Better or bitter teams

Winners and losers can be defined in all sorts of manner during NHL free agency.

Is your team a winner if it attained a key player – even if that player cost way more than you should have paid?

Is your team a winner if it decided not to pay the money and then lost key players because of it?

Is your team a winner if it completely tried to make over its personality – even if the new personality seems just as confusing as the old?

Here’s a breakdown of the top movers:

Winners

Detroit:

The biggest winner of all. The defending Stanley Cup champion loses nothing of importance and gains the most coveted forward in free agency in Marian Hossa (who signs at less than market value at $7.4 million). Not only does Hossa add skill, but he also helps Detroit fight Stanley Cup hangover. The guy signed a one-year deal for the chance to win a Stanley Cup. That’s motivation.

Chicago:

Yes, the Blackhawks spent way too much money and locked themselves into some weird contracts (goalie Cristobal Huet at $5.6 million for four years?), but they are a better team today. Mix the hot kids with the free agents and this is a real team with which to contend. Chicago fans should respond quite positively.

New Jersey:

Lou Lamoriello finds a way to make his team better every year. Bobby Holik will find his hockey muse again in New Jersey, and Brian Rolston also will be proud to be a Devil once again. They just seem like good fits.

On the fence

New York Rangers:

Despite losing Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery, the Rangers seem more like a team now. Wade Redden will help the defense, and Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev have the chance to get more out of centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury than Jagr did. This could actually work.

Tampa Bay:

The new owners obviously want to shake things up, and newcomers Barry Melrose, Steven Stamkos, Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Malone, Matt Carle, Gary Roberts and Radim Vrbata should do that. But this team has a suspect defense corps, and it will be interesting to see how that can be repaired. Doubts abound across the NHL.

Edmonton:

Every move the Oilers made seems to make sense. Erik Cole, Gilbert Brule and Lubomir Visnovsky should make the team better. Still, their defense and goaltending seems significantly worse than teams like Detroit, Anaheim, Dallas and Calgary.

Losers

Toronto:

Adding Jeff Finger isn’t the answer, and Niklas Hagman is nice but not a game-changing player. They have money to do more, but what’s left out there to get?

Pittsburgh:

The Penguins are talented, but losing Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone hurts. Miro Satan can only do so much.

Colorado:

The Avalanche lost Andrew Brunette and Jose Theodore and are waiting on Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg to make decisions on retirement. This doesn’t seem like one of the top teams anymore.

Losing

The real losers are solid team guys like Dallas’ Brenden Morrow ($4.1 million) and Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg ($2.65 million), who take deals that are way less than market value. There’s something wrong with the sport when you get penalized for loyalty.