The Stanley Cup has been awarded to the Vegas Golden Knights and individual awards have been handed out, which means the NHL’s offseason is officially in full swing.
A flurry of trades came Tuesday on the eve of the NHL draft in Nashville, Tennessee, as teams look to retool — or entirely remake — their rosters ahead of the 2023-24 season. There’s sure to be even more wheeling and dealing on the two days of the draft.
Here’s a quick breakdown of all the big trades that have occurred since June 13 — the day the 2022-23 season came to a close — that will change the complexion of next NHL season:
Kings complete sign-and-trade with Jets for Pierre-Luc Dubois
The biggest trade of the offseason to date sees the Los Angeles Kings acquire former No. 3 overall pick Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets for forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick in 2024. Dubois, a restricted free agent who told the Jets he wasn’t planning to re-sign, will be receiving an eight-year extension that carries an average annual value of $8.5 million.
Dubois, who was traded to Winnipeg in 2021 after he was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the third pick in 2016, had a career-high 63 points in 73 games last season. The Kings are clearly hoping he can help elevate an offense that finished ninth in goals last season and 20th in 2021-22 — campaigns that both ended in first-round playoff losses to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
In a June 24 trade, the Kings had offloaded defenseman Sean Durzi — who had one year remaining on his deal before he hit restricted few agency — to the Coyotes for a second-round pick.
This deal was reportedly shaping up to be much bigger, but in the end the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers send Hayes to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round pick in 2024. Philadelphia also is retaining 50% of Hayes’ salary cap hit.
This feels like a nice bit of business for the Blues. Hayes, 31, is coming off a 54-point season that was one point shy of his career high and with the Flyers retaining, his cap hit is just over $3.5 million for the next three years.
This trade is a sign the New Jersey Devils are interested in winning now. Toffoli, 31, was a bright spot for the Calgary Flames in what was otherwise a disappointing season, leading the team with career highs in goals (34) and points (73). The 2014 Stanley Cup champ figures to slot into the Devils’ top six and could set himself up to cash in one final time in his career as he becomes a UFA next summer. In the immediate, New Jersey has him on an extremely team-friendly $4.25 million cap hit.
The Flames, who acquired Toffoli in February 2022 for a package that included a first-round pick, get back forward Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick in this week’s draft. Sharangovich, 25, had 53 goals and 53 assists in three seasons with the Devils.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL trade tracker 2023: Analyzing biggest trades of hockey offseason
