Shortly before the 2026 draft in late June, there were a handful of big trades that shook up the league, the biggest of which were the Buffalo Sabres acquiring the Chicago Blackhawks’ fourth overall pick for Bowen Byram.

The trend of huge moves continued on Wednesday, the opening day of free agency. Let’s take a look at what the Pacific Division did.

Calgary Flames

It’s been a quiet start to the Calgary Flames’ off-season, at least on the free agency front. However, they traded two veterans on Thursday morning, as Blake Coleman and Olli Määttä were traded to the Minnesota Wild for Jacob Middleton and three picks. It’s a solid move for the Flames, as they’ll now be able to flip Middleton at some point.

The most notable free agent who signed with the Flames was William Strömgren. Last season in the American Hockey League, the 23-year-old winger scored 11 goals and 47 points in 66 games, and even made his NHL debut.

On top of that, the Flames signed Andreas Englund, Jake Livingstone, Ben Jones, and Michael Benning to one-year deals below $1 million.

Edmonton Oilers

The general consensus among pundits is that the Edmonton Oilers “won” the first day of free agency, sort of like they did in 2024.

Signing Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson before free agency began, the Oilers had a slow start to the frenzy, but things picked up once they traded Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks. Not only did they receive notable players back, Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp, but they also freed up $9.25 million. Yes, the Sharks took on the entire cap hit.

Just before that trade, the Oilers made another trade, sending their 2028 third-rounder to the Buffalo Sabres for netminder Devon Levi. Later in the day, they signed Frederik Andersen to a one-year deal that carries a cap hit of $1 million, as it appears they’ll run three goaltenders next season.

They were able to re-sign Kasperi Kapanen and Max Jones, two bottom six players (despite Kapanen’s brief post-season). For their AHL team, the Oilers signed hard-hitting Latvian forward Eduards Tralmaks.

To make up for the departing Nurse, the Oilers signed left-shot defenceman Ryan Shea, who scored six goals and 35 points in 80 games last season. Shea is an excellent penalty killer, as is Mathieu Joseph, who signed a one-year deal.

Vancouver Canucks

As for the other Canadian team in the Pacific Division, the Vancouver Canucks, they managed to wrangle a 2030 first round pick (top-10) from the New York Rangers for Marcus Pettersson.

They also signed a handful of notable players. Luke Schenn joins the organization for a third stint, while Jamie Oleksiak sticks on the west coast thanks to a two-year deal given. Paul Cotter, Akil Thomas, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and Matthew Stienburg also signed with the Canucks.

Vegas Golden Knights

The reigning Western Conference champs made one trade, re-signed a former Flame, and signed a handful of players. Starting with the trade, the Vegas Golden Knights sent Keegan Kolesar to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2029 third-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick.

Their most notable move, though, saw them re-sign Rasmus Andersson to a seven-year deal worth $8.5 million annually. On top of Andersson, the Golden Knights signed Victor Olofsson, Ville Heinola, Dylan Coghlan, Joe Fleming, Jonas Røndbjerg, Jakub Demek, Marc Gatcob, and Antti Tuomisto.

Los Angeles Kings

One of the oldest NHL teams got even older on the first day of free agency. Last season, the Los Angeles Kings had an average age of 29.92, the fourth oldest team. Well, they signed 41-year-old Corey Perry, 38-year-old Mats Zuccarello, and 35-year-old Erik Haula.

All three players are still capable NHL players, as is Scott Laughton, who agreed to a three-year deal. The Kings also signed former Flame Erik Gustafsson (who is 34 years old), Jan Jeník, Scott Perunovich, and Lane Pederson for some AHL depth.

Anaheim Ducks

It was a rather quiet day for the other team in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, the Anaheim Ducks. A.J. Greer was acquired from the Florida Panthers for Radko Gudas on June 29, and agreed to a four-year deal with the Ducks.

The Ducks signed two other NHL’ers as well. Nick Jensen spent his 2025-26 with the Ottawa Senators, agreeing to a two-year deal with the Ducks. Jeff Malott signed a three-year deal after spending 58 games with the Kings in 2025-26.

Former Flame Laurent Brossoit signed a one-year deal with the Ducks after spending most of his season in the AHL. The Ducks also signed Jett Woo, Corey Schueneman, James Hamblin, Travis Mitchell, and Judd Caulfield as AHL depth.

Seattle Kraken

Of the eight Pacific Division teams, no team was as quiet as the Seattle Kraken. They locked up restricted free agent Mackie Samoskevich to a three-year deal worth $3.85 million annually after acquiring the forward from the Florida Panthers.

On top of that, the Kraken also signed 6’9” forward Curtis Douglas to a two-year deal that carries an annual cap hit of $1.25 million.

San Jose Sharks

Finally, we have the San Jose Sharks, who had one of the days of all time. I’ve already mentioned the Nurse trade from the Oilers’ perspective, but the Sharks are getting a physical, minute-munching defenceman who has a bunch of playoff experience and put up seven consecutive seasons with 30+ points before registering just 24 points last season.

Nurse is still a useful NHL defenceman, but he’s probably paid a bit too much for what he offers, and the Sharks could’ve done a lot better here.

The Nurse trade was a confusing one, but it came shortly after the Sharks signed 32-year-old right-shot defenceman Jacob Trouba to a four-year deal worth $8.25 million annually. Both he and Nurse’s contract ends following the 2029-30 season.

Those two moves weren’t the only big splashes, as the Sharks agreed to a five-year deal worth $6.75 million annually with Mason Marchment. The left winger just turned 31 and scored 19 goals and 45 points in 68 games last season.

Other depth moves saw the Sharks sign Eric Comrie, Andre Gasseau, Alex Barré-Boulet, Tye Felhaber, Brett Leason, and Kyle Keyser.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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