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.