Offseason Recap-Northwest Division

Beginning the Western Conference, here is a look at the Northwest Division.


Vancouver Canucks - 1
Key Signings
7/1: C Manny Malhotra (SJ) 3 years
7/1: C Joel Perrault (PHO) 1 year
7/1: LW Jeff Tambellini (NYI)
7/1: D Dan Hamhuis (NAS) 6 years
7/12: G Tyler Weiman (COL)
7/12: C Alexandre Bolduc (re-signed)
7/12: LW Tanner Glass (re-signed)
7/12: D Shane O'Brien (re-signed)
7/22: R Jannik Hansen (re-signed)
7/26: LW Mason Raymond (re-signed)
8/25: LW Raffi Torres (BUF)
Trades
6/25:D Keith Ballard and RW Victor Oreskovich from FLA for RW Steve Bernier, RW Michael Grabner, and 1st round draft pick (2010)
Departures
G Andrew Raycroft (DAL)
C Pavol Demitra (KHL, Yaroslavl)
D Willie Mitchell
C Kyle Wellwood
D Brad Lukowich
What To Expect
The city that saw gold last year will be expecting silver this season.Not much has changed on the front lines. Manny Malhotra and Raffi Torres will combine to add plenty of grit. An already solid defensive core was made stronger, despite the loss of shutdown specialist Willie Mitchell. Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard are new in town and combine with Christian Ehrhoff, Alexander Edler, Sami Salo, and Kevin Bieksa to form a solid defensive group. The move most likely to help the Canucks however, may be Dustin Byfuglien heading to the Eastern Conference and away from Luongo's crease.

Colorado Avalanche - 7
Key Signings
7/2: D Kyle Quincy (re-signed) 2 years
7/2: LW Daniel Winnik (PHO) 2 years
7/7: LW Brandon Yip (re-signed) 2 years
Trades
6/17: LW Julian Talbot from STL for C TJ Hensick
6/26: LW Daniel Winnik from PHO for 4th round draft pick (2012)
Departures
D Brett Clark (TB)
D Brian Fahey (WAS)
G Tyler Weiman (VAN)
RW Brian Willsie (WAS)
LW Chris Durno (TB)
D Ruslan Salei (DET)
RW Marek Svatos
C Stephane Yelle
LW Darcy Tucker
What To Expect
Its up to the young players now in Colorado. If second year players Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly can avoid the sophomore slump and Peter Mueller can get back to his rookie form which showed after being ntraded to Colorado from Phoenix last season, the Avalanche should be able to make the playoff two seasons in a row for the first time since the lockout. There were not many changes from the team that finished last season. Super pest Darcy Tucker and the uber-talented but ultra-frustrating Marek Svatos are gone,


Calgary Flames - 10
Key Signings
7/1: LW Alex Tanguay (TB) 1 year
7/1: C Olli Jokinen (NYR) 2 years $6 M
7/2: RW Tim Jackman (NYI) 2 years
7/2: LW Raitis Ivanans (LA) 2 years
7/17: RW Kris Chucko (re-signed)
7/18: D Matt Pelech (re-signed) 1 year
7/20: LW Brett Sutter (re-signed) 1 year
7/30: D Ian White (re-signed) 1 year
8/11: C Craig Conroy (re-signed) 1 year
Trades
6/30: C Logan MacMillan and 7th round draft pick (2013) from ANA for RW Jason Jaffray and 7th round draft pick (2013)
Departures
LW Eric Nystrom (MIN)
LW Chris Higgins (FLA)
D Brett Palin (NAS)
F Jamal Mayers (SJ)
LW Colin Stuart
LW Nigel Dawes
What To Expect
For a team that boasts one of the best forwards and goalies in the league, the Flames do not seem like a playoff team. GM Darryl Sutter brought Olli Jokinen back to Calgary after already making the right move and getting rid of him at the trade deadline last year. Alex Tanguay has had some of his best seasons in Calgary and with just a one year deal, thats not a bad signing. The defense is the same as it was at the end of last year when they tied for the fifth best goals against average. That really won't matter too much if they continue to struggle to score goals.


Minnesota Wild - 14
Key Signings
7/1: LW Guillaume Latendresse (re-signed) 2 years
7/1: C Matt Cullen (OTT)
7/1: LW Eric Nystrom (CAL) 3 years
7/2: D Drew Bagnall (LA) 1 year
7/2: C Warren Peters (DAL) 2 years
7/8: Robbie Earl (re-signed)
7/14: G Josh Harding (re-signed) 1 year
7/15: G Anton Khudobin (re-signed) 1 year
8/6: C John Madden (CHI) 1 year
Trades
6/21: RW Brad Staubitz from SJ for 5th round draft pick (2010)
Departures
LW Derek Boogaard (NYR)
D John Scott (CHI)
C Andrew Ebbett (PHO)
D Jamie Sifers (MIN)
C Andy Hilbert (NYI)
What To Expect
The new era of hockey in Minnesota didn;t really improve the team's success last season and it doesn;t look to be getting any better. Matt Cullen is a solid signing, he can flirt with 20 goals and play on the special teams, but it will not be nearly enough to help a team that finished in the bottom third in offense. Niklas Backstrom will be a workhorse once again behind a defense that didn't get any better. The State of Hockey looks to in for another long winter.


Edmonton Oilers - 15
Key Signings
7/1: D Kurtis Foster (TB) 2 years, $3.6 M
7/1: C Colin Fraser (CHI) 2 years
7/2: F Steve MacIntyre (FLA) 1 year
7/2: D Jason Strudwick (re-signed) 1 year
7/13: G Devan Dubnyk (re-signed)
7/14: LW J. F. Jacques (re-signed) 1 year
7/15: D Theo Peckham (re-signed) 1 year
7/27: C Gilbert Brule (re-signed) 2 years, $3.7 M
7/31: G Jeff Deslauriers (re-signed) 1 year
8/9: LW Liam Reddox (re-signed) 1 year
8/29: C Sam Gagner (re-signed) 2 years, $4.55 M
Trades
6/24: C Colin Fraser from CHI for 6th round draft pick (2010)
6/26: 2nd round draft pick (2010) from CAR for C Riley Nash
6/30: D Jim Vandermeer from PHO for C Patrick O-Sullivan
Departures
LW Chris Minard (DET)
LW Ethan Moreau (CLB)
RW Fernando Pisani (CHI)
What To Expect
There are benefits to being last overall as Edmonton was awarded the number one overall draft pick and the right to choose Taylor Hall. He will join a young group of forwards trying to prove themselves in the NHL. Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano needs to have breakout seasons and Duntin Penner must continue the upward trajectory he showed last season if they wish to improve their 27th ranked offense. Having Ales Hemsky for a full season will certainly help. Nikolai Khabibulin is healthy again as well but has his legal troubles to deal with before thinking about playing goal. Hopefully if the youth movement goes as planned, Edmonton be toiling in the basement much longer.

Sources: NHL.com Free Agent tracker, TSN.ca TradeCentre, The Hockey News Yearbook