Grading NHL Free Agent Summer – Pacific Division Pt II

With the majority of the big-name unrestricted free agents signed and training camp just around the corner, it is time to take a comprehensive look at the additions and subtractions made by each team since July 1 and evaluate how they did.

We complete our look at the Pacific Division:

San Jose Sharks

Subtractions: Andreas Johnsson, James Reimer

Additions: Filip Zadina, Givani Smith

Grade: C+

Sharks GM Mike Grier spent most of the summer trying to find the best deal for Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, finally swapping him to Pittsburgh last week. San Jose has a long road back to respectability, with Grier focused on clearing cap space and appears to be looking for bargains and players looking for second chances in free agency. Zadina had his contract with Detroit terminated and hopes to play a scoring role after mainly being a depth forward with the Wings.   

Seattle Kraken

Subtractions: Ryan Donato, Martin Jones, Carson Soucy, Daniel Sprong

Additions: Brian Dumoulin, Kailer Yamamoto, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 

Grade: B

After making the playoffs and eliminating Colorado in a first-round upset, GM Ron Francis did an effective job in plugging the holes created by free agent defections Soucy(to Vancouver), Donato (to Chicago), and Sprong (to Detroit). Dumoulin has Cup-winning experience with Pittsburgh, as does Bellemare with Tampa, but the coup could be Yamamoto, who Detroit bought out after being dealt by Edmonton. The 24-year-old winger is a good bet for a bounce-back after scoring 20 goals two years ago.  

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Vancouver Canucks

Subtractions: Travis Dermott 

Additions: Teddy Blueger, Pius Suter, Carson Soucy, Ian Cole, Matt Irwin

Grade: B-

GM Patrik Allvin made the difficult decision of rectifying the mistake made by predecessor Jim Benning, buying out the final three years of Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s deal. He did his best to solidify the blueline in the short term with the one-year signings of Cole and Irwin and added size with Soucy on a three-year deal.  Blueger is a solid depth forward with a playoff experience in Pittsburgh and a Cup ring with Vegas. 

Vegas Golden Knights

Subtractions: Teddy Blueger, Laurent Brossoit, Jonathan Quick

Additions:  None 

Grade: D

After re-signing Ivan Barbashev and playoff hero Adin Hill, Vegas is in cap jail (not unusual for them). Even after trading winger Reilly Smith to Pittsburgh, they were unable to participate in free agency, allowing Blueger, Brossoit, and Quick to leave, but the Golden Knights did not have any major holes to plug and are in good shape to take a run at back-to-back Cups.