1 out of 6 And the first drop of the season is still three months away. But if you think that means it’s a slow time in the NHL, you couldn’t be more wrong. Noon ET on Wednesday marked the start of perhaps the most important period on the sports calendar (besides the actual games, of course) with the arrival of the signing period for the annual pool of unrestricted free agents. As usual, big names and big deals were in vogue, and the B/R hockey team was primed and ready to see how things went while compiling a definitive list of winners and losers from the chaotic opening hours. Scroll through to see what we came up with and leave a thought or two in the comments section. 2 out of 6 The southern Alberta natives won a Pacific Division title but were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers in the provincial rivals’ first postseason meeting in 31 years. And once the handshake lines were dispersed, the clock began ticking toward the impending free agency of prolific forwards Johnny Gaudreau (unrestricted) and Matthew Tkachuk (restricted). Gaudreau’s clock ended Tuesday night when he informed general manager Brad Treliving that he would test the waters of free agency despite an eight-year offer on the table from the Flames. Treliving said afterward that it was unlikely Gaudreau would return and sign with Calgary once the market opens Wednesday. He was right. Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets for seven years. Meanwhile, Tkachuk’s long-term status is also in question. The 24-year-old received a $9 million qualifying offer from the Flames that will keep him from unrestricted free agency this season, but has been the subject of trade rumors now that Gaudreau is gone and could become unrestricted after the 2022. -23 season. 3 out of 6 To that end, a pair of blockbusters were made official several hours before the 12pm kickoff, with Pittsburgh veteran Evgeni Malkin and recent Edmonton acquisition Evander Kane deciding to stick with their respective teams. Malkin, a 35-year-old with three Stanley Cups on his resume, was set to test free agency for the first time in his career before agreeing to a four-year, $24.4 million extension that will likely allow the Russian-born star to stay in the Steel City for the remainder of his NHL stay. Meanwhile, Kane, who moved to northern Alberta in January after his existing contract was terminated by the San Jose Sharks, took to social media overnight to say he had agreed to his own four-year contract that will keep him in Edmonton for $20.5 million. In addition to Malkin and Kane, two other high-profile players decided in the days before the deadline to stay put with new deals rather than test the market. Forward Filip Forsberg signed an eight-year, $68 million contract that will keep him with the Nashville Predators, with whom he debuted in 2012-13, through 2029-30. Set career bests in goals (42), assists (42) and points (84) in 2021-22. And sticking with Malkin and Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh is defenseman Kris Letang, another three-time Cup winner, who re-upped for six years and $36.6 million. Also 35, Letang had career highs in assists (58) and points (68) last season. 4 out of 6 Goals are paid. It’s true again as two bona fide No. 1 netminders grabbed five-year deals worth at least $5 million a year. Darcy Kuemper, the 32-year-old who backstopped the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in late June, collected $26.3 million over five years with the Washington Capitals. Kuemper went 10-4 in the title run with the Avalanche, but became expendable when then-GM (and now president of hockey operations) Joe Sakic acquired Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in the draft and then signed him to a three-year deal worth $10.2 million. “Super excited for the new opportunity,” Kuemper said. “I think this is a team that can win it. It’s always a lot of fun to be a part of. I’m really looking forward to getting started. It’s going to be a short summer, but I’m looking forward to getting down there and meeting the guys. Also hitting the $25 million mark was 30-year-old Jack Campbell, who was 31-9-6 in 49 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs but will spend the next five with the $5 million-a-year Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers had a void at No. 1 after Mikko Koskinen signed to play in Europe, and reports surfaced that 40-year-old Mike Smith would either retire or spend the 2022-23 season on long-term injured reserve, making him unavailable. to play. The only other goaltender with NHL experience on Edmonton’s roster, Stewart Skinner, has played 14 games. “The fan base is an amazing fan base,” Campbell said. “I’ve played games here. I can’t wait to wear the blue and orange.” 5 out of 6 The team sent four teams to the playoffs with at least 100 points, and last season’s fifth-place team, the New York Islanders, had reached the NHL playoff final twice in a row. But in October and beyond, it will be an even bigger challenge. In the biggest league-wide move of the day, the Columbus Blue Jackets made a major effort to improve from last season’s sixth-place finish in the Metropolitan by signing forward Johnny Gaudreau to seven years and $68.3 million after he left the Calgary. . Gaudreau was expected to head to the East Coast to be near his hometown in southern New Jersey. However, he turned down potential opportunities with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils to choose the Blue Jackets for less money than they had offered him to stay with the Flames. Gaudreau had 115 career points in 2021-22, 53 more than Columbus’ leading scorer, Jakub Voracek, who had six goals and 56 assists in 79 games. Meanwhile, each of the teams in the upper echelon of the division also made strides to get better, including the top-ranked Carolina Hurricanes. They made a deal with Vegas to acquire forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan, and they got defenseman Brent Burns and a minor leaguer from San Jose for two players and a draft. The trades helped soften the blow Carolina may have felt after the free agent exit of forward Vincent Trocheck to the second-ranked New York Rangers on a seven-year, $39.4 million contract. Trocheck, a 29-year-old, had 21 goals and 51 points in 81 games with the Hurricanes in 2021-22. As previously reported, the third-place Penguins retained the services of Letang and Malkin for four more years each in an effort to keep Pittsburgh’s title window open, and the fourth-place Washington Capitals got a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender in Kuemper . after one season with the Colorado Avalanche. 6 out of 6 But he didn’t. So the Flyers not only didn’t benefit from having the inside track on the league’s most coveted free agents, but they did very little on Day 1 to indicate that their rise to last-place Metropolitan irrelevance is coming soon. No offense to Nicolas Deslauriers, Justin Braun or Cooper Marody, but they’re not exactly the players they’re likely to need to improve on a 25-46-11 record. A 31-year-old winger, Deslauriers comes in after totaling eight goals and 13 points in 81 games between Minnesota and Anaheim last season. The Flyers will be his fifth team in a career that has seen him score 10 goals with the Montreal Canadiens in 2017-18. He signed a four-year contract worth $7 million. Braun is a 35-year-old defenseman who split last season between the Flyers and New York Rangers, and Marody, 25, signed for two years and just more than $1.5 million after scoring 55 points in 52 games last season with the Bakersfield of the AHL. . It’s an inglorious start to the tenure of coach John Tortorella, who was hired in mid-June. Philadelphia acquired defenseman Tony DeAngelo from Carolina in a trade on Friday and signed him to a two-year, $10 million contract, then bought out the one season left on a three-year contract signed by defenseman Oskar Lindblom in 2020. The acquisition was supposed to be a move to free up cap space for Gaudreau to make a pitch, but his decision to sign Columbus leaves the Flyers with a roster led in 2021-22 by James van Riemsdyk’s 24 goals and 52 points by Travis Konecny. The Ottawa Senators probably won’t win the Stanley Cup next season. But there’s no doubt it will be at least a little more relevant than it has been in recent years. While the needle hasn’t moved on championship contention, the Senators have been able to retool as they try to build toward respectability in 2022-23. Their first step came on draft day when Ottawa acquired 41-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a package that included the seventh overall pick in the draft, which Chicago used to select defenseman Kevin Korchinski. DeBrincat has one more year on his $6.4 million contract and matches up with a young core of Brady Tkachuk (22), Josh Norris (23) and Tim Stutzle (20) that scored 87 goals last season. “The ability to add someone who is consistent…
