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Several signatures and a large trade have upset the balance of power in the NHL in a few days.
As John Tavares returned to Toronto, Paul Stastny left Winnipeg for Vegas, St. Louis signed three independent players and traded for Ryan O. Reilly, the landscape of the league changed. The Washington Capitals bring back a large majority of their team, the West Conference is loaded and yet the Maple Leafs seem to be the favorites of the Stanley Cup after the addition of Tavares.
"He is one of the best players in the league," said Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman. "And I think it's obvious to say that Toronto is a better team today with this acquisition."
Tavares' decision to leave the New York Islanders puts them out of action and puts a lot of pressure on coach Mike Babbad's Maple Leafs to make a playoff race. Losing on Tavares despite reporting more money than the $ 77 million Maple Leafs over 11 years has prevented the Sharks from gaining favorite status in the West, but they might not be able to # 39; be.
"We are proud to be able to make things happen on the creators of differences like this one," said Doug Wilson, general manager of San Jose. "John was the one we wanted to rock."
The Sharks, who have extended Logan Couture and re-signed Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl to keep their core together, have a lot of marketable property and will continue to fight for a difference -manufacturer. One is on the market after trading Blues for O 'Reilly who gives them a powerful 1-2-3 punch in the middle with Brayden Schenn and the signing of free agent Tyler Bozak.
O 'Reilly saw the Blues sign Bozak on a $ 15 million contract for three years and wondered if there was more room for him. Now they have centers to match with any opponent in the league.
"You look at all the teams that are successful, they certainly have players in the middle of the competition," said O. Reilly on Monday.
The Capitals have distinguished themselves with Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom and Lars Eller at the Cup, and Babbad can launch Tavares, Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri. Vegas lost talent on the wing with David Perron in St. Louis and James Neal signing with Calgary but with a very competitive center corps led by Stastny, William Karlsson and Erik Haula.
"We like to have centers," said George McPhee, general manager of the Golden Knights. "You can move centers around the range.You can have centers on the wing.You can not get wingmen to play in the center."
Here is an overview of some other teams that are preparing for the season 2018-1919:
They have what they need
Lightning: The signing of Tavares would have been a luxury and would have required a redesign of the list to adapt it to the salary cap. Tampa Bay has signed a free referee contract with restrictions. J.T. Miller has signed a long-term contract with Ryan McDonagh, a long-time defender, who has secured a contract with Slater Koekkoek and is expected to have a large portion of the team that won the Atlantic Division last season.
Flames: Inner Neal on a $ 28.75 million five-year contract would be a great comeback to the Flames offseason that began with the acquisition of the Elias Lindholm Center and the Carolina defender Noah Hanifin. New coach Bill Peters could put Neal or Lindholm on the right wing with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.
GM Brad Treliving's final tasks in the off-season are finding a substitute goalkeeper for Mike Smith and signing free contracts with Lindholm and Hanifin.
Kings: In the long run, franchise defenseman Drew Doughty extended the eight-year extension with $ 88 million. In the short term, he also won the competition for the return of Russian winger Ilya Kovalchuk, whom DG Rob Blake believes can play with center six, Anze Kopitar or Jeff Carter, and produce at age 35 years old. Winger guy was something we had to add, "said Blake." Where he plays on the power play and the way he scores goals with his shot, I think that's something we've got coveted or sought. "
Work to be done
Senators: They exchanged Mike Hoffman, bought Alexander Burrows but still have at least one big problem with the future of defender Erik Karlsson , winner of the Norris Trophy The Senators reportedly gave Karlsson 's permission to talk with other teams about a contract that would allow Ottawa to trade its captain rather than lose him for nothing, as the Islanders did when Tavares did not sign early.
"We start on October 4," Director General Pierre Dorion said Sunday in Ottawa, "We have a lot of time."
Oilers: Connor McDavid won the Pointer title and Ted Lindsay award as the best choice of players, but Edmonton missed the playoffs by 17 points. Chief Executive Peter Chiarelli sparked the tenth pick in the repechage to try to get an offensive defenseman and could not get one yet.
Meanwhile, left wing Milan Lucic is 30 years old, he has come out of a 34-point duel and he still has five years left in his contract for an annual $ 6 million gain. . Lucic's name has appeared in the trade negotiations, but moving it will not be easy, so the Oilers must prepare for life with him next season.
"He is a proud guy, and we hope to have him back and at a better level than last year," Chiarelli said. "My level of confidence is quite high.I think Milan is a high profile character."
Islanders: Without Tavares, New York is teeming with ceiling spaces that n? have nothing to do with that. The property signaled the need for change by hiring Lou Lamoriello as president of the hockey operations, and in turn fired Garth Snow and Doug Weight, hired Barry Trotz and set up a neutral zone trap to keep Tavares. After getting out, Lamoriello took what might be perceived as a blow to Tavares and the previous regime by saying, "John has achieved great individual success on the ice" with the Islanders, who missed the playoffs in six of the nine Tavares meetings. seasons. Without a Lamoriello miracle this offseason, they will miss the playoffs for the 12th time in 15 years.
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