Edit: shed salary with their off-season additions and departures*** this does not take into account Matthews and Nylander extensions
+14 Net Rating (8th most) with -4 million salary added.
The next negative salary added was Montreal at #15 with +4 Net Rating
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5626787/2024/07/10/nhl-teams-offseason-2024/?source=user_shared_article Which NHL teams have improved the most this offseason? Rating all 32 teams
by ObviousAtlas
2 Comments
I guess Bertuzzi must not have rated out well by these metrics? Because the forward group is still concerning and will basically have to undergo some change just to become cap compliant – if they bring back both Robertson and Dewar. But maybe they allow a lot fewer goals this season so they don’t need to score as many.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
Net Rating added: +14
Salary added: -$4 million
Key Additions: Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz
Key Departures: Tyler Bertuzzi, Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Ilya Samsonov
It’s looking more and more likely that the Leafs are running it back. Will this time be different? Maybe!
What helps make that decision feel like the best path forward is seeing where all of the league’s top contenders lie — at the bottom of this list. Almost every contender from last season looks demonstrably worse going into 2024-25. The Leafs? They look better, and that closes the gap between them and the league’s best considerably. The Leafs’ 2024 offseason has put the team back on track after last season’s questionable summer.
That stems entirely from the Leafs turning Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin into Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Those are comparatively strong upgrades that give Toronto one of its best blue lines during this era. Adding Anthony Stolarz, who was stellar last season, to replace Ilya Samsonov looks like a great move too.
The Leafs could still use a top-six winger to replace Tyler Bertuzzi, but were right to prioritize the back end. It could be what finally pushes the team toward a deep playoff run. This is a much stronger defensive group