NHL Offseason Recap

With the majority of NHL teams preparing for the start of training camp, there will be a plethora of new faces suiting up in new sweaters for the 2023-2024 season. Here are a few of the most notable moves from this past offseason.

Erik Karlsson - San Jose Sharks to Pittsburgh Penguins

It was not much of a shock that the San Jose Sharks would be testing the market on the reigning Norris Trophy winner, Erik Karlsson this offseason. With a cap hit of $11.5 million, most teams were unable to afford the Swede, but former Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager, Kyle Dubas, was not going to let a player of Karlsson’s caliber slide in his first year in Pittsburgh.

Dubas, hoping to bolster the Pen’s backend by acquiring Karlsson, pieced together a three-way blockbuster deal with San Jose and Montreal to knock a few bucks off of the 33-year-old, seven-time All-Star’s hefty price tag.

After San Jose agreed to retain $1.5 million of Karlsson’s contract, the Penguins shipped off forwards Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman, defenseman Jan Rutta, and a 2024 first-round pick to the Sharks.

Along with Karlsson, Pittsburgh received forward prospect Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick from San Jose, as well as forward Rem Pitlick from Montreal.

Penguins’ defenseman Jeff Petry, goaltender Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick head north of the border to Montreal.

Coming off of his best season to date, 101 points, 25 goals and 76 assists, Karlsson joins fellow first-year Penguin Ryan Graves on the blueline as the Penguins hope to make one last playoff push with their aging offensive core.

Alex DeBrincat - Ottawa Senators to Detroit Red Wings

After showing glimpses of greatness in the 2021-2022 season, the “Yzerplan” took a bit of a detour last season with Detroit finishing second-to-last in the Atlantic Division (35-37-10).

It was apparent to Detroit’s general manager, Steve Yzerman, that his team lacked a natural goalscorer that could get his team over the hump of missing the playoffs since 2016.

Yzerman pulled the trigger in early July, trading for 25-year-old sniper and consistent 30-goal-scorer, Alex DeBrincat from Ottawa.

The Senators received winger Dominik Kubalik, defensive prospect Donovan Sebrango and a 2024 first and fourth round pick from Detroit in exchange for “The Cat.” Once the deal was finalized, he agreed to terms on a four-year, $31.5 million dollar contract extension.

Tyler Toffoli - Calgary Flames to New Jersey Devils

New Jersey made great strides in the regular season, winning 13 consecutive games, and finishing second in the division at 52-22-8 after finishing two points out from last place the year prior. Their core of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and recently acquired Timo Meier led the team to their first second-round playoff appearance since 2012.

Following their second-round exit thanks to the Carolina Hurricanes, it was clear to Devils’ general manager Tom Fitzgerald that his squad needed some gritty, veteran goal-scoring depth to round out his team’s roster.

Tyler Toffoli, a 31-year-old winger, met what Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils were looking for this offseason.

Fitzgerald struck a deal with Flames’ general manager, Craig Conroy, to send Toffoli to New Jersey in return for 25-year-old third-line winger, Yegor Sharangovich and the 80th overall pick in this past draft.

The 6-foot-0, 200-pound winger, coming off his best season to date, 34 goals and 39 assists, joins the fourth youngest team from the 2022-2023 season as they look to return to the postseason for the second straight year.

Owen Gelber is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email omg5144@psu.edu