up against what their division rivals have done over the summer?
Here's a look at the additions, subtractions, and what it means for the other seven teams in the Metro division.
Carolina Hurricanes
Key Additions: Brent Burns (D), Ondrej Kase (F), Max Pacioretty (F)
Key Subtractions: Ian Cole (D), Max Domi (F), Tony DeAngelo (D), Nino Niederreiter (F), Vinny Trocheck (F)
What's Up: The Hurricanes winning offseason took a huge blow earlier in the week when the team announced that Pacioretty torn his Achilles, will need surgery, and will be out for at least six months. Best case scenario, that gets him into the lineup in February. Realistically, it will be more like a trade deadline addition — and that's if the 33-year-old with a laundry list of previous injuries is healthy. Getting Burns was a great pick-up, but he's 37 and has to slow down at some point. If this season is that point, the Hurricanes are worse this season than they were last season. Still a very good team, though.
New Jersey Devils
Key Additions: Erik Haula (F), John Marino (D), Ondrej Palat (F), Vitek Vanecek (G)
Key Subtractions: Ty Smith (D), Pavel Zacha (F)
What's Up: The Devils were wise to bring in Palat from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's 31, but should immediately become a leader on an otherwise young New Jersey team. In the same way the argument could be made that the Blue Jackets overpaid for Erik Gudbranson out of necessity, the same could be said of the relationship between Palat and the Devils. They bring in Vanecek (2.67 goals against average and a .908 save percentage last season) from Washington, where he'll have the chance to take over #1 duties over Mackenzie Blackwood (3.39 GAA and .892 SV%). Haula has bounced around a bit, but could be good for 15-20 goals with the Devils after picking up 44 points in 78 games with the Boston Bruins last season.
New York Islanders
Key Additions: None
Key Subtractions: None
What's Up: Nothing. They're the same damn team. The addition of Alexander Romanov was not key, but is another body to put on the blue line. The good news for the Islanders is they have a lot more talent on the team than they showed last season and should have a bounce-back season. If they don't, it could get pretty ugly inside the billion-dollar UBS Arena.
New York Rangers
Key Additions: Jaroslav Halak (G), Vinny Trocheck (F)
Key Subtractions: Justin Braun (D), Andrew Copp (F), Alex Georgiev (G), Ryan Strome (F), Frank Vatrano (F)
What's Up: When the Rangers landed Trocheck earlier in free agency, it seemed like they may be a team that kicks it up a notch and becomes a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. But that was about all they did, and losing Copp, Strome, and Vatrano negates that addition. It's not that the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup would be unprecedented, but they had an opportunity to get better and when all was said and done, they didn't.
Philadelphia Flyers
Key Additions: Justin Braun (D), Tony DeAngelo (D), Nic Deslauriers (F)
Key Subtractions: Martin Jones (G), Oskar Lindblom (F)
What's Up: It was a relatively quiet offseason in the transaction department for the Flyers, but don't forget that they brought in former Columbus boss John Tortorella as their new head coach. The dynamic between Torts and DeAngelo is worth the price of admission on its own. After playing eight games with the Rangers, bringing back Braun to log 20 minutes on the blue line — potentially with DeAngelo — per night seems questionable. The Deslauriers signing makes little-to-no sense; the Flyers could have given those minutes to pretty much anyone else and have it not cost $1.7 million per year for the next four years.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Key Additions: Jeff Petry (D), Jan Rutta (D), Ty Smith (D)
Key Subtractions: John Marino (D), Mike Matheson (D)
What's Up: The 2022-23 Penguins will look very similar to the 2021-22 Penguins on offense. The defense will not. Out are Matheson and Marino, in are Petry, Rutta, and Smith. Petry is the best of the five players, but Matheson is probably second best and Marino and Rutta are sort of a wash, so if the Penguins are better this season, it's only slightly. The best part of the offseason was keeping Evgeni Malkin at a relatively good value and hanging on to Rickard Rakell, who they traded for at the deadline.
Washington Capitals
Key Additions: Connor Brown (F), Gabriel Carlsson (D), Erik Gustafsson (D), Darcy Kuemper (G), Dylan Strome (F)
Key Subtractions: Michal Kempny (D), Ilya Samsonov (G), Justin Schultz (D), Vitek Vanecek (G)
What's Up: Most of the Washington retool this offseason was focused on the defense and goaltending. Between the pipes, Kuemper comes in fresh off a Stanley Cup victory and replaces the tandem of Samsonov and Vanecek. Consistency should help the team, but Kuemper (despite the Cup) hasn't exactly lit it up in goal. Gustafsson had a good year with the Chicago Blackhawks and solidifies an already decent Capitals blue line. Up front, Brown (28) and Strome (25) make an aging team a little bit younger, but both neither are top-line talent and will likely fall into the middle six. Shoutout to the former Blue Jacket Gabriel Carlsson, who could sneak his way into the third pairing in D.C.
