Now that the 2005 - 2006 NHL season has pretty much played out except for the Stanley Cup Finals, let's take a look at the so-called Winners and Losers of the free-agent frenzy that happened at the end of the NHL lockout last year. I'll be referencing this article.
So-Called Winners
- Boston Bruins - didn't make the playoffs
- Calgary Flames - lost in conference quarters
- Chicago Blackhawks - didn't make the playoffs - among the league's worst
- Columbus Blue Jackets - didn't make the playoffs
- Edmonton Oilers - cup finalists
- Los Angeles Kings - didn't make the playoffs
- Nashville Predators - lost in conference quarters
- Pittsburgh Penguins - didn't make the playoffs - among the league's worst
- Philadelphia Flyers - lost in conference quarters
So-Called Losers
- Buffalo Sabres - lost in conference finals
- Colorado Avalanche - lost in conference semis
- Anaheim Ducks - lost in conference finals
- New York Islanders - didn't make playoffs
- New York Rangers - lost in conference quarters
- Ottawa Senators - lost in conference semis
- Phoenix Coyotes - didn't make playoffs
- Toronto Maple Leafs - didn't make playoffs
- St. Louis Blues - didn't make playoffs - among the league's worst
Looks like there were more "losers" who had success in getting deep into the playoffs than "winners". Those losers made fewer moves to acquire free agents because they knew they were building a strong team.
I'm having a tough time finding other articles to reference... it's an old topic, but I wonder how many of those writer will actually go back and revisit what they wrote almost a year ago. Drafting isn't exciting. Free agents are exciting. But I'll never get tired of saying this: you build a winning NHL club through drafting.