The start of the 2016-17 season is still roughly three months away, but already there are several teams who are destined for greater success than last season.

Related: 3 teams that got worse on July 1

Friday's onslaught of signings saw several teams already add the pieces needed to make a jump up the standings. Amazing what a couple of hours can do.

Here are three teams that are significantly better today than they were prior to the noon hour on Friday:

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames made just two moves on Friday, but they were two moves that should pay off immediately.

The team inked forward Troy Brouwer to a four-year, $18-million contract and added much-needed depth between the pipes, locking up former Buffalo Sabres backup Chad Johnson.

Brouwer provides strength, size, and skill, averaging 20 goals a year for his career. The 30-year-old was dealt to the St. Louis Blues ahead of this past season in exchange for T.J. Oshie and in his lone season with the Blues added 18 goals and 39 points in 82 games.

He further proved his worth in the postseason when he finished just a goal behind Vladimir Tarasenko's nine for the team lead and added five assists.

While he was coined the team's backup thanks to multiple ankle injuries to Robin Lehner, Johnson spent a large part of the year as the team's No. 1. He played 45 games posting an impressive 2.36 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage on a team that finished third-last in the East, while giving up just under 31 shots per game.

He is sure to be a solid relief option for the newly acquired Brian Elliott.

San Jose Sharks

Having made it to the Stanley Cup Final and coming within just two games of capturing hockey's ultimate prize, the San Jose Sharks were not desperate to make a splash on July 1, but they did anyways.

The club added one of the top unrestricted forwards in Mikkel Boedker and added skill to their defense core with the addition of David Schlemko.

Having been a victim to the Pittsburgh Penguins' speed in the Cup Final, it's clear that general manager Doug Wilson wanted to address the issue and he did just that in acquiring Boedker.

The speedy forward matched a career-high 51 points during the 2015-16 season split between the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche.

The deal has some speculating as to whether the Sharks will now look to trade Patrick Marleau, given their suddenly deep left side of the ice, while also taking into account that Marleau reportedly asked for a trade midway through last season.

That is not to say that is the case, and if it turns out it isn't, then the Sharks will certainly have the best kind of problem with an abundance of riches.

The Sharks still have just under $2.5 million in cap space with restricted free agents Matt Nieto and Dylan DeMelo to contend with, but should be able to get both done with that money.

Factor in Schlemko's solid 19 points in 67 games last season and it's clear the Sharks are hoping last season's Stanley Cup appearance will not be a one off.

Colorado Avalanche

They may not have made any of the flashiest moves on Friday, but rest assured the Avalanche are surely better than they were June 30.

The Avalanche added depth at both forward and defense by coming to terms with Joe Colborne on a two-year contract, while also adding Fedor Tyutin and Patrick Wiercioch on one-year deals.

Colborne is coming off a career-best season where he came just one goal shy of breaking the 20-goal plateau, while adding 25 assists in 73 games.

In total, the moves cost the Avalanche just $5.3 million, leaving them over $14 million in salary to come to terms with Nathan MacKinnon, Calvin Pickard, Tyson Barrie, and Mikhail Grigorenko who are all restricted free agents.

On the other hand, with rumours that Barrie could be on the trade block, the additions of Tyutin and Wiercioch give the club some insurance at defense in the event Barrie is indeed sent packing.

Honorable Mentions

Edmonton Oilers - Additions: F Milan Lucic, G Jonas Gustavsson

Buffalo Sabres - Additions: F Kyle Okposo

Vancouver Canucks - Additions: F Loui Eriksson, D Philip Larsen, F Jayson Megna

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The future of the Tampa Bay Lightning was in question all season long. The idea of Steven Stamkos leaving town drew more speculation perhaps than any free agent ever. Jonathan Drouin, the team's best prospect, wanted out. Their impending salary-cap doom lurked in the distance. And yet, on the road to next season, the Lightning remain firmly intact, all because of Steve Yzerman.

Much like his Hall of Fame career as a player, Yzerman's stoic approach as a general manager has translated into booming success.

Yzerman has built a perennial contender in Tampa Bay, a group so tightly knit and driven for a Stanley Cup that the team's two most important players - Stamkos and Victor Hedman - chose to stay at incredible discounts, rather than raking in piles of money on the open market.

Drouin, who as a 21-year-old pushed and pushed for a midseason trade, flourished in the postseason. He revitalized his image and proved his worth to his teammates with 14 points in 17 games, because Yzerman wouldn't budge.

By retaining Stamkos for $8.5 million per year, the bar was set for his teammates, with Hedman following suit by agreeing to take $7.875 million starting in 2017.

Now, with two deep playoff runs behind them and surely another one in sight, Yzerman's kept the band together. There's still work to be done, like finding a contract for dynamic scorer Nikita Kucherov, who's a restricted free agent. The GM's confident a deal will get done soon and, based on his work this offseason, he should be.

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Here are the fantasy repercussions following Jason Demers signing with the Florida Panthers. Demers reached an agreement on a five-year contract worth $22.5-million.

Even though it's not the most attractive free-agent signing on day two, it is one that added depth on the blueline and could do wonders for the Panthers come playoff time.

Demers was a hot commodity since the free-agent market opened July 1, being one of, if not the best right-handed shooting defenseman available. He listened to many offers from a variety of different teams, then decided to settle in the warm sunshine state of Florida.

Let's dive into Demers' value for this upcoming fantasy season. He doesn't bring much offensive upside to the table for fantasy purposes. He scored a career-high seven goals last season with Dallas and tallying 16 assists for just 23 points in 62 contests.

He has little value in standard leagues, unless he is receiving top-2 minutes, which is unlikely to happen with franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad and recent acquisition Keith Yandle logging the lion's share of the minutes as the top blueline duo.

There was a need for another defenseman when the organization elected to ship Erik Gudbranson and a draft pick to the Canucks for Jared McCann and two of their draft picks. GM Dale Tallon and company added Demers to fill out the supporting cast. He is more of a threat offensively than Gudbransson ever was and figures to see power-play time on the second-unit.

In deeper leagues, he could be a sneaky pick in the later rounds, considering the potential production on the power-play, should either Ekblad or Yandle miss any time with injury. The Panthers finished fifth in total power play opportunities last season.

Throughout his eight-year NHL career, Demers has recorded 143 points in 423 games. If he stays healthy for the bulk of the season, five to 10 goals and 25 points is a reasonable projections. He finished 140th in blocked shots and 253rd in hits, so he's not going to help in leagues that score those categories, though he did finished 55th in penalty minutes.

Expect him to average anywhere between 18 to 20 minutes of ice time, considering he averaged 20:52 last season with the Stars. If you are in need of help on the back-end late in your draft, he's worth a flier pick.

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The Florida Panthers have signed free-agent defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year contract, the team announced Saturday.

The deal's worth a reported $22.5 million, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Demers is thrilled to get the season going.

After not signing July 1, Demers was at the top of the list for available free agents, and joins a budding defensive corps that's added Keith Yandle and retained youngster Aaron Ekblad long term.

The 28-year-old spent last season with the Dallas Stars, notching a career-high 23 points in 62 contests, while posting strong possession numbers.

Demers is also a right-handed shot, and an increasingly valuable and sought-after asset for blue-liners around the league. He should slot in what's looking like a formidable top four in Florida.

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The first day of the NHL's free agency saw flurry of franchise-altering decisions made and over $600 million spent.

Now that the biggest fish have been plucked from the pond, it's time to evaluate the moves and distribute some grades.

Milan Lucic: 7-year, $42M contract with Edmonton

The Edmonton Oilers have mapped out a plan, and it's a familiar one. They have their generational talent in Connor McDavid, who's expected to take them where No. 99 once did. They were gifted a Finnish winger to complement him in Jesse Puljujarvi, and on July 1, they completed the trio by adding Lucic to patrol the ice protecting McDavid a la Dave Semenko with Wayne Gretzky.

Now, comparing McDavid, Puljujarvi, and Lucic to Gretzky, Jari Kurri, and Semenko is near-blasphemous, but it's almost too perfect of a coincidence.

One of the main differences in this generation's rendition is Lucic can score. The towering winger was brought to Edmonton to change the mantra on and off the ice, which he's ready to do. He's coming off a 55-point campaign, and if he plays with No. 97 all season, it's reasonable to believe he can set multiple career highs.

However, he's signed until he's 35 at a $6-million cap hit. Lucic could prove to be a slam dunk in his early years with Edmonton, but if the project fails and Lucic begins to decline, it could be another disaster in Oil Country.

Grade: B

David Backes: 5-year, $30M contract with Boston

Despite being the heart and soul of the St. Louis Blues, Backes should have no problem fitting in with the Bruins. Physicality has been a staple in Boston's style of play for decades, and Backes brings exactly that.

Signing Backes creates outstanding depth at center for Boston, grouping him with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci down the middle.

That said, Boston let Loui Eriksson - who was second on the team with 63 points last season - walk to the Vancouver Canucks. Eriksson, though he wouldn't provide much of a discount, is a more versatile and younger player.

It's doubtful Backes, 32, can continue to produce the way he used to as his career reaches its latter portion.

Grade: C+

Alexander Radulov: 1-year, $5.75M contract with Montreal

This was easily the most intriguing signing of the day.

Just days after Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin traded franchise cornerstone P.K. Subban, citing a need for character in the dressing room, he brought in a player who was chastised for missing curfew during the Nashville Predators' playoff run in 2012.

Radulov, supremely talented, claims to be a changed man, and enters La Belle Province as a low-risk, high-reward project for the Habs.

There's simply no doubting Radulov's skill, as he scored 238 points in his last 181 KHL games. If he's made an attitude adjustment, the third time could be the charm for the Russian in the NHL.

Even if the move blows up, the good news is it's only a one-year deal.

Grade: B+

Kyle Okposo: 7-year, $42M contract with Buffalo

Buffalo missed out on Steven Stamkos, but found a cheaper, reliable replacement in Okposo.

The 28-year-old will be thrust into an already talented Sabres top six. He'll produce points while adding veteran leadership to a fairly young core.

Whether he's on a line with Ryan O'Reilly or Jack Eichel, Okposo should have no problem fitting in, as he's coming off his third career 20-goal season.

Logistically, the term and value of the contract met Okposo's market, and it's a prudent move for the Sabres, who still have money to spend.

Grade: A-

Frans Nielsen: 6-year, $31.5M contract with Detroit

Like Buffalo, Detroit resorted to Plan B when Stamkos opted to stay in Tampa, but the Red Wings landing Nielsen to a lucrative contract lacks oomph, and quite frankly, sense.

Nielsen is a skilled player, but at 32, general manager Ken Holland gave too much term and money to a piece brought in to hopefully fill the void left by Pavel Datsyuk.

Nielsen is another veteran body in the delicate portion of Detroit's aging core, and has produced only two seasons of more than 20 goals. He can surely prove to have value, but tied in with the gamble of signing Thomas Vanek to a one-year deal and the peculiarly massive Darren Helm extension, it wasn't a banner day for Holland.

Grade: C

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Conner Bleackley has finally signed a NHL contract.

The 20-year-old agreed to a three-year, entry-level deal with the St. Louis Blues, the team announced on Saturday.

Bleackley was originally drafted in the first round in 2014 by the Colorado Avalanche. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes as part of the deal that saw Alex Tanguay exchanged for Mikkel Boedker ahead of this year's trade deadline.

After going unsigned by the Coyotes, Bleackley re-entered this year's draft where the Blues plucked him in the fifth round.

In addition to signing Bleackley, the Blues also stockpiled their minor league system by agreeing to terms with Chris Butler, Jacob Doty, Brad Hunt, Andrew Agozzino, Wade Megan, Morgan Ellis, Alex Friesen, and Kenny Agostino to one-year, two-way contracts.

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With a franchise now guaranteed to Las Vegas, it is time for the club to begin building its front office.

Owner Bill Foley and company have begun meetings in Montana with the process of putting in place the staff, which includes the hiring of a general manager.

"My hope is we'll have our general manager on board no later than Aug. 1," Foley said, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We've had a lot of people reach out to us, and we've got some people we're interested in who we've yet to speak to. We hope to identify who we want to speak to from these meetings."

Foley and his team are new to the process and have had meetings with the league as to learn how to appropriately speak to candidates currently under contract with other teams.

"We talked to the NHL last week, and we were explained how the protocol works when it comes to contacting other teams," Foley said. "We want to play by the rules and not make any mistakes. The NHL told us what we have to do, and we're good with that."

Foley plans to narrow down a list to three to five candidates who will then be interviewed for the job.

On the business side of things, Foley and company continue to work alongside sales staff. Season-ticket sales are approaching 16,000 where after Foley plans to put a cap as to leave room for single-game tickets.

As for the club's name and mascot, a decision is still forthcoming, as Foley admits it has not been easy.

"It's a very long process," he said. "You really can't rush it. The NHL has to approve everything."

Foley plans to unveil the team's name, color scheme, and mascot at a viewing party in September or October.

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There were a lot of disgruntled Montreal Canadiens fans following the team's decision to ship P.K. Subban off to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shea Weber.

One fan in particular was so furious over the trade that she wrote a message for Canadiens management on her jersey, which she then left on the Jean Beliveau memorial statue.

Here's what it says:

You can have this once-beloved jersey back. I have no more use for it. Once a fan, now so disappointed. - Julie Martin

The worst trade since Patrick Roy. Hoping PK Subban thrives in Nashville! He deserved better, and so do Habs fans. Stop making such huge mistakes.

With h/t to Reddit/r/hockey

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July 1 is a day on the hockey schedule that brings hope to many NHL franchises.

It's a day when teams can stalk and retool for the upcoming season, seizing players looking for new homes. But while the excitement of nabbing a cornerstone player keeps fans enthralled, the fact is not every signing is a winner and not every deal makes a team better.

Here are three teams that fit such a card and are now worse off after Friday's free-agent frenzy:

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are worse off after Friday's action, less for what they did and more for what they didn't do.

The club was active, coming to terms with six players, but all six will have little impact on the team's NHL roster as nearly all are projected to start with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League.

Following his flurry of action Friday, general manager Pierre Dorion told reporters that the majority of the players the Senators had targeted in free agency were still on the market, which demands the question, what exactly were the Senators hoping to achieve in free agency?

Given that more than $630 million was spent on more than 100 players and nearly all of the big names are off the board, it's quite easy to see that the Senators were not big-game hunting.

Factor in that nearly every other club in the Atlantic Division made moves to make themselves more competitive and it appears the Senators may have been left in the dust.

Detroit Red Wings

For the Detroit Red Wings, Plan A far exceeded Plan B.

The Red Wings made it no secret that they were hopeful to land Steven Stamkos on July 1. With the Tampa Bay Lightning captain slated to hit the open market, the club did everything in its power to make a possible signing work.

They dealt the remaining year of Pavel Datsyuk's contract and in turn freed up $7.5 million. Unfortunately, once Stamkos decided to remain with the Lightning, the Red Wings' plan went off the rails.

Things got off to a bad start when they elected to pay Darren Helm just south of $4 million a season over five years, a player who during his six full seasons in the league has only surpassed the 30-point mark twice.

The team then added a previously bought-out Thomas Vanek and a player who failed to score a single goal last season in Steve Ott. They did manage to ink Frans Nielsen to a deal, but at six years and more than $5 million per season, it's a risk for a player who will be 38 when the contract expires.

The Red Wings have now left themselves with just over $4 million in cap space and with Teemu Pulkkinen, Danny Dekeyser, and Petr Mrazek all restricted free agents, it appears the Red Wings may have pushed themselves into a corner that will require roster moves to get out.

New York Rangers

Similar to the Senators, the New York Rangers are worse off after making many moves with little significance.

The Rangers' grab bag included forwards Michael Grabner and Nathan Gerbe as well as defenseman Adam Clendening.

Grabner spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs where he set career-lows - in a full season - managing just nine goals and nine assists in 80 games.

As for Gerbe, the 5-foot-5 forward suited up in just 47 games for the Carolina Hurricanes and in turn also hit career-lows with just three goals and four assists.

Finally, in Clendening the Rangers get a defenseman who has played in just 50 career games, 29 of which came last season split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Edmonton Oilers where he compiled just one goal and five assists.

In fact, some Rangers fans felt the club's hiring of former player Jeff Beukeboom as assistant coach was the best deal made.

While the Rangers certainly didn't break the bank - with Grabner's two-year $3.3-million deal being the most lucrative of the three - the club failed to make a significant improvement and used up valuable cap space which could be needed to lock-up restricted free agents Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, and Dylan McIlrath.

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