A look at five key NHL offseason moves before the 2015-16 season.
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1. Blackhawks take a haircut
After winning its third Stanley Cup in six years, Chicago had to shave salaries and traded Patrick Sharp to Dallas and Brandon Saad to Columbus before losing Johnny Oduya to free agency (Dallas).
2. Phil Kessel trade
Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby craved a right-shooting scorer, and he got one of the best around in Phil Kessel from Toronto. The nine-player trade came July 1 when free agency had just begun.
3. $50 million worth of advice.
Mike Babcock left his 10-year coaching gig in Detroit for a $50 million, eight-year deal in Toronto. His assistants won’t ever have to buy lunch.
4. Ryan O’Reilly trade
O’Reilly requested an eight-year, $64 million extension from the Avalanche and was shuffled along to Buffalo, along with Jamie McGinn, in a six-player deal that Colorado ultimately turned into a net gain of four. Buffalo wins short term, the Avs long term.
5. Dave Hakstol
Despite zero professional coaching experience, the Flyers hired super-successful North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol as their bench boss. It wasn’t that big of a stretch, because Hakstol has been teaching the pro game in North Dakota for years.
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