This week is part two of our look at additions to teams in the West. We'll cover Nashville, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver, Vegas and Winnipeg.

Last week's grades were:

Anaheim – C

Arizona – A

Calgary – C+

Chicago – C+

Colorado – B+

Dallas – B

Edmonton – C

Los Angeles – C

Minnesota – C

Rookies are not included.

Nashville Predators

The Predators brought in Luke Schenn, Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly and Denis Gurianov. New GM Barry Trotz was officially hired on July 1st, 2023, and went right to work in free agency.

The Schenn signing was a bit puzzling as he was given a three-year term at $2.75 million AAV. Schenn can be a very solid defender who is physical and blocks shots. That doesn't change the fact that he is a bottom-pairing defender on most NHL teams. His time in Nashville has been hampered by an injury that cost him five weeks. He's averaged 14:50 per night and has five assists, 85 hits and 38 blocks in 30 games as a Predator.

Nyquist was signed for two years at $3.185 million AAV and has been a big offensive contributor with 12 goals and 25 assists in 49 games (0.76/g). He has 13 points on the power play and has averaged 17:41 per night. His 63-point pace would eclipse his career-high of 60 points.

O'Reilly was given four years at $4.5 million AAV. That might not age well but it has certainly been a bargain this year. O'Reilly has 17 goals, and 25 assists and has won 53.3% of his faceoffs in 49 games (0.86p/g). He's on pace for 70 points, which he hasn't reached since 2018-2019. He's averaging close to 20 minutes per game as a 32-year-old.

Gurianov was signed to a one-way $850k one-year deal. He has spent most of the season in the AHL, where he has 30 points in 27 games. He's been with the Predators since January 6th, playing ten games and posting one goal and one assist. He needs to be solid defensively and chip in with the odd goal now and again and he should stick.

Grade: B+

The additions of Nyquist and O'Reilly have bolstered this team into the playoff race once again. The Predators will need their older veterans to remain healthy and productive to have any chance, but they will also need Juuse Saros to play above average.

San Jose Sharks

Free agent signings were Ryan Carpenter, Givani Smith, Kyle Burroughs, Mackenzie Blackwood, Filip Zadina and Justin Bailey.

GM Mike Grier acquired Anthony Duclair from Florida for Steven Lorentz and a 5th-round pick in 2025.

The big summer trade was sending Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh in which the Sharks got Mike Hoffman from Montreal and Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta and a 1st round pick in 2024 from Pittsburgh.

After the start of the campaign, Calen Addison was acquired from Minnesota for Adam Raska and a 5th-round pick in 2026.

Jack Studnicka was brought over from Vancouver for Nick Cicek and a 6th-round pick in 2024.

Carpenter was signed to a two-way contract for one year at the league minimum of $775k. The 33-year-old has bounced around five different teams in his career, with this being his second stop in San Jose. He's a versatile forward who can kill penalties and take faceoffs. In 32 games this year, he has three goals and six assists, averaging 11:26 per game.

Smith was given a two-year contract for $800k AAV. He has never played more than 46 games in a season and has never had more than seven points. He plays a physical game (268 hits in 145 career games) and has three points and 45 hits in 26 games this year, averaging 7:44 per game.

Burroughs was signed for three years at $1.1 million AAV after coming off a 48-game season with Vancouver, where he had 165 hits and 84 blocks. With the Sharks, he has played 43 games with five points, 104 hits and 82 blocks, averaging 19:03 per night. On most teams, he would be around 15-17 minutes. His role with the Sharks is elevated compared to what he has done before but he's done an admirable job so far.

Blackwood was signed for two years at $2.35 million AAV. He has struggled a little at the NHL level since the 2019-2020 season when he had a GSAA of 6.68. Since then, he has been in the negative. This season, he has a record of 7-17-3 with a GAA of 3.63, a save percentage of 89.5 and a GSAA of negative 8.44.

The Sharks took a chance on Zadina for one year at $1.1 million. Not a bad gamble, but it hasn't paid off yet. Zadina has five goals and 13 points in 44 games. Time is running out for him as a prospect at 24 years of age. He was drafted one spot ahead of Quinn Hughes.

Bailey was signed to a two-way, one-year deal at league minimum and was expected to play most of the season in the AHL. Through hard work and a good start in the AHL, he worked his way up. He has been with the Sharks for 28 games now and has set a career-high in points (eight), while averaging 11:35 per game.

Duclair was brought in on the last year of his $3 million contract and is only two years removed from 31 goals and 58 points. I'm sure the Sharks were hoping that he could contribute 20 goals and be of some value at the trade deadline. Duclair has been inconsistent at best and has eight goals and 16 points in 44 games (0.36/g), averaging 15:53 per game. He might get back the 5th-round pick that they paid to get him, but that might be it.

Granlund has been plagued with injuries but in the 38 games he has played, he has flourished. He's skated 20:35 per night, seeing 72.7% of San Jose's time on the power play. He has 29 points (0.76/g), with nine points on the power play. He's been better than I would have guessed.

Rutta has another year remaining at $2.75 million in salary, but he has been decent for the Sharks. In 43 games, he has 11 points, 36 hits and 70 blocks, while averaging 19:16 per night. He is a third-pairing defender on most teams.

The Sharks had Burroughs running the first unit of the power play at one point this season, so it wasn't surprising that they went and got Addison. In 41 games this season, Addison has 12 points, with seven of those coming on the power play. 29 of those games were played with San Jose, where he has seven points, with four on the power play. He's been a healthy scratch eight times in the past 18 games.

The Sharks were hoping they had something with Studnicka and that he could slide up to the third line. In nine games in San Jose, he is pointless and a minus-six. He can certainly play in the NHL, but for him, it is a matter of bringing energy and being consistent night in and night out. He is back in the AHL.

Grade: C+

Grier is just buying time and filling the roster as best he can. It would have been great if the Sharks could have gotten some additional future pieces in the Erik Karlsson trade, but in the end, it was salary coming back and the first-round pick in 2024 which was lottery-protected.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken signed Devin Shore, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Kailer Yamamoto and Brian Dumoulin as free agents.

In December, Ron Francis traded a 5th-round pick in 2024 to Colorado for Tomas Tatar.

Shore was signed to a one-year, two-way deal for $775k. He's played 21 games for the Kraken, with one goal and four points. He's a depth fourth liner and is probably the 14th or 15th forward on Seattle.

At the age of 38, Bellemare was given a one-year deal for $775k. He was a fourth-line center add. He's played 29 games for the Kraken, putting up four goals and five points. He's won 52.3% of his faceoffs and has been on the ice for 45.7% of Seattle's time on the penalty kill. He broke a bone in his leg on December 20^th, an injury that came with a four-to-six-week recovery timetable.

Yamamoto was signed for one year at $1.5 million. He has a career-high of 20 goals and 40 points (albeit while playing with Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid 70% of the time at ES) in 2018-2019. He has been a bit of a disappointment in Seattle and has been a healthy scratch seven times in the past 11 games including Sunday's game against Columbus. In 43 games, he has just seven goals and 12 points while averaging 12:12 per night. He could be a trade chip for the Kraken leading up to the deadline.

Dumoulin was given a two-year deal at $3.15 million AAV. He's been a fairly expensive addition for an effective bottom-pairing defender. He has four goals, seven assists, 43 hits and 44 blocks in 48 games and has averaged 16:07 per game. He's not being used on the first unit of the penalty kill, so he has seen his blocks decline a little from the 142 in 82 games he had with Pittsburgh last year.

Tatar was a good add at the cost of a 5th round pick. He could help the Kraken get back into the playoff race, or he could bring back value if they wanted to trade him. He struggled through 27 games with Colorado, posting just one goal and eight assists (0.33/g). In 18 games with the Kraken, he has five goals and five assists (0.55/g).

Grade: C+

The best move has turned out to be getting Tomas Tatar from Colorado. Dumoulin has been better after a slow start, but Yamamoto was a bit of a strange fit on this roster from the beginning.

St. Louis Blues

Oskar Sundqvist was the only free agent signing given a one-way deal. He was signed for $775k.

This is Sundqvist's second opportunity with the Blues as he played there from 2017 to 2022. He's a big-bodied forward who can play center if needed (40.7% in the faceoff circle). He's averaged 13:12 of ice time through 48 games this year, putting up six goals and 18 points (0.38/g), which is around his career average.

Kevin Hayes was acquired from Philadelphia (50% retained salary) for a 6th-round pick in 2024.

Hayes has three years remaining at $3.571 million AAV to both the Flyers and the Blues. He has averaged between 0.56 points per game and 0.77p/g over the prior seven seasons, but has had a slow offensive start in St. Louis. He has 10 goals and 11 assists in 48 games (0.44/g) but has been very good in the faceoff circle at 57.1%. Hayes would be very good value with a little more production but with the Flyers retaining half, he's not far off.

Grade: C+

Hayes and Sundqvist have strengthened the center-ice depth for the Blues and Sundqvist is very good value for his salary, while Hayes is almost on par (50% portion).

Vancouver Canucks

GM Patrik Allvin has been busy. In free agency, he brought in Teddy Blueger, Ian Cole, Carson Soucy and Pius Suter.

He has also been one of the busiest GMs in the trade market.

The Canucks sent Tanner Pearson and a 3rd round pick in 2025 to Montreal for Casey DeSmith.

The team also sent a 5th-round pick in 2024 to Toronto for Sam Lafferty.

Mark Friedman and Ty Glover were sent to Vancouver by Pittsburgh for Jack Rathbone and Karel Plasek.

Nikita Zadorov was acquired from Calgary for a 5th-round pick in 2024 and a 3rd-round pick in 2026.

Blueger was signed for one year at $1.9 million and has been playing at a level conducive to a three- or four-million-dollar player. He has 21 points in 35 games (0.6/g), has been solid in the faceoff circle (51.5%), and has improved the penalty kill. An excellent signing – although he did miss 13 games with injury and had never played more than 69 games in his career.

Cole was signed for one year at $3.0 million. He has averaged 19:08 per game and had seven points, 46 hits and 99 blocks in 48 games. I don't believe it's ideal for the Canucks that he averages more than 16-18 minutes per game, but he's been an average defender so far.

Soucy was signed for three years at $3.25 million AAV. He's had some bad luck with injuries and is currently out with a broken hand for the next four-to-five weeks. He's managed to play 21 games and he's had some very good moments with six points, 21 hits and 39 blocks, averaging 17:25 per game. He improves the penalty kill when healthy.

Suter was signed for two years at $1.6 million AAV. He's had a good stretch over his past 20 games, with eight goals and 14 points. Overall, he's had 12 goals and 18 points in 35 games (0.51/g). His career-high in goals is 15, which is within reach if he stays healthy.

DeSmith has improved the backup position for the Canucks immensely over last season. He has a record of 7-3-4, with a save percentage of 91.1 and a GSAA of 3.13. He is an impending UFA, but he's been good value for what the Canucks gave up.

Lafferty has slowed down a little but has 10 goals and 10 assists in 49 games. That puts him on pace for 16 goals and 16 assists, which would set a career-high in goals (12 currently) and points (27 currently). He's versatile, physical (76 hits) and can move up and down the third and fourth lines.

Friedman played early on after being acquired from Pittsburgh but hasn't played a game since November 30th. He played 18 games, posting one point, 21 hits and 29 blocks, while averaging 12:23 per night. He was beaten out of the sixth or seventh defense spot by Noah Juulsen. Right now, if everyone was healthy, Friedman would be number eight. He is a depth player.

Zadorov was acquired from Calgary for what most people thought was an inexpensive price tag. He played 21 games with the Flames and had a goal and five assists. With Vancouver, he has played 24 games and tallied four assists. Overall, he has 10 points in 45 games, posting 87 hits and 47 blocks while averaging 18:04 per night. It's one thing to be calm and steady but another to be nonchalant, which he can veer into at times.

Grade: A

Not every addition to the roster has been a home run, but most have been a double if not more. It's safe to say that the Canucks are where they are at because of these additions to their lineup.

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas didn't sign any NHL free agents in the off-season.

The team sent Reilly Smith to Pittsburgh for a 3rd round pick in 2024.

The Stanley Cup winners added nothing to the roster.

Grade: D

It has been fairly common for Stanley Cup-winning teams to lose far more than they gain in the year directly after. Vegas is no different and as a result, their fourth line is made up from within the organisation.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets added Laurent Brossoit in free agency.

The big trade for the Jets in the summer was sending Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles for Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2nd round pick in 2024.

Brossoit was signed for one year at $1.7 million. He has a record of 7-3-2, with a save percentage of 92.6 and a GSAA of 7.64. He's one of the top backup goaltenders in the league this year.

When healthy, Vilardi has looked good as a member of the Jets. He has managed to play 27 games, putting up 11 goals and 20 points (0.74/g). Winnipeg signed him for this year and next at $3.437 million AAV.

Iafallo had a great start to his time in Winnipeg with 13 points in his first 15 games. Unfortunately, he has just five points in his last 32 games. He is signed for this year and next at $4 million AAV.

Kupari played 66 games for the Kings in 2022-2023 and posted just 15 points. However, he was physical with 80 hits and did well in the faceoff circle at 54.6%. This year, he missed about seven weeks with a shoulder injury and has played just 21 games for the Jets. In that span, he has one assist, 13 hits and is 46.4% in the faceoff circle.

Grade: B+

Brossoit alone almost gets Kevin Cheveldayoff to a 'B' grade. The return for Dubois, while not jumping off the page this year, certainly looks promising for the future.

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