Detroit Red Wings Are Among the Best in Off-Season Negotiations

Some would ask once an exciting NHL season is over, what's the next step for my favorite team? Where do we go from here? Well we will explore the teams that made the best off season moves after last seasons Stanley Cup run.

The Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings weren't shy when it came to off season moves. They know what it takes to win, and they went out and made some of the biggest splashes after a very successful season. They immediately looked into free agency, and they scored arguably the best forward in this seasons free agent pool. They successfully acquired star forward Marian Hossa from the Pittsburgh Penguins. With already one of the best power play units in the league, the addition of Hossa is going to bring quite the punch. Just imagine for a moment a power play with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, Niklas Lidstrom, and Brian Rafalski. Although it's obvious to see the offensive power of Detroit, they also secured their back end by finding a replacement for now retired Dominik Hasek with Ty Conklin. They also saved enough cap space to keep defensemen Andreas Lilja.

The New York Rangers also wasted no time moving forward after star forward Jaromir Jagr fled to Russia to make big bucks as his career comes to an end. The Rangers immediately made a move for winger Markus Naslund, who spent his last 12 NHL seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers also made a deal which saw Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nikolai Zherdev make the move to the big apple. Zherdev's 26 goals last season prove he can provide the offensive firepower everyone knew he had when he was drafted. Offense wasn't the only thing on the Rangers mind though this off season, they made moves which will solidify their back end as well. The signing of star defensemen Wade Redden along with the re-signing of Michael Rozsival adds depth to a solid core of young defensemen.

Another Eastern Conference team that wasted no time this off season was the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a disappointing season last year, the Lightning made big moves to improve this year's squad. The most significant of which may be simply this year's draft choice of Steve Stamkos number one overall. They looked to Stanley Cup finalists the Pittsburgh Penguins to add some needed offensive depth. They scooped up veteran Gary Roberts, gritty forward Adam Hall, and young up and comer Ryan Malone. They also were impressed with Marc Recchi's play last season with Atlanta and decided to give the veteran a chance to improve their club as well. In goal, the Lightning added former Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who will most likely back up young Mike Smith. The Lightning also added long time ESPN announcer Barry Melrose as its new head coach.

The Washington Capitals added veteran Sergei Fedorov last season as they headed into their first playoff run since star Alex Ovechkin entered the league. Fedorov was a good addition for Ovechkin, who is also from Russia, as the veteran could help with on and off ice advice. Fedorov also became one of the leaders in the locker room as well as on the ice. Washington made room to keep Fedorov for these reasons this season. They also decided to move goaltender Cristobal Huet, and instead pursued former Hart Trophy winning goaltender Jose Theodore. The Caps are hoping Theodore can return his game to MVP status next season.

It's no secret that goaltending is the major factor that can make or break an NHL team's ability to win the Stanley Cup. The Chicago Blackhawks are a young team with star players like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane just starting to break out. The Blackhawks were never happy with the play of Russian goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, so they have made a move for Cristobal Huet from the Washington Capitals. Although goaltending is important, Chicago's big move came with the signing of defensemen Brian Campbell. With the addition of Campbell, the Blackhawks have arguably one of the best 3 defensemen in the league with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook also backing up Huet. Look for Huet to play much better this coming season with such a cast of great defensemen as support.

All teams will be interested in those veteran players who have yet to decide if they will return to the game next season or not. Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne, Mats Sundin, and Brendan Shanahan are among the best. Each of these players has the ability to make whichever team they join just that much better. The teams who may be lucky enough to pick up one of these players may be the smartest of this bunch.