The biggest news of the off-season thus far for the NHL just happened to occur on the Fourth of July with the Minnesota Wild making a huge splash getting not only one of Ryan Suter or Zach Parise, considered by many to be some of the best free agents to hit the markets in years, but by landing both of the coveted players.
This move certainly makes Minnesota much better, though how much better will remain to be seen. The team still has some questions remaining including the strength of the team especially on the blueline beyond these players, but they weren't that far out of the playoffs last year and have some very good pieces already in place and some young talent on the way. The addition of Suter and Parise likely puts them squarely into the playoff conversation even if it doesn't push them to "cup contender" status just yet.
Meanwhile in Nashville it has left that team in a bit of trouble. The strength of that team was their big two on defense and goaltending. Now one of those big two is gone and the other is in question yet. The team also has failed to bring in any further help and while they will have to bring people in just to get to the cap floor the quality of help left out there, especially in trying to replace a Ryan Suter type player, isn't going to fill the gaping holes now there. This coming season we could very likely see Nashville miss out on the playoffs once again but they are a team that is very well coached and they should still fight for a spot.
So right now we're looking at Minnesota and Nashville perhaps swapping spots in the standings with the Wild becoming a playoff team and Nashville falling from those heights ... but where does that leave the rest of the Western Conference? Obviously this will make the Northwest a bit tougher to play against while the Central will weaken a bit, but beyond that you have to look at what the other teams have done as well to determine where the chips will fall.
If you start in the Northwest you'll find that most teams outside Minnesota haven't done much. Calgary still appears to be a mess and Vancouver hasn't changed much but did bring in some good defensive depth. Those two shouldn't really move with Calgary perhaps pushing for the playoffs but really having to have the stars align to get there while Vancouver has plenty of talent still, with perhaps more to come depending on the Luongo return should that get done, and will be the favorite to win the NW still. The Oilers did add two more young pieces with their third straight 1st overall pick and then the most coveted free agent defenseman not named Suter, but also a guy who just finished college and has never played a game in the NHL. There is perhaps some of the most talented kids in the division on that team but they still have holes on the roster and with as much offensive skill that these kids have the team may yet be a few pieces from a playoff spot. The Avalanche pushed right to the end for a playoff spot and could make it this year, or just miss out, based on the development of their own kids. The team really stood still in free agency despite getting one of the more sought after forwards in PA Parenteau. The team will really be defined by their young talent however and how they play, as well as if the defense which seems like it could use some help can play as well as a group as they managed last season.
Once you leave the Northwest there weren't major changes either, though LA has the potential to continue their play of last season returning their entire team. They certainly underperformed early in the year and showed their true potential later in the season and into the playoffs. Detroit will also be one of those teams that while still good and competitive really have to be considered a team that fell backwards this offseason. Losing Nick Lidstrom to retirement and Stuart to the Sharks, and then striking out in free agency to this point, they are definitely not in as good a spot as they have for many years now. Phoenix is also another team that could take a step back. They have already lost Whitney to free agency and Shane Doan is waiting to hear if the ownership situation may clear up before deciding if he'll return or not. Those and the potential for a Yandle trade could leave Phoenix in a bad spot going into next season.
So what does the Parise and Suter signings in Minnesota really mean? Perhaps not all that much. While the Northwest will definitely become more difficult to play against there weren't all that many teams outside of Minnesota that have made significant moves to improve their team. On the flip side a number of teams, not only Nashville having lost Suter, appear to have gotten weaker this season or potentially weaker at the very least. There should be plenty of spots in the playoffs up for grabs this year and the fight for those spots could potentially be as fierce and down to the wire as last year's race was.
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