- Daily Faceoff ranks Anaheim as the Western Conference’s biggest offseason loser
- Edmonton and Los Angeles round out the top three, with Dallas taking an honorable mention
- Read below for the full Western rundown and what the $18 million Carlsson match cost the Ducks
Anaheim came out of this summer worse off than any other team in the Western Conference.
Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco put the Ducks at No. 1 on his list of Western clubs that went backward this offseason. Edmonton slots second, Los Angeles third, and Dallas drew an honorable mention. Detroit topped the Eastern Conference version last week.
The bill came due in Anaheim on July 9. Philadelphia fired a five-year, $90 million offer sheet at Leo Carlsson, and Pat Verbeek matched it instead of taking four first-round picks:
That $18 million cap hit is the richest in league history, and it left the Ducks with roughly $9 million in room and Cutter Gauthier still unsigned. Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano are the obvious money to move, and all three carry trade protection.
Anaheim also lost the entire right side of its defense. John Carlson, Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba all walked in free agency, and Nick Jensen is the replacement.
Edmonton lands second for a different set of reasons. Stan Bowman shipped Darnell Nurse to San Jose for Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp, then added Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi to sort out the crease:
Connor McDavid is two years from unrestricted free agency and only signed for two. Then there is the Mike Babcock hire, the kind of swing that gets a general manager run out of town if the season goes sideways.
Ken Holland’s Kings finish third after another trip through the veteran aisle. Erik Haula, Corey Perry, Mats Zuccarello and Erik Gustafsson average 37 years old, and Los Angeles has quietly become one of the oldest rosters in the league:
Dallas earned the honorable mention on math alone. The Stars sit about $1.3 million over the cap because of bonus overages, moved on from Mavrik Bourque and Ilya Lyubushkin to get there, and watched a Zach Werenski trade die when the player said no.
Jason Robertson only signed a one-year, $12 million extension, so Jim Nill reopens that file in January.
Anaheim still has a month before camp to fix the Gauthier situation. Verbeek has to move salary out first.
