Grading every NHL team’s free-agency moves so far this offseason

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Grading every NHL team’s free-agency moves so far this offseason

By The Athletic NHL Staff
July 4, 2026 6:00 am CDT

Four days into 2026 NHL free agency, the list of impact players remaining on the market of an already thin class is … not lengthy. That hasn’t stopped teams from making shocking moves to improve their rosters.

Has your favorite team gotten the help it needed?

The Athletic asked its NHL staff this week for their assessments of the early moves. The analysis is subjective to each beat, not based on a scale, and factors in a team’s ability to make moves under the salary cap. Trades and re-signings since the season ended are also considered.

Here are the grades our writers assigned for the work done so far.

Anaheim Ducks: D

Their big move was trading Mason McTavish to St. Louis for futures, and they’re betting on Nikita Klepov becoming a skilled NHL winger one day. But it’s been an offseason of roster losses with the right side of their defense and depth forwards lost to free agency. Some were allowed to walk, but A.J. Greer is a pricey fourth-line winger, and Nick Jensen won’t fill all the holes in the defense. Then they were hammered with the Flyers’ massive offer sheet to Leo Carlsson, Anaheim’s best player. It’s been an underwhelming summer so far, and it could become disastrous if they don’t match. — Eric Stephens

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St. Louis Blues: B+

The Blues needed centers, a veteran defenseman and toughness, and they got all three. They traded for Anaheim’s Mason McTavish, who will be the No. 2 center, and drafted centers Tynan Lawrence (No. 11 overall) and Maddox Dagenais (No. 16). They traded for defenseman Brandon Carlo, which will allow 2024 first-round pick Adam Jiricek to grow at his own rate. And they signed enforcer Ross Johnston, who will make opponents think twice. None of the moves were flashy, but they were necessary. — Jeremy Rutherford

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/741983 ... offseason/