Potential Impacts
These are all fine and good, if the additions make the team tangibly better and are a clear step above the young guys but if not, then it seems crazy. Pacioretty is going to be 36 years old just over a month into the season and has played a total of 52 games the past two seasons combined.
This is due to numerous achilles tendon injuries, one of which required surgery. When he has played, he has been quite good admittedly, racking up seven goals and 25 points. The health, age, and potential decline makes his acquisition worrisome but if he can score and mesh well in a middle-six role, it could be worth it.
Steven Lorentz is a perfectly fine player in a fourth line checking role but given the personnel already on the team; David Kampf, Pontus Holmberg, Connor Dewar, Bobby McMann, and Ryan Reaves, his addition seems almost redundant. Especially when it potentially has the ripple effect of pushing young players off the roster. (All contract information via Puckpedia.com).
On the backend, Tanev and Hakanpaa are two players with serious injury concerns with the latter having just undergone knee surgery which has caused him to start the season on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). As well, OEL was signed to a four-year contract at 33 years old, multiple years into a very public decline.
Despite a resurgence last year in a D-friendly system with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Their presence along with a few others have seemingly pushed Liljegren out of favour with the organization as he is not expected to make the opening night lineup and is rumoured to be traded. It's looked good so far, but the jury is still out on whether this is the right move or not.
Of course, all of these changes and their effects good or bad remain to be seen. I am skeptical of how much better Lorentz, Pacioretty, OEL, and Hakanpaa are than younger players in the organization. Hopefully, it does not cause any ill feelings or hurt development either. As of now, the Leafs are 2-1-0 to start the year but with 79 games left in the season, there is plenty of time for the record to become lopsided.