As with any offseason in all sports leagues, there's always a ton of impending change on each and every team heading into the new campaign. This year obviously is no exception, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say this was one of the more hectic NHL offseasons in recent history. Partially thanks to the altered COVID schedule and the playoffs running longer than normal, and not to mention the arrival of the Seattle Kraken, it's been a wild past couple of months, to say the least. 

Some trades were made in order to protect teams' rosters heading into the expansion draft, while others were made simply to try and retool and prepare for another long grueling season. On top of that, free agency opened up at the end of July and a load of players found new homes heading into the 2021-22 season. This week I would like to take the chance to look at some of the most intriguing players who found themselves new homes this offseason. Enough preamble, let's dive into it!

Conor Garland (VAN) LW/RW

2020-21 Stats: (With ARZ) 49 GP, 12 G, 27 A, 39 PTS, -3, 135 SOG, 26 Hits, 17:55 ATOI

After three long seasons in the desert, Arizona decided it was finally time to part ways with Garland, as he was part of the blockbuster deal that saw him and teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson get deal to the Vancouver Canucks for their 2021 first-round pick (Dylan Guenther), a 2022 second-round pick, a 2023 seventh-round pick, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson and Antoine Roussel.  It seems like Arizona is content on-going full tank mode, so it was nice of them to set Garland free after three seasons of service for the club. 

Upon his arrival to Vancouver, Garland wasted no time, signing a five-year extension to the tune of $24.75 million. This kind of commitment from the Canucks front office seems to echo the sentiments of a lot of people in the fantasy hockey community, which is they believe there could be a much higher ceiling for Garland that we haven't seen yet. This uncapped potential comes with a hefty price tag, but you can't help but be frothing at the mouth if you are a Canucks fan. The possibility of him playing on the top line with JT Miller and Elias Pettersson is indeed exciting for Canucks fans, and fantasy owners alike. He should slot into the top power-play unit as well, so he will get all the opportunities in the world to have a breakthrough season.

Last season, while still playing for the offensively deprived Arizona Coyotes, he still managed 39 points in just 49 games, which is a 65-point pace in a regular 82 game season. Additionally, he saw a huge uptick in his shots per game, averaging an impressive 2.8 a game. Even if he doesn't crack the top line for Vancouver, he still would round out a very nice second line for the Canucks, and overall, I'd still take that over his surroundings in Arizona. Garland is only 25 years old and is just hitting the prime of his career.  For all the flak the Canucks organization has gotten on taking in OEL's morbid contract, I think the real jewel of this trade could be Conor Garland when it's all said and done.

Pavel Buchnevich (STL) RW

2020-21 Stats: (With NYR) 54 GP 20 G, 28 A, 48 PTS, +12, 120 SOG, 49 Hits, 18:44 ATOI

Ever since Buchnevich made his way over from the KHL all the way back in 2016, he has shown many flashes of being a reliable winger both for the Rangers and fantasy owners alike. Each year that passed he showed improvements across the board and it shows in his point totals as well as his shot rates, all of which crept up annually. This past season felt like Buchnevich was finally starting to put it all together. He started off a little lackluster with just eight points through his first 13 contests, which isn't too bad, but it paled in comparison to his remaining 41 games in which he tallied 40 points. While a lot of that might be attributed to playing with elite goal scorer Mika Zibanejad, you can't deny Buchnevich looked to be breaking through. His 82-game pace for points last year would have been 73 which makes him good enough to be a must have in all formats. 

To my surprise, the New York Rangers opted to ship out Buchnevich less than a week before the draft. In return for Buchnevich, the Rangers acquired a 2022 second-round draft pick as well as forward Sammy Blais. The move seemed like nothing more than a cap-saving measure for the Rangers, and although they have young offensive stars like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko on the rise, Buchnevich and Zibanejad seemed like they had some great chemistry together. 

Meanwhile, the Blues will look to Buchnevich to fill the void left by Jaden Schwartz, who left St. Louis to join the Seattle Kraken during free agency. Buchnevich inked a four-year, $23.2 million contract which works out to be an average of $5.8 million per year. Buchnevich will have some big shoes to fill, but I am excited to see what he can do alongside Brayden Schenn. Although Schenn isn't the same type of player as Zibanejad is, he's still an elite player so if those two can mesh well, Buchnevich should be able to maintain his productivity.

While I think Buchnevich may start off on the second power play unit, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility he could be promoted to the top squad at some point. Vladimir Tarasenko is back and healthy (for now), but to me he is one of the biggest question marks of the year. It's been so long since he has played on a regular basis, and even then, I'm not so sure he can stay healthy. Should anything happen to him though, Buchnevich should reap the potential benefits.

With having five seasons of NHL service time already under his belt, Buchnevich is still only 26 and his best years may be yet to come. If he can maintain the same pace that he did last year for a full 82-game slate, he will be a must draft. I would recommend keeping a close eye on him during training camp and exhibition games to see how St. Louis plans on deploying him. 

Mike Hoffman (MTL) LW/RW

2020-21 Stats: (With STL) 52 GP. 17 G, 19 A, 36 PTS, +2, 113 SOG, 29 Hits, 15:04 ATOI

Rounding out my trio of forwards in new homes entering this season is none other than Mike Hoffman, who is no stranger to playing in the French-Canadian market. After he spent his first seven seasons in Ottawa, he was abruptly sent packing to the Florida Panthers after an ugly behind-the-scenes incident involving his fiancee and then-teammate Erik Karlsson's wife. The change of scenery however proved to do wonders for Hoffman's career as he posted a career best 70 points in the 2018-19 season and would have been on pace to hit another 70-point season the year following if not for the COVID-shortened season. 

Despite his impressive stint in Florida, when he became a free agent in the 2020 offseason, he only managed to finagle himself a one year, $4 million contract with the St. Louis Blues. This could possibly be attributed to being the offseason that was right in the middle of the COVID pandemic, and many teams were being financially reserved since there was a severe lack of revenue coming in. Nonetheless, Hoffman landed in St. Louis and served as a middle-six forward, most often playing on lines with Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas.  

Hoffman saw a downtick in both his ice time and his stats. He was only on pace to reach 57 points through a full 82-game slate. Even worse was his shot rate was down from 3.1 shots per game in Florida, to just 2.2 shots per game with the Blues. All things considered, it was a pretty mediocre season for Hoffman, who has now been in the league for ten seasons and is turning 32 this November. The NHL is more and more becoming a young man’s game, so Hoffman's shelf-life may be getting limited. This offseason, Hoffman once again found himself as a free agent, but he wasted little time negotiating and signed a three-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens worth $13.5 million ($4.5 million AAV).  

In my mind, this could be a beautiful relationship for both parties. The Habs really seemed to be lacking a major scoring punch, and that much was evident during their surprising Cup run these past playoffs. While they played an incredible brand of grindy, shut-down hockey, they clearly were lacking on offense. With Jesperi Kotkaniemi out of the equation thanks to the offer sheet the Carolina Hurricanes signed him to, Hoffman has a golden opportunity to find himself in the middle of a top-six role, perhaps even playing top line minutes. If that isn't enough, he could maybe even be on a line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, two absolute studs in-the-making.  I also don't see how he doesn't find himself on the team's top power-play unit as well. So with all those things in mind, Hoffman could be primed for a return to form. 

That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next week as I will take a look at a few defensemen whose changes of scenery may result in some net positives for both their respective clubs and fantasy owners alike. Until then, thanks for reading, and have a great week!