ESPN data: Blackhawks and Predators created the most value in the offseason

After the first wave of free agents, many felt that the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators were the two teams in the NHL with the biggest improvement.

There is now statistical information to support this claim.

According to ESPN’s Neil Paine, the Blackhawks were the No. 1 team in terms of added value for next season in terms of the number of goals added and subtracted beyond the substitute – a measure of a player’s overall individual contribution to his team – with the Predators close behind.

Chicago improved its offense by signing forwards Teuvo Teravainen (12.3 GAR), Tyler Bertuzzi (7.2 GAR), Ilya Mikheyev (3.6 GAR) and Craig Smith (3.3 GAR) as well as defensemen TJ Brodie (5.4 GAR) and Alec Martinez (3.2 GAR).

The separation of players such as Taylor Raddysh, MacKenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson was also beneficial for the club, as it allowed it to get rid of some of its weakest players.

According to Paine, the Blackhawks have improved by 56.5 goals compared to their replacement player (plus 30.6 in offense, plus 15.5 in defense and plus 10.4 in goal).

“No team needed more offensive help last season than Chicago, which finished last in scoring with 2.17 goals per game,” Paine wrote. “The Blackhawks signed (two) 20-plus goal scorers … and they also gained simply by subtraction, as some of their least productive forwards from last year went elsewhere. … The Blackhawks should be among the teams with the biggest improvement in performance in the NHL next season.”

The Predators made the biggest splash on the first day of free agency by signing three of the five best available free agents: 40-goal forwards Steven Stamkos (16.2 GAR) and Jonathan Marchessault (14.7 GAR), as well as top defenseman Brady Skjei (16 GAR).

According to Paine, Nashville has improved by 33.9 goals compared to the replacement player (plus 27.9 in offense, plus 2.8 in defense and plus 3.2 in goal).

“The Preds needed more depth and they got it in the form of Stamkos, Skjei and Marchessault,” Paine wrote. “The additions are a bit of a risk; a team that was already fifth-oldest a year ago just built its offseason around three guys who will be on the wrong side of 30 next season. But if they keep it up, Nashville will be a much scarier team.”

The Washington Capitals (plus 31.5 net GAR added), San Jose Sharks (plus 26.1 net GAR added) and Toronto Maple Leafs (plus 24.3 net GAR added) round out Paine’s top five teams with the biggest performance improvements.