Where do we even begin?
Sure, Round One of The Draft on Friday was fairly tame, but Day Two on Saturday may as well have been re-named “Trade Deadline 2.0.” Then came Monday’s opening of Free Agency in a whirlwind that more than lived up to the “Free Agent Frenzy” moniker it carries on social media. And if that wasn’t enough for you, the full season schedule for 2024-25 dropped.
Obviously, we can’t get to everything, otherwise, this column would be the length of several books, but we’ll focus on the highlights, as well as what the local teams (Islanders, Devils, and Rangers) did.
But before we even get into all of that, we have a question for Commissioner Gary Bettman. “Commissioner, what the heck are you thinking?!?!”
On Monday, The League announced that Stan Bowman, Joel Quenneville, and Al MacIssac had been reinstated, after roughly three years away, following the fallout of The Kyle Beach Situation. I’m not saying people don’t deserve second chances, but The NHL needed to read the room better. Now was not the time. The League still can’t get its act together when it comes to properly expressing its inclusivity initiatives.
How are people supposed to believe that “Hockey Is For Everyone” when three key figures – granted, none of them were the main villain – in one of the worst scandals in recent history, were allowed back in before numerous players, who were unofficially banished because they spoke up against some of the issues hockey has been trying to suppress? It just doesn’t make any sense. For a league that likes to think it’s making progress, it’s the same old, “two steps forward, three steps back” routine. We can have a much bigger conversation about this, but now isn’t the time, so let’s keep the puck moving.
Going into Night One of The Draft, many people expected there to be fireworks with plenty of trade rumors swirling about. But they never materialized. Macklin Celebrini went No. 1 to the Sharks just as he was supposed to. Beckett Sennecke became an internet meme when the Ducks drafted him third overall; much to his surprise. And Utah ruined a potentially beautiful moment when it selected Tij Iginla with the sixth pick, just three spots before Calgary was supposedly going to take him.
The Devils got bigger, just not right away, when they selected defenseman Anton Silayev with the 10th pick. The Russian defender measured in at 6-7, 211 lbs. but he isn’t expected to make the jump to The NHL just yet.
The Islanders benefitted from a few last-minute concerns and drafted a sliding Cole Eiserman with the 20th overall selection. Eiserman was arguably the most talented sniper in the entire draft class and could potentially see time in The NHL this season. If he lives up to that billing, GM Lou Lamoriello will have committed the steal of The Draft.
Finally, the Rangers selected defenseman EJ Emery with the 30th pick, but they likely won’t see him in The NHL for a few years as he’s already committed to going to The University of North Dakota.
That’s all we need to know for Night One. Day Two was a much different animal.
Remember how people speculated there would be a ton of trades during The Draft, well, they got them, just not on Night One. Day Two was trades, trades, and more trades. And it all started with the Lightning shipping defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, first thing in the morning, for J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, a 2024 seventh-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder.
Forget the morning coffee! That one woke everybody up. Overall, 22 trades were made on Saturday with some being more consequential than others.
As for our local teams, the Devils made six picks on Day Two and they continued to emphasize size as an important factor; drafting five players who measured in at 6-3 or taller. New Jersey is tired of getting pushed around on the ice and they did something about it. Most draft analysts gave them an overall grade in the neighborhood of a B+.
The Islanders, who many expected to make some major moves to clear cap space, made no such transactions. Instead, they made five Day Two selections, with none of them expected to make much of an impact in the immediate future. Overall, most analysts gave them a draft grade in the neighborhood of a C+.
Lastly, The Blueshirts made only three Day Two selections and generally had people flummoxed as they seemed to go off the board with each pick. Overall, Draft Analysts didn’t think too highly of New York’s weekend and seemed to settle on a grade of a D+.
Now, for Free Agency…
As of the writing of this column, 185 free-agent contracts had been signed for a total of $1,211,910,000. It’s the largest sum of money ever doled out on a single day in NHL history. Thank you CapFriendly for the stats, you will be missed when The Capitals shut you down in a couple of days.
The biggest stunners of course were Steven Stamkos leaving Tampa Bay for Nashville and Jonathan Marchessault bolting Vegas to join Stamkos in the country music capital of the world. It’s safe to say The Predators won the day. Whether or not that will lead to a Stanley Cup Championship is a question for next Spring.
Believe it or not, but Stamkos and Marchessault were both rumored to be nearing deals with the Devils before news broke of them going to Nashville. But fear not Devils fans, you still had yourselves a pretty good day.
New Jersey signed five players to contracts, with the three most important ones being: Brett Pesce; Brenden Dillon, and Stefan Noesen. With Pesce and Dillon on board, The Devils’ defense has received a complete makeover from last year and should no longer be an area of concern. Plus, in sticking with the theme of their draft, the Garden Staters continued to get bigger and more physical; a much-needed change from last season.
The Islanders, with the smallest amount of cap space in The League, managed to make two signings of note. They re-signed defenseman Mike Reilly and they brought in noted speedster Anthony Duclair. While Reilly is a nice piece, it’s the signing of Duclair that really stands out. The well-traveled winger has had an up-and-down career, but with his speed, he should slot in nicely alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. That’s a line that won’t, or shouldn’t, lose many races to the puck.
And lastly, The Rangers, who are rumored to be trying to trade Captain Jacob Trouba, made minimal moves on the opening day of free agency. They signed Sam Carrick to a three-year deal worth $3M total ($1M AAV) and traded for Reilly Smith. Carrick is a depth forward who will likely anchor the fourth line. Meanwhile, Reilly, who cost them a 2025 conditional fifth-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder, is likely to get a chance to play alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. However, the more likely scenario is Reilly playing most of his minutes on the third line as he doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a top-line right winger.
For our final piece of news, the 2024-25 schedule is dropping, and with it comes a rumor that when the current CBA is up in two years from now, The League will be making a push to move to an 84-game regular season. But that’s something we can sink our teeth into at another time.
That’s all for now, but rest assured, the zany hockey off-season is just getting started.
Eiserman photo by Sportsology
