6 NHL Teams That Had the Best Offseason

The NHL offseason provided a whirlwind of excitement that has since rattled the landscape of the NHL for 2019. The league that already featured parody from top to bottom saw a lot of 2018's bottom dwellers make key additions that will surely make them much more competitive in 2019.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs

Colorado Avalanche v San Jose Sharks - Game Seven / Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Toronto finally boosted their defense with the additions of Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie, putting them in the best position to advance past the first round. By shedding bad contracts like Patrick Marleau's, they were able to retain the services of Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen. The only thing left to do is re-sign Mitch Marner and Toronto will have improved their team from last season despite being up against the cap.

5. Colorado Avalanche

Toronto Maple Leafs v Arizona Coyotes / Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Avalanche quietly bolstered their offensive depth, and despite losing Tyson Barrie they will improve this year from last season. Nazem Kadri will fill the second-line center spot that they have long needed, Andre Burakovsky, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Joonas Donskoi will all provide offensive depth to a team that was extremely top-heavy last season. Colorado is young, talented and very, very dangerous.

4. Florida Panthers

Boston Bruins v Columbus Blue Jackets - Game Six / Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

The Panthers went on a little spending spree this offseason, adding to their roster and making them relevant yet again. Florida signed Sergei Bobrovsky to improve their goaltending, Anton Stralman to solidify their blue line, Noel Acciari to become a bottom-six grinder, and Brett Connolly to move around the top nine forwards and contribute. Florida now has two very competitive hockey teams.

3. Dallas Stars

San Jose Sharks v St Louis Blues - Game Three / Elsa/Getty Images

The Stars already had a young core in tact that surprisingly got them into the second round last season. Now they have added veteran goal scorer and leader Joe Pavelski, as well as signed Corey Perry to a one-year deal in the hopes that he will rebound and remain healthy. They also signed Andrej Sekera, a move that will sure up their defense, making it a really good offseason for the Stars.

2. New Jersey Devils

2019 NHL Draft - Round One / Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Devils shocked no one by selecting American phenom Jack Hughes first overall, but that was not their only move of an impressive offseason. They traded relatively little to land P.K. Subban and improve their defense, while also signing Wayne Simmonds to a one-year deal to provide a net front presence that they have been lacking. It was definitely a well-executed offseason for New Jersey.

1. New York Rangers

2019 NHL Draft - Round One / Rich Lam/Getty Images

The Rangers were by far the winners of the 2019 offseason, improving their team drastically in the process. Adding to their lowly defensive corps by trading for Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox, while signing Artemi Panarin and drafting Kaapo Kakko means the Rangers could be nabbing at a playoff spot in 2019. And let's not forget that they also brought over Vitali Kravtsov, Yegor Rykov and Igor Shesterkin from Russia as well.