2024 NHL Transactions: Key moves by each NHL Team

As the end of July nears, we enter the dog days of summer. It seems like last week hockey fans were watching the Edmonton Oilers stage a nearly historic comeback in NHL history only to be denied by the Florida Panthers in an anti-climatic game seven win by the Cats.

Only mere days after the season was completed the NHL held their annual awards, entry draft and July 1st marked the start of free-agent frenzy. There has been a lot going on since the end of the season. We wanted to take a look at the strongest moves and transactions made be each NHL team this off-season. Knowing that there still are some coaches and General Managers to be hired, additional free-agents to be signed and perhaps the odd trade or even an offer sheet coming.

Key Off-Season Transactions by every NHL Team

Every NHL club has been working on shaping or re-shaping their teams for the 2024-25 NHL season. There has been a ton of activity with some team being busier than others. Here is a look at key moves made thus far by each NHL team. We begin with the Anaheim Ducks.

Anaheim Ducks logo 2024-25Anaheim Ducks – We could argue that the rebranding of the Ducks uniforms (love the orange btw and the logo bears a striking resemblance to our Hockey Fanatics logo) is the biggest news of the offseason, but from a personnel perspective, the Ducks acquired defenseman Brian Dumolin for a 2026 fourth round pick from the Seattle Kraken. Playing over twenty minutes per game, Dumolin should help the team improve on their 27-50-5 record from last season.

Boston Bruins logoBoston Bruins – the Bruins biggest move of the off-season was looking at the Vancouver Canucks free agents and signing both Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Lindholm signed a 7-year deal with the Bruins while Zadorov signed a six year deal with a $5 million AAV.

Buffalo Sabres logoBuffalo Sabres – In early July, the Buffalo Sabres have acquired forwards Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Matt Savoie. While McLeod is a speedster and a decent penalty killer, the Sabres trading away a highly touted prospect in Matt Savoie raised some eyebrows. The Sabres also brought back Lindy Ruff as the new head coach replacing Don Granato.

Calgary Flames logoCalgary Flames – the Flames are in full on rebuild mode and have been offloading talent for a number of months. After setting the Canucks up for a playoff run by trading Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to the west coast, the Flames traded their starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils for a first round pick in 2025 (The first-round pick in the trade is top-10 protected. If New Jersey has a top-10 selection next year, Calgary would receive its first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.) and defenseman Kevin Dahl.

Carolina Hurricanes logoCarolina Hurricanes – lost of changes in Carolina this off-season. Just look at some of the departed players:

  • Brett Pesce and Stefan Noesen signed in New Jersey
  • Teuvo Teravainen signed in Chicago
  • Brady Skjei signed in Nashville

The Canes also signed Tyson Jost, Shayne Gostisbehere, Willian Carrier and Jack Roslovic in the offseason. However the biggest move by the Canes was signing head coach Rod Brind’Amour to a multiyear contract extension. Carolina has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs and won at least a round in each of his six seasons.

Chicago Blackhawks logoChicago Blackhawks – on July 1, the opening day of free agency, the Blackhawks signed a number of great role players including Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Pat Maroon, Alec Martinez and goalie Laurent Brossoit.

Colorado Avalanche LogoColorado Avalanche – the Avs have been one of the quietest teams this off-season, having had a few players retire and a couple sign elsewhere, the AVs haven’t made a big splash this off-season. Their largest moves probably re-signing Johnathan Drouin and Calvin de Haan.

Columbus Blue Jackets logoColumbus Blue Jackets – while at the time of this writing the Blue Jackets are still looking to hire their next head coach, their biggest move of the off-season is taking Cayden Lindstrom from Medicine Hat with the fourth overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft.

Dallas Stars logoDallas Stars – veteran forward Joe Pavelski retired, but the Stars were able to resign some key players including: Matt Duchesne, Nils Lundkvist and Sam Steel. Their biggest move? Signing Ilya Lyubuskin to a three year deal with an AAV of $3.25 million.

Detroit Red Wings logoDetroit Red Wings – The Red Wings were busy with a number of signings in the off-season, Their biggest signing was a two-year deal with Vladimir Tarasanko worth 4.75 million per season. Tarasanko won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers a few days prior to signing with the Wings.

Edmonton Oilers logoEdmonton Oilers – after again just being two goals short of winning the Stanley Cup, the Edmonton Oilers wasted no time in signing key pieces in their bid for another run next season. While the team is currently without a General Manager (although Mark Hunter is rumored to being the next GM of the team), the biggest signing will be if the Oilers can resign star center Leon Draisaitl. This will be the story of the summer if they can or cannot sign the big German forward. However in terms of deals completed, the biggest moves made by the Oilers were resigning Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattia Janmark. The Oilers also sign Jeff Skinner and resign Corey Perry. A very strong offseason for the NHL’s most northern team.

Florida Panthers logoFlorida Panthers – the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who just might be the most boring Stanley Cup champion in recent memory, lost a number of pieces from their Cup winning team:

  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson signed in Toronto
  • Brandon Montour signed in Seattle
  • Ryan Lomberg signed in Calgary
  • Vladimir Tarasenko signed in Detroit
  • Anthony Stolarz signed in Toronto

Their biggest move was resigning Dmitry Kulikov to a four year-extension.

Los Angeles Kings logoLos Angeles Kings – the most important move of the summer for the Kings is extending Quinton Byfield to a five-year deal with an AAV of $6.25 million.

Minnesota Wild logoMinnesota Wild – another quiet team this off season has been the Minnesota Wild. Their largest move was signing a number of players to two-way contracts.

Montreal Canadiens logoMontreal Canadiens – easily the biggest move by the Habs came from the NHL Entry draft where the Canadiens selected Ivan Demidov fifth overall. Demidov is a tremendous skater and excellent puck-handler capable of playing all three forward positions: right wing, left wing and center. He was arguably the second-most talented player in the draft. He’ll most likely spend one more season in the KHL before coming over and making his mark in North America.

Nashville Predators logoNashville Predators – the Preds have had a tremendous off season. The Preds were agreesive in free-agency and added a couple of past Stanley Cup winners to their team. The biggest fish they landed was getting Steven Stamkos from the Tampa Bay Lightning. “It’s huge because it’s a statement, I think, for the rest of the League that these players will come to Nashville,” general manager Barry Trotz said. “These players see what we’re doing with our franchise. We have lots to offer, and we’re very determined to win. Nashville will be much stronger this season. More on Preds signings.

New Jersey Devils logoNew Jersey Devils – The Devils were also very busy during the off-season signing a number of players and trading for goaltender Jacob Markstrom. However the biggest move made by the Devils was at coach when they hired Sheldon Keefe to replace Lindy Ruff.

New York Islanders logoNew York Islanders – the biggest transaction made by the Isles this offseason was signing Anthony Duclair to a 4-year deal.

New York Rangers logoNew York Rangers – a very quiet season for the Rangers. When their biggest move is signing depth-forward Sam Carrick you know that they are either comfortable with what they have or will be looking to pull a trade or two leading up to or in season.

Ottawa Senators logoOttawa Senators – this is a team with an upwards trajectory. Another team whose largest transaction was a coaching change. In is Travis Green who replaces DJ Smith in Canada’s capital as head coach of the Senators.

Philadelphia Flyers logoPhiladelphia Flyers – The Flyers moved back a post at the NHL draft with a trade with Minnesota. The Flyers then selected centre Jett Luchanko from Guelph. Luchanko is an explosive skater who projects to contribute on the top power play and penalty kill.

Pittsburgh Penguins logoPittsburgh Penguins – signing Sidney Crosby to an extension that will keep Sid the Kid a lifelong Penguin. While the deal has not been announced the Pens and Crosby are looking to sign an extension that will keep Sidney Crosby a Pittsburgh Penguin for the rest of his career.

San Jose Sharks logoSan Jose Sharks – with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft the San Jose Sharks are please to select Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini was third in the NCAA with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games as a freshman at Boston University and won the Hobey Baker Award as the top men’s player in NCAA ice hockey. ‘Nuff said.

Seattle Kraken logoSeattle Kraken – the most significant move by the Kraken this summer was naming Dan Bylsma their head coach. This is an excellent coach who has won a Stanley Cup (with the Pittsburgh Penguins) and who has done a tremendous job with the Kraken’s AHL team the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Speaking of which Bylsma’s first move was bringing in Jessica Campbell as the NHL’s first women assistant coach.

St. Louis Blues logoSt. Louis Blues – another team where their biggest transaction is hiring a new head coach. In is Drew Bannister to replace Craig Berube.

Tampa Bay Lightning logoTampa Bay Lightning – on June 30th, the Lightning acquired the rights to pending free agent Jake Guentzel in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Lightning then signed Guentzel to a seven-year $63 million dollar contract.

Toronto Maple Leafs logoToronto Maple Leafs – another season another disappointment. As such a fair amount of movement in Leafsnation. The largest move was behind the bench as the Leafs hired Craig Berube to replace Sheldon Keefe.

Utah Hockey Club logoUtah Hockey Club – the newly located Utah Hockey Club selected from the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL Tij Iginla (son of Jarome). Iginla went early as many thought he would land at #9 or #10 and go to the Calgary Flames.

Vancouver Canucks logoVancouver Canucks – after losing a handful pf players in free agency, the Canucks were able to land former first-round pick Jake DeBrusk in free agency.

Vegas Golden Knights logoVegas Golden Knights – the Knights signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one year $1.8 million dollar contarct. Rumours persist of the Knights trading for Mitch Mariner out of Toronto.

Washington Capitals logoWashington Capitals – lost of moves by the Capitals in the off-season. Their biggest move might just be trading for Andrew Mangiapane from Calgary for a 2025 second-round pick. The trade the Capitals made for Pierre Luc Dubois just might be the worst transaction made this summer.

Winnipeg Jets logoWinnipeg Jets – with the retirement of Rick Bowness, the Jets named Scott Arniel as their head coach for the upcoming season.