NHL: Summer winners and losers…so far

The free agent season is only about two weeks old, and already some teams have found ways to improve significantly, at least on paper, while others have lost key pieces to their rosters.

By trade or by awarding contracts, general managers are trying to fill voids on their respective teams. Some seem to succeed while others fail miserably.

Of course, the summer isn’t over yet and the real test will come at the start of the 2022-2023 campaign. But until then, here are the NHL offseason winners and losers so far.

Winners:

Ottawa Senators

: Claude Giroux (free agent, LW), Alex Debrincott (trade, LW), Cam Talbot (trade, G)

: Matt Murray (trade, L), Philip Gustavson (trade, L)

: Josh Norris (C)

So far, the summer of 2022 belongs to Pierre Dorion. The CEO is very proactive and not afraid to think outside the box.

First, Dorian managed to get a hand on forward Alex Debrincott of the Chicago Blackhawks. For this, he will have to pay a 3rd round pick in 2024 as well as 1st round picks (7th) and 2nd round pick (39th) in 2022.

Later, he was able to get rid of goaltender Matt Murray, who didn’t deliver the goods for Ottawa after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dorion, however, had to give up 25% of Murray’s salary in addition to giving up a 3rd round pick in 2023 and another 7th round pick in 2024 to the Toronto Maple Leafs to send Murray to the Queen City. Instead, he gets only future observations.

However, with the freedom he created for himself, he made a wild do to another goalkeeper, Filip Gustavsson.