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Biggest winners and losers of NHL free agency 2018

By Mackenzie Ingram

TORONTO, ON - JULY 1: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, poses with his jersey in the dressing room, after he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the Scotiabank Arena on July 1, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JULY 1: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, poses with his jersey in the dressing room, after he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the Scotiabank Arena on July 1, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders attends the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders attends the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Biggest Loser: New York Islanders

“With the first overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders select center Jack Hughes.” At least, they hope so.

After losing their franchise player, John Tavares, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency, the New York Islanders decided to enter full rebuild mode.

First, the Islanders’ new general manager, Lou Lamoriello, gave former Maple Leafs center Leo Komarov a four-year deal worth $3 million per season.

Though Komarov is a decent player, the long nature of the contract and the fact it has a partial no-trade clause is perhaps one of the more confusing additions by Lamoriello thus far.

He followed this up by trading for another former Toronto player, Matt Martin, in a deal that failed to reward the Islanders with any draft picks. Furthermore, Martin’s yearly salary of $2.5 million is one that’s generally unwanted throughout the league, so getting any assets for him in the future will prove to be a difficult task.

Continuing on his spending spree, Lamoriello signed Valeri Filppula and Robin Lehner to one-year contracts; both of whom are likely to be traded for draft picks at the deadline should New York be substandard, as anticipated.

Last season, Flippula scored 33 points for the Philadelphia Flyers while Lehner went 14-26-9 for the Buffalo Sabres in 2017-18.

Other than a few minor-league deals to fill out the roster, the Islanders have been relatively quiet since the addition of the two aforementioned players. With that being said, Lamoriello seems content with the idea of having the Islanders tank this season and hope for the best come next offseason.

Next: The Greatest Offensive Franchises In NHL History

Usually, the team who gets the best player in a trade wins the deal. Though it’s not always the case, this logic can also be applied to this year’s NHL free agency period as well. In summary, the team that received the biggest prize, John Tavares, is considered to be the largest victor this July. Oppositely, the team that saw Tavares walk away, the New York Islanders, is inevitably the biggest loser this offseason.

Do you agree that the Islanders regressed the most because of free agency? Did the Leafs actually gain that much by adding Taveres, but losing Bozak and JVR?

Discuss below.

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