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Winners of the first weekend of NHL free agency
Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman got off to great star in free agency by retaining captain Steven Stamkos. Dave Sandford/Getty Images

Winners of the first weekend of NHL free agency

Despite it being just the start of the offseason, the hockey world was alive and changing around the start of free agency just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. So, which teams came out on top after the market opened on July 1? The argument for top billing can be made for five teams.

As mentioned after the market opened on Friday, the free agent frenzy sent a handful of players out west, thus making the Pacific Division a more competitive product. The Oilers added muscle at the opening of the market by signing Milan Lucic, who will surely add an edge and some veteran status to the young and rebuilding roster. The Flames completed their goaltending arsenal by signing Chad Johnson to complement their acquisition of Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues just a week earlier.

These additions are expected to catapult both teams into a more competitive stance after both fell to the back of the pack in the 2015-16 campaign, in a division that ended up being represented in the Stanley Cup Final by the San Jose Sharks.

It won’t be a cakewalk for Calgary and Edmonton, however, as middle-of-the-pack rebuilder Arizona got a boost pre-free agency with the additions it made to its roster. Inking former Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski to a deal adds solidity to the Coyotes' blue line, while the addition of veteran scorer Pavel Datsyuk will hopefully push along the young offense should he remain in the NHL. The only thing that would make the Desert Dogs’ offseason more complete would be to conclude contract talks with Shane Doan.

Two teams out east made quite the splash last week as well. In fact, they hail from the same state.

The Florida Panthers might have had the best go at the market, starting at the openening when they signed James Reimer to a five-year deal. One could even say that the Panthers got things started a couple weeks back when they signed defenseman Keith Yandle to a seven-year deal. They were even busy the night before free agency kicked off when they signed defenseman and franchise cornerstone Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year contract extension. Add in new contracts for Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith, and the Panthers have “essentially solidified the long-term future of their franchise from a player personnel standpoint,” as Chris Peters of CBSSports said. 

Don’t forget about the Tampa Bay Lightning. It might not have made the most moves, but GM Steve Yzerman certainly made the biggest when he locked in Steven Stamkos for eight more years to finally put the rumor whirlwind around the star forward to rest. Yzerman then extended Victor Hedman — whose relationship with Stamkos reportedly played a part in the captain's choice to stay with the Bolts — and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. It’s no wonder there are companies making T-shirts that celebrate Yzerman’s managerial expertise.

Being that it’s only the start of July, there is still room for other teams to have exceptionally productive summers. Will the Detroit Red Wings successfully beef up their blue line now that they have signed Frans Nielsen to help fill the void left by Datsyuk? Will the Sharks follow up the signing of forward Mikkel Boedker by finding a seasoned backup goaltender for Martin Jones? Are the Montreal Canadiens going to continue making waves after the massive trade of P.K. Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber?

With the offseason in its infancy, there is still potential for a number of teams set to get in the mix.

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