With Day 1 of free agency in the books, theScore's Kyle Cushman, Sean O'Leary, and Josh Wegman share their winners and losers from the early rush of offseason madness.
Winner: Oilers
Edmonton ridding itself of Darnell Nurse's $9.25-million cap hit for the next four years without either retaining salary or taking back another bad contract seemed almost impossible. General manager Stan Bowman managed to get Nurse to extend the list of teams he would be willing to accept a trade to, then found a suitor in the San Jose Sharks to not just take on his full contract, but give up assets as well.
Nurse was outscored 69-55 at five-on-five last season. A split was necessary, and Edmonton found a way to do it efficiently.
The Oilers then filled Nurse's gap on the roster by taking a smart bet on Ryan Shea after his breakout campaign. The 29-year-old put up 35 points last season after barely playing in the NHL previously. Shea won his five-on-five minutes 77-55, averaged almost 19 minutes, and he had a 51.2% expected goals share. If he continues to play at that level, having Shea at $4 million will be an excellent value contract.
Edmonton also added a goalie coming off a Cup run. Frederik Andersen can't give you 50-plus starts anymore, but his play throughout much of the playoffs showed he still has some game left. There weren't many appealing goalie options in free agency, and Andersen is a low-risk move on a one-year contract.
The flexibility the Nurse move provides the Oilers is immense. Edmonton now has over $6 million in cap space, and that's even with Shea's contract, Andersen's deal, and Kasperi Kapanen's new pact.
Add in a fun bet on goaltender Devon Levi, and it was a positive day for the Oilers. - Cushman
Loser: Sharks
What a roller-coaster offseason for the Sharks. They were our big winners from the draft, but they completely laid an egg on Day 1 of free agency.
The Mason Marchment contract is fine, but it's fair to be skeptical of the job GM Mike Grier has done overhauling the blue line with large financial commitments to Nurse and Jacob Trouba.
The Sharks are absorbing the entirety of Nurse's albatross contract, doing a huge favor for the division-rival Oilers. They also sent a promising young defenseman in Shakir Mukhamadullin the other way.
Trouba, meanwhile, landed a higher-than-expected payday of four years with an $8.25-million AAV in free agency.
Nurse and Trouba have been destroyed in their minutes the last several seasons. Having them both in San Jose's top four - or even together as a pair - could be disastrous. Considering Nurse is 31 and Trouba is 32, these contracts could only look worse as the years pass, even in a rising cap environment. The Sharks had lots of money to play with, but these deals could prove problematic as San Jose looks to lock up its young core over the next four years. - Wegman
Could go either way: Maple Leafs
John Chayka's heap of cap space evaporated in a flash Wednesday, as the Maple Leafs handed out contracts to Sergei Bobrovsky, Jack Roslovic, Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger, and Colton Sissons while also trading for Nick Paul. Bobrovsky's three-year, $21-million contract is a huge gamble considering the 38-year-old is coming off a horrific season statistically, and Toronto traded Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby to make room for the future Hall of Famer. Bobrovsky may turn back the clock in a tandem with Anthony Stolarz, but $7 million per year is a sizeable commitment for a player with so many red flags.
Elsewhere, Toronto's bottom six definitely needed an overhaul going into next season, but was adding four players of the same archetype really necessary? Roslovic has 20-goal potential, but the rest of Chayka's signings are low-ceiling, defensive-minded players. Maybe it works out under a new head coach, but it's going to take time to determine whether allocating almost all of the club's cap space to depth players is enough to make Toronto a playoff team again. It's especially curious that the Maple Leafs didn't target a defenseman in their spending spree, as the club needs reinforcements on both sides of the blue line to compete again. More moves could (and should) be coming from the Maple Leafs, but after Day 1, there's more questions than answers in Toronto. - O'Leary
Winner: Canadiens
Montreal locked in yet another member of its core at a favorable cap hit on a long-term contract. Ivan Demidov at $9.15 million until 2035 is incredibly strong work by GM Kent Hughes. It's a contract that already looks like a steal and could grow into one of the league's most valuable contracts.
It's going to be harder and harder to secure young players at maximum term in a rapidly growing salary cap environment. The Canadiens were proactive extending Juraj Slafkovsky in 2024, Lane Hutson in 2025, and now Demidov in 2026. The first two deals have become incredibly valuable contracts. It's reasonable to expect Demidov's to become viewed in a similar light after a 62-point rookie campaign and continued growth ahead.
Every July 1, contending teams make ill-advised decisions chasing marginal upgrades that end up being net-negative moves. The Canadiens have avoided bad contracts in free agency and did it again. It's been years since Montreal has dipped into the free-agent market in any meaningful way. While other contenders have spent cap space recklessly, Montreal is better off for having the patience to wait and pounce on the right fit. - Cushman
Loser: Stars
It's been nothing but swings and misses so far this offseason for Stars GM Jim Nill. On Tuesday, Zach Werenski reportedly vetoed a trade to Dallas that would've given the Stars an enviable 1-2 punch with Miro Heiskanen on the back end. On Thursday, Jason Robertson nixed a trade to the Seattle Kraken that reportedly would've netted Dallas the No. 7 pick in Friday's draft. Robertson's contract saga continues to drag on without a resolution, which is, in part, why the Stars had to trade Mavrik Bourque to the Nashville Predators for a lackluster return Wednesday. Otherwise, they would've been vulnerable to an offer sheet. For kickers, the Stars haven't added a single noteworthy player so far this offseason (no offense, Joel Kiviranta) coming off a first-round exit. Not ideal. - Wegman
Could go either way: Zach Werenski
Werenski's time on trade boards was short-lived, as the star defenseman and Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell released statements affirming his commitment to Columbus. We'll go ahead and give Blue Jackets fans a win on this one, but for Werenski and the organization, this decision feels like they're kicking the can down the road. Fair play to Werenski for wanting to help the Blue Jackets become a playoff team, but what happens if they don't take a step forward this season? Does trade talk ramp up again at the trade deadline? Will the noise of this saga become a distraction for the rest of the team? Looking further, what if Werenski doesn't commit to an extension next July, again opening the door for trade talks?
Trading the face of the franchise isn't something Waddell should be jumping at doing, but Wednesday's resolution feels more like only delaying the inevitable. - O'Leary
