So rarely in the NHL does a superstar talentsuch Marshall Faulk Jersey as John Tavares reach free agency that, when it actually happened Sunday, it was hard to wrap your head around the sheer spectacle of Tavares Watch and all its glory, however brief. For a fleeting hour, the hockey world held its breath with each clue, the now-former Islanders captainfree to sign with any one of the 31 teams he most desired. And after more than a week of deliberating locales, line combinations and championship appeal, above five other finalists, joining acity and its prodigal son in their mutual pursuit of an elusive Stanley Cup. TRACKER: As much as Maple Leafs fans Tavares among them as a boy had been wishing for this homecoming the last two years, the Islanders were dreading it. For a while, it looked as though new hockey czar Lou Lamoriellocould do no wrong, hiring a championship-winning coach . Then it all changed in an instant. Accordingly, the Maple Leafs and Islanders wound up on opposite sides of the isle in handing out grades for the first 24 hours of free agency. Tavares' seven-year, $77 million contract was far and away the biggest one signed, but there was actually a considerable amount of movement for a cla s that failed to inspire intrigue beyond its biggest fish. In all, more than $480 million in contracts were distributed to free agents (unrestricted and restricted) Sunday the highesttotal on July 1 since 2014. Like every year, some teams proved savvier than others. Let's take a look at the winners and losers from Day 1 of NHL free agency. MORE : Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs Start with the obvious. The signing of Tavaresis a coup for the Maple Leafs, and the way it played out should put to rest any false pretenses Leafs fansprepared in case they were rejected again. A 27-year-old superstar is suddenly plopped into the middle ofa contending roster already rife with young talent in AustonMatthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and the like. Granted, Tavares isn't a defensemen, so this team still will need to continue to improve. But the Leafs (on paper) seem to have that coveted blend of cheap production and veteran presence that's a must for any Stanley Cup contender these days. That won't last in perpetuity. It's why maybe the 2018-19 season could be the Leafs' very best shot at ending Toronto's 51-year Cup drought. Next offseason, it'll be time to pony up for Matthews, Marner and Jake Gardiner. Tavares allowed for that po sibility in deciding to leavemoney on the table and space between Toronto's cap ceiling another win for rookie general manager Kyle Dubas and Co. The departures of unrestricted free agents James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozakand Tomas Plekanecleaves some holes at forward, but the Leafs have stockpiled enough prospect equity to bridge those gaps internally. They'll enter next season with Tavares, Tyrunn Walker Jersey Matthews and Nazem Kadrias a center trio. Outside of Pittsburgh, good luck finding a better group in the NHL. The pieces should fall into place from there. MORE: Loser: Lou Lamoriello The grave mistake of allowing Tavares to reach apoint of no return that can be NHL free agency was committed under a previous regime.Lamoriello was given a monthto a suageconcerns between a franchise and its foremost star, selling him on the idea the Islanders could morph into a more stable, contending entity under "Lou's Rules" like the organization he departed. That's the greatest irony of Tavares signing with the Leafs, though. And it;s up to Lamoriello now to carry out the contingency plan. What is it? Good question. The Isles are stocked with some young talent, too, led by NHL rookie of the year Mathew Barzal, who likely will inherit Tavares' title as face of the franchise. Except it's mostly the same core that's failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Lamoriellohas so far whiffed on addre sing glaringneeds in net and on the blue line, watching the best options in free agency dry up while his attention was (understandably) elsewhere. Still, it's reasonable to ask how long Lamoriellodeserves the benefit of the doubt. There were more than a few cooks in Toronto's kitchen, and it's been a while since that 2012Cup Final run with the Devils. In mi sing on Tavares, heproceeded to commit$22 million in multi-year contracts for former Leafs plugger Leo Komarov and fringe defenseman Thomas Hickey. No positive way to slice up this July 1 in Brooklyn. MORE : Loser: San Jose Sharks Really, we could fill this article with the 30 losers fromthe Tavares sweepstakes. Every general manager kicksthe tires, however briefly, when a superstar of this ilk reachesthe open market and can only dream of adding such a talent. It's especially gut-wrenching for the five finalists who came so close. And outside of the Islanders, the only team closer to Tavares through the proce s was the Sharks, who made no bones about their aspirations in adding him to a Cup-caliber core that's starting to feel a now-or-never pre sure. The Sharks ultimately finished third in this dance, despite their reported offer of $91 million a deal which would have made Tavares the highest-paid player in the NHL. Yet, he said thefinal decision came down to the Maple Leafs and Islanders. It must sting all the more to find out about old friend Patrick Marleau's efforts in recruiting Tavares to Toronto. Tavares says Marleau talked to him at length about how much he enjoyed playing with the Leafs. James Mirtle (@mirtle) In falling short on both Tavares and Ilya Kovalchuk, GM Doug Wilson ( ) will have to make do with that he's got. The Pacific Division is still wide open and the Sharks have plenty of talent, but it won't be easy to get over the "what-if." NHL DRAFT 2018: | Winner: Buffalo Sabres Not a bad week for the hard-luck Sabres and their fans. After formally welcoming No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo general manager Jason Botterillrolled up his sleeves and got to work correcting more of predece sor Tim Murray's mistakes. The big one came Sunday night, for thereturn Botterillhad been holding out for. PatrikBerglund and VladimirSobotka are capable if unremarkable veterans headed back to Buffalo, but won't factor in much to the long-term plans there. Thereal win came in the form of three future a sets, including the Blues' 2019 first-round draft pick (top-10 protected), a 2021 second and top prospect TageThompson, who St. Louis drafted 26th overall in 2016. Botterillhad been after a high pick in last weekend's draft reportedly as high as No. 3 overallfrom the Canadiens and was steadfast in his demands when he didn't get one. O'Reillywas not a depreciating a set. Botterillunderstands the value of center depthbetter than anyone, having cut his teeth in Pittsburgh, and havingO'Reilly back for the 2018-19 season would have been just fine, allowing Buffalo Derek Carrier Jersey 's No. 1 pick in 2017,Casey Mittelstadt,time to develop properly. The Sabres will surely mi s O'Reilly next year, whichmight be the only concern in the trade, but the long-term outlook is growing more favorable. The Sabres also addre sed their goaltending void earlier Sunday, signing Blues backup Carter Hutton to a friendly three-year deal as an NHL shepherd toLinus Ullmark, another encouraging prospect in the system. Botterillis stockpiling impre sive young talent and now owns three first-rounders in the 2019 draft. Butmost of all, heshowed he can playhard ball in trade discu sions and win a welcomed sign, after . Loser: St. Louis Blues Meanwhile, it's difficult to look at the Blues and see an improved roster from their disappointing playoff mi s last season. Armstrong promised big changes this offseason and was connected to practically every major free agent, from Tavares to Kovalchuk. He whiffed on those targets, save for overspending on a 32-year-old Tyler Bozak(three years, $15 million) and a reunion with David Perron (four years, $16 million), who was discarded in the expansion draft a year ago. The O'Reillyacquisition came at a steep price, too, and while the trade with the Sabresshould benefit both sides, it does make you wonder what Armstrong's end game is. Hereare the Blues' major roster changes from the start of the 2017-18 season through July 1: In: O'Reilly, Bozak, Perron, Chad Johnson Out: Berglund, Sobotka, Hutton, Paul Stastny, Kyle Brodziak Remember when they were infirst place in the Central last December, garnering some Stanley Cup chatter? O'Reilly is a very good player who handles significant minutes in multiple roles, often against the opposing team's top line. Presumably, leaving the Sabres for better talent around him should help O'Reilly thrive, but Tyler Higbee Jersey it's still not a course-altering transaction. Barring another trade of significance (Max Pacioretty?), the Blues come out looking spectacularly ordinary for 2018-19. Winner: Arizona Coyotes Quietly, Coyotes GM John Chayka is building something interesting in the desert and the rest of the NHL ought to take notice. After making the big splash in the form of atrade for Alex Galchenyuk, the 29-year-old whiz secured perhaps the best underratedsigning Sunday in bringing in Michael Grabnerat a cool $3.35 million acro s three years.Grabner, 30, has three consecutive 27-goal seasons to his credit and that blazing speed should mesh well with the Coyotes' plan of attack. That's in addition to locking up core defensemenOliver Ekman-Lar son and NiklasHjalmar sonwith extensions. Arizona, on the heels of a strong finish to last season,will be a popular pick as the 2018-19 version of the Avalanche and Devils if theoffseason keeps up like this. Loser: Jim Benning (again) The Canucks should start taking away Jim Benning's phone this time of year. He winds up in the loser's column anannual ritual, it seems again this year for handing out perhaps the two worst contracts we'll see this year. First,Jay Beagle got $12 million acro s four years. Great guy, that Jay Beagle, a Stanley Cup champion ...but not one worth such term.Not to be outdone, Benninggave an identical deal toAntoine Rou sel. Apparently, ,he of five goals in 73 games. For those keeping Jamon Brown Jersey score at home, that's $24 million spent on players who combined for 12 goals in 2017-18. Aren't the Canucks supposed to be rebuilding? Winners: Blasts from the past What's old is new again, apparently. Four free agents rekindled previous flames on free agent day, highlighted by James van Riemsdyk's , the team that drafted him second overall in 2007 and traded him to the Maple Leafs five years later. David Perron (Blues), discarded at the expansion draft last year, cashed in on his revival in Vegas, andTomas Plekanec(Canadiens) and Thomas Vanek (Red Wings) also re-signed with teams that recently traded them away. Losers: Defense-needy teams Every year, July 1 also represents the first day teams and players entering the final year of their contracts can complete extensions. That means thefollowing year's free agent cla s begins to di sipate, and the 2019 field was shaping up to be a doozy until taking a hit Sunday. Would-be free agent defensemenDrew Doughty,Ryan McDonagh and Oliver Ekman-Lar son all inked lucrative long-term deals with their current teams. Boring. The intrigue now hinges squarely on the likes of Erik Karl son and Ryan Ellis, but it feels like those situations could be resolved by extension or trade well before this time next year. Quality defensemen are in high demand, and you saw how quickly the talent drops after John Carlson this year. Teams in need a year from now may find few solutions.