After 25 to 30 games for each team, new additions to rosters should have acclimated to their new surroundings by now. We will check in with each team in the Western Conference and see how notable additions are doing to date and grade each team.

This doesn't include rookies on each roster.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks brought in Frank Vatrano, Ryan Strome, John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov which added up to just over $18 million cap space for the 2022-23 season. It was a little surprising as the Ducks weren't and aren't a roster that is ready to compete for a playoff spot quite yet.

Vatrano's production has been a little disappointing as he is only on pace for about 10-12 goals after putting up 16-24 in each of the last four seasons. He has been a streaky scorer before and should get there again, especially as he has been averaging 2.8 shots per game compared to his career average of 2.5. He was signed for three years at $3.65 million AAV.

Strome was brought in for five years at $5 million AAV to add some offence and take the pressure off of Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish while they continue to progress. He has had 20 goals once in his career and has had four seasons of 49 points or more in his nine previous years. No doubt he misses playing with Artemi Panarin and has 14 points in 28 games (0.5) which is well below his three-year average of 0.75. He hasn’t lived up to his contract at this point.

Klingberg was signed to only one year at $7 million, which is probably a good thing for the Ducks with just eight points and a team worse minus 14 in 21 games that he has played. His clause stipulates that he can't be traded before 2023, but after January 1st it becomes a 10-team no-trade clause. He was clearly brought in to be the power-play quarterback as the team didn't think that Jamie Drysdale was ready but things haven't really worked out yet.

Kulikov was traded from the Wild to the Ducks for free as the Wild wanted to dump his $2.25 million salary this season. Kulikov has averaged 20:54 this season over 28 games and has been fairly decent so far. He might get a decent return at the trade deadline.

Grade: C

Kulikov is the only one for the four who has made a positive impact on the roster, with Strome, Vatrano and Klingberg all struggling. 

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes needed to bring in quite a few players out of necessity as they brought in some bad expiring contracts the year before. They took advantage of their salary cap space by taking on two years of Zack Kassian's contract at $3.2 million AAV and moved up three spots in the first round of the 2022 draft and picked Maveric Lamoureux along with a 3rd round pick in 2024 and a 2nd round pick in 2025. Kassian has battled injuries this season and has struggled in the 13 games he has played this season with only one goal.

Patrik Nemeth was another salary dump addition from the NY Rangers and has a cap hit of $2.5 million for this year and next. The Coyotes received a conditional 3rd round pick in 2024 and a 2nd round pick in 2025. The condition is that the Coyotes can choose to take the Rangers 2nd round pick in 2026 instead of the 2024 pick. Nemeth has played in 21 games and averaged 16:59 per game while posting two assists.

The team also added Nick Bjugstad for one year at $900K, Josh Brown for two years at $1.275 million AAV and Troy Stecher for one year at $1.25 million.

Bjugstad has been a good addition with five goals and five assists in 26 games while playing in the top-six, which is an opportunity that wouldn't have been available on most teams. The Coyotes should be able to get some value for him at the trade deadline.

Brown has 48 hits and 49 blocked shots in his 22 games while he has played a career-high 18:20 per game.

Stecher might not put up much offense or throw a lot of hits, but can hold his own on the ice for an under-sized defender. He has two assists in 26 games while averaging 17:02 per game.

Grade: C+

The Coyotes have been able to add two second round picks and two third round picks at the same time to allow themselves to reach the salary cap floor. Their other additions are all fairly cheap and regulars in the lineup. They might get some mid-round picks for some of these guys at the deadline.

Calgary Flames

In a hectic off-season, the Flames lost Johnny Gaudreau to free agency and then Matthew Tkachuk to a trade demand. Tkachuk was promptly dealt to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar.

The Flames added Nazem Kadri and Kevin Rooney as free agents in July.

Both Huberdeau and Weegar were in the last year of their existing deals and were both extended by the Flames. Huberdeau was re-signed for eight more years at $10.5 million AAV while Weegar was signed for eight years at $6.25 million AAV.

Huberdeau has started off slowly for his new team with four goals and 13 assists in 25 games. After 30 goals and 85 assists last season expectations are pretty high for him. Last year he had 38 power play points and only has eight so far this season. Right now he is on a 56-point pace, which is not good enough.

Weegar played with Aaron Ekblad in Florida for most of the past two seasons where he had 44 points last year and 36 points in 54 games the year before. He is now playing with Chris Tanev in Calgary and the offense is not being generated as Weegar has six assists in 28 games but has chipped in with 63 hits and 43 blocked shots while averaging 20:58 per game. He's a solid addition to the blueline but the Flames might have overpaid on that new contract.

Kadri was the big addition on July 1st this off-season as he signed with the Flames for seven years at $7 million AAV after putting up 87 points in 71 games and winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado last year. In his first 28 games with Calgary he has 11 goals and 10 assists and has been a little inconsistent so far.

Kevin Rooney was signed for two years at $1.3 million AAV. After 17 games with only one assist he was put on waivers (cleared) and was sent to the AHL. It was not a great signing at the time and is not a great signing now. Add the second year and it was awful.

Grade: B

It couldn't have been easy to face going into this season, losing Gaudreau and having Tkachuk want out. I have to give credit for bringing in Huberdeau, Weegar and Kadri as they are all very good players in this league. The issue going forward will be the contracts for all three and any lack of production. It hasn't been a dream start for any of them.

Chicago Blackhawks

In free agency, Chicago brought in Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou, Jack Johnson and Alex Stalock for one year contracts, while they gave Colin Blackwell two years.

Petr Mrazek was a salary dump from Toronto where Toronto threw in their 25th overall pick in 2022 (Sam Rinzel) and Mrazek for Chicago's 38th overall pick (Fraser Minten). He has played in nine games for Chicago and has a save percentage of 88.4 and a GSAA of minus 6.17. He is out with an injury now and is signed for this year and next at $3.8 million AAV.

Jason Dickinson was a similar deal with Vancouver where the Blackhawks gave up Riley Stillman and got back Dickinson and a 2nd round pick in 2024. Dickinson started with five points in his first five games in Chicago but has leveled off to four goals and six assists in 22 games (0.45/GP). He is signed for this year and next at $2.65 million AAV.

Domi was signed for $3 million and has put up nine goals and 10 assists in 26 games for Chicago which is a 60-point pace where six of his goals have been on the PP. He could bring back a 2nd or 3rd round pick if he can maintain this output.

Athanasiou was also signed for $3 million and has been able to stay healthy and play 26 games but has only six goals and three assists, which is the lowest production (0.35/GP) he has seen in his eight NHL seasons.

Jack Johnson won a Stanley Cup with Colorado last season as a sixth or seventh defenseman. He signed in Chicago at $950k for this year and has played 26 games with four assists while averaging 20:20 per game which is the most ice time he has seen since 2016-17. It's probably not ideal for him or the Blackhawks.

Blackwell turned a 20-point season last year split with Toronto and Seattle into a two-year contract at $1.2 million AAV with the Blackhawks. He has three assists in 23 games so far and has struggled.

Grade: B

I'm a fan of the types of trades and signings that Chicago did this off-season. They pretty much stuck to one year deals with free agents and made sure they got some value when they took on some salary with Mrazek and Dickinson. I think they could have gotten a little bit more from Toronto than they did, but time will tell on Rinzel over Minten. They might get some return on Domi and Athanasiou at the deadline this year.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and needed to jettison some salary to make things work this season. The only addition to the roster was signing Evan Rodrigues to a one-year $2 million deal on September 12th.

Rodrigues has battled some injuries this season and has played in 18 games and has six goals and three assists while averaging 18:07 per game. He's been a good addition for Colorado, but I think some people see he had 19 goals and 24 assists last year with Pittsburgh and want the same type of production. It's easy to forget that he had 32 points in the first 42 games and only 11 his last 40 last year.

Grade: C+

The Avalanche were able to add an above-average forward to their roster without offering term or more money than they could afford. Rodrigues is no Nazem Kadri, but he's a lot better than most $2 million free agents.

Dallas Stars

The Stars were able to add Mason Marchment for four years at $4.5 million AAV and Colin Miller for two years at $1.85 million AAV as free agents this off-season.

They also added Nils Lundkvist in a trade with the NY Rangers by sending a 1st round pick in 2023 and a 4th round pick in 2025.

Marchment had a breakout year with Florida last season where he had 18 goals and 29 assists in 54 games as a 26-year old who had only 37 NHL games before then. His contract with Dallas was a little high for some but eight goals and nine assists in 28 games (0.61) is a 20-25 goal and 20-25 assist pace which the Stars should be happy with.

Miller comes with some injury worries as he hasn't played more than 65 games in a season since 2017-18. So far so good in Dallas as he has played 27 games with one goal and six assists and is a plus 14 while averaging 16:41 per game.

Lundkvist has played 25 games and has three goals and five assists, while averaging 17:16 per night. The Stars did give up a 1st round pick so are hoping that the 22-year-old Lundkvist continues to progress as he has so far this year.

Grade: C+

Jim Nill has gambled a little on both Marchment and Lundkvist and it is too early to tell how those two will do. Miller is a fairly cheap addition for his role as there are others making $3 to $4 million AAV who aren't as good as he is.

Edmonton Oilers

The biggest addition to the Oilers this off-season was Jack Campbell signing for five years at $5 million AAV, while they also signed Mattias Janmark for one year at $1.25 million and Ryan Murray for one year at $750k.

The team traded for Klim Kostin from St. Louis for Dmitri Samorukov.

Campbell has struggled right from the start of the season with the Oilers and has lost his hold as the number one goalie to Stuart Skinner. In 13 games, Campbell has a save percentage of 87.2 and a GSAA of minus 12.86.

Janmark didn't even make the team at the start of the season and was put on waivers and sent to the AHL after clearing them. It's hard to justify signing someone for $1.25 million when they clear waivers as that is $500k in cap space that the Oilers could desperately use. He has since been re-called and has played 14 games with one goal and two assists.

Ryan Murray is an intriguing player as he was the 2nd overall pick in 2012 but has not been able to play more than 60 games in a season since 2015-16. Last year he played 37 games with Colorado and so far this season he has played 13 games with three assists while averaging 13:07 per game. He's been a healthy scratch over the past two seasons more than he has dressed but at his price point, he's not a bad gamble.

Kostin played 40 games last year with the Blues and had four goals and five assists while throwing 90 hits. He's been impressive in his 12 games with Edmonton, putting up two goals and two assists with 26 hits while averaging 9:55 per game. He might have found himself a home if he maintains his play.

Grade: C–

The Oilers needed to upgrade their goaltending over last season and signing Campbell seemed to be a pretty safe bet to have that happen. Goalies are a funny bunch and there is a chance that Campbell will get his game back at some point this season. At this point, his signing is not looking good and the other signings have made very little impact to date.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings technically only signed one free agent in the off-season and that was Phoenix Copley for one year at $825k.

They traded for the signing rights to Kevin Fiala from Minnesota and gave up Brock Faber and a 1st round pick in 2022 (Liam Ohgren).

They signed Fiala to a seven-year deal at $7.875 million AAV.

Fiala has had a very good start to his career with the Kings and has nine goals and 23 assists in 31 games (1.03) which leads the team in scoring.

Copley cleared waivers at the beginning of the season but has since been re-called when the Kings sent Cal Peterson to the minors. In two games, Copley has won both games and has a 92.7 save percentage.

Grade: B+

So far, the Kings are looking pretty good with who they added and the patience they've shown. Time will tell on Brock Faber and Liam Ohgren going the other way to Minnesota, but anytime you can add a 26-year old who becomes your leading scorer, it has to be a good trade in the short-term.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild were forced to trade Kevin Fiala as they didn't have the cap space to re-sign him and received prospect Brock Faber and 1st round pick in 2022 (Liam Ohgren). There is little doubt that the Wild lost a huge part of their offense this season and have been unable to even come close to replacing it.

The team only added Sam Steel as a free agent after he was not tendered a contract by Anaheim which made him unrestricted. They signed Steel for one year at $825k. In 27 games with Minnesota he has matched his career-high of six goals, which strangely enough he has had in each of his first four seasons in the NHL.

The Wild added goaltender Filip Gustavsson from Ottawa for Cam Talbot in the off-season and then added Ryan Reaves from the NY Rangers for a 5th round pick in 2025.

Gustavsson shut out the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night and has now played 10 games this year with a 92.0 save percentage and a GSAA of 4.50. He could see some more percentage of starts the rest of the way if he continues to play as he has.

Reaves has played eight games in Minnesota and has three assists and 17 hits.

Grade: C+

The Wild are one of many teams who are right up against the salary cap and have little room to add players. They did well moving Gustavsson for Talbot in terms of salary and Steel provides enough for what he is paid.

Nashville Predators

The Predators added Nino Niederreiter, Kevin Lankinen and Mark Jankowski  in free agency.

They traded Philippe Myers and Grant Mishmash to Tampa Bay for Ryan McDonagh who has four years remaining at $6.75 million AAV.

Niederreiter signed for two years at $4 million AAV, while Jankowski and Lankinen signed for one year with Jankowski at $750k and Lankinen at $1.5 million. Jordan Gross signed a two-way deal for 2022-23 and a one way deal for 2023-24 at $750k.

Niederreiter has 10 goals in 25 games to go along with three assists and 61 hits and is on pace for a 30-goal season, which would set a career-high. He has scored 20 goals or more six times in his 10 seasons. He has been a good addition for the Predators.

Jankowski was added for depth and has played 13 games for Nashville after only seeing 19 games last season while with Buffalo. He has seen time in the AHL both this year and last.

Lankinen was brought in this season to be the backup to Juuse Saros and has played very well in his seven games where he has a 93.4 save percentage and a GSAA of 6.76.

Grade: C

McDonagh has played 23 games for Nashville and has six assists, 19 hits and 48 blocked shots while averaging 20:16 per night. The 33-year-old was a bit of a baffling addition considering his salary commitments and where Nashville is as a team, but he should certainly help them in the short-term (this year and next). It is the last two or three years of that contract which concern me.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks hired Mike Grier just before the 2022 draft so it's not surprising to see quite a few additions in the off-season.

During free agency, they added Nico Sturm, Matt Benning and Oskar Lindblom. 

Grier traded for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi and Luke Kunin.

Sturm signed for three years at $2 million AAV and has seven goals and two assists in 22 games and is averaging 14:33 per night which is a much bigger role than he had seen in Colorado or Minnesota. He will more than likely set a new career-high in goals (11) this season.

Lindblom signed for two years at $2.5 million after being in Philadelphia where last year he had 12 goals, 14 assists in 79 games while playing 13:48 per game. It hasn't been a great start to his time in San Jose as he has one goal and four assists while only playing 9:57 per night.

Benning signed for four seasons at $1.25 million AAV, which is a lot of term for a player with Benning's history. Give credit to Grier so far as Benning has one goal and 11 assists in 30 games while averaging 19:13 per game after never having played more than 17:04 per game in his first six seasons. He also has 43 hits and 47 blocked shots. He's gone from being on the fringe of an AHL/NHL defender to re-establishing himself as an NHL defender.

Steven Lorentz and Eetu Makiniemi were part of the return for Brent Burns being traded to Carolina where San Jose also received a 3rd round pick in 2023.

Lorentz has three goals and three assists in 28 games while being in the bottom-six and averaging 11:12 per game. Makiniemi just made his NHL debut in the past week and in two games has a save percentage of 90.6 and a GSAA of 0.04.

Luke Kunin was acquired from Nashville for John Leonard and a 3rd round pick in 2023. He is capable of a 20-goal season at some point but has 13, 10 and 15 in the three years prior to this season. In 30 games he has five goals and eight assists (0.43) and is on pace for a 36-point season while averaging 15:56 per game.

Grade: C+

Depending on the career-arc of Eetu Makiniemi I would have liked to see the Sharks get a better return for Brent Burns from Carolina. Other than that, Grier has made some solid if not unspectacular additions ini Kunin, Benning and Sturm. Lindblom has been a little disappointing so far but should improve.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken were one of the busiest teams when free agency started, signing Martin Jones, Andre Burakovsky, Justin Schultz all on the first day.

The club also traded a 3rd and 4th round pick in 2023 for Oliver Bjorkstrand, which most people thought was a steal then and now albeit a salary dump.

Jones was signed as a backup and insurance for one year at $2 million. He has played in 20 games already and won 13 of them despite a save percentage of 89.0 and a GSAA of minus 7.69. Phillip Grubauer is back from injury and should get the bulk of starts going forward until Chris Driedger is back from injury.

Burakovsky was signed for five years at $5.5 million AAV. After putting up 22 goals and 39 assists in 80 games and winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado last year, he has elevated his production in Seattle with 10 goals and 18 assists in 28 games while averaging 17:32 per game. His shots on goal are at 2.6/GP which is up from 1.9 last season. He's been a great signing.

Schultz signed with Seattle for two years at $3 million AAV. He is a risky signing because of his injury past and had only played more than 46 games once in the previous four seasons. This year he has been healthy and has played 27 games with three goals and 13 assists which puts him on pace for 49 points which would be his highest output since 2016-17.

Bjorkstrand is signed for four more seasons at $5.4 million and Columbus wanted to get out from under that contract to bring in Johnny Gaudreau. He had 28 goals and 29 assists last year in Columbus while averaging 17:57 per night and averaging 2.7 shots per game. After 27 games he only has three goals and 11 assists while averaging 15:23 per game which is almost three minutes less per game compared to last year. The goals should come eventually as he is only shooting 4.4 percent but still averaging 2.5 shots per game.

Grade: B+

 Almost every one of the additions to the Kraken lineup have made a significant impact and are a big reason that the Kraken are winning so much. They had one of the better off-seasons of any Western Conference team.

St. Louis Blues

During free agency the Blues brought in Noel Acciari, Thomas Greiss and Josh Leivo in the first day or two and then Tyler Pitlick was signed after the season started.

Acciari was signed for one year at $1.25 million. Acciari has only played 72 games or more once in his prior seven seasons, so he is quite the bandaid boy. So far this year he has played all 28 games and has eight goals, four assists, 86 hits and 31 blocked shots. He's been a good addition for the Blues.

Greiss was signed for one year at $1.25 million. He was brought in as the backup to Jordan Binnington and has played nine games so far with an 89.9 save percentage and a GSAA of minus 1.88. He is not putting Binnington's starting job into jeopardy.

Leivo signed a one year deal for $750k. After two seasons of being a healthy scratch more than playing, Leivo spent 54 games in the AHL last season and only played seven in the NHL. This year he was sent down by the Blues but only lasted two games in the AHL before making his way back to the NHL. Since then he has played 18 games and has two goals and seven assists while averaging 13:46 per game. He's earned himself a place back in the league for the time being, but he needs to maintain his play or he will be sat again.

Pitlick was signed for one year at $750k. He has played 19 games and has a goal and an assist with 34 hits while averaging just 9:23 per game. Unless he improves his play he will be a healthy scratch or bound for the AHL.

Grade: C+

The Blues signed three four roster players each for one year for $4 million in total. They haven't committed more term or more money than was necessary and three of the four are full value for their contracts so far.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks signed Ilya Mikheyev, Andrei Kuzmenko, Curtis Lazar and Dakota Joshua in free agency.

Mikheyev was signed for four years at $4.75 million AAV. He was hurt in training camp and missed a few games at the beginning of the year. He has nine goals and seven assists in 25 games while averaging 17:09 per night playing mostly with Elias Pettersson. He has been good, but seems to be missing a gear in terms of his skating which might be a result of the knee injury he had. He has never played more than 54 games in a season in his career.

Kuzmenko was signed for one year at $950k which is a bargain considering he has 12 goals and 12 assists in 27 games while averaging 15:39 per night. The Canucks might not be able to afford to re-sign Kuzmenko so he might become a trading piece nearer to the deadline. Otherwise he's been an exceptional signing.

Lazar was signed for three years at $1 million AAV. It is hard to find any fault with this contract other than maybe a third year, but the salary is very reasonable for what Lazar brings to the team. He has played 18 games and only has a goal and an assist to show for it, but has 51 hits and brings energy to the lineup each game.

Joshua was signed for two years at $825k AAV. In 25 games, Joshua has six goals and two assists with 58 hits while averaging 10:23 per game. He has been good for the Canucks so far and has probably exceeded in production as I don't think he will get to 18 goals on the year, but 12-15 would be good for him.

Ethan Bear was acquired from Carolina along with Lane Pederson for a 5th round pick in 2023. Bear has played 19 games with Vancouver so far and has two goals and four assists while averaging 18:36 in ice time. The price tag was cheap and Bear has been ok.

Riley Stillman was acquired from Chicago in the Jason Dickinson trade. Stillman has played 16 games for Vancouver and has three assists while averaging 15:05 per night. He is a sixth or seventh defenseman on this team.

Jack Studnicka was part of the deal from Boston that sent Michael Dipietro and Jonathan Myrenberg the other way. In his 11 games with Vancouver he has two goals and an assist while averaging 10:29 per game. I'm not sure there is any offensive progression in his game, but he does skate very well.

Grade: B

One could certainly make the case that the contract for Mikheyev was too long and too much money, but the other signings were quite in line with what the Canucks should be doing. Ethan Bear was essentially given away by Carolina and Riley Stillman was not an ideal return for having to pay Chicago to take on the contract of Dickinson which was a mistake from the Benning regime. Overall the additions are an upgrade over the players they replaced from last season.

Vegas Golden Knights

The only free agent who Vegas were able to sign was Phil Kessel for one year at $1.5 million. Kessel was able to break the iron man record with Vegas, but with only five goals and six assists in 30 games, I'm not sure the streak will last the full season.

Adin Hill was acquired from San Jose for a 4th round pick in 2024. Hill has played 10 games with seven wins, a 91.4 save percentage and a GSAA of 2.51. He has been good value so far for that trade.

Grade: C

Bringing in Adin Hill makes up for the signing of Kessel.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets didn't do much of anything during the off-season, signing only Sam Gagner and Saku Maenalanen as free agents to bolster the bottom-six of the forwards.

Gagner signed for one year at $750k as did Maenalanen. Gagner has three goals and three assists in 24 games and is now eight games away from playing 1,000 in the NHL.

Maenalanen is back in the NHL after playing 34 games for Carolina in 2018-19. In 25 games he has four goals and two assists, 57 hits while averaging 11:30 in ice time. He is out with a shoulder injury for about a month.

Grade: C

The additions of Gagner and Maenalanen might be a small upgrade from last year, but that is about it.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or players you'd like me to look at please message or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.