As the doors opened to the 2014 NHL Free Agency, there were modest expectations. The previous year featured few top-flight talents, with numerous players looking to prove something. In the lockout-abbreviated 2012-2013 season, Derek Roy scored 4 goals in 30 games for Dallas before Vancouver traded for him in what would end up as a failed attempt at a rental — his accumulated point totals in Buffalo’s post-2005 heyday would still be enough to convince St Louis to purchase his services for one year at 4 million dollars. Nathan Horton was coming off the heels of injury-shortened campaigns; ones that weren’t completely lacking in production but ones that would be considered disappointments nonetheless. The Bruins run to the Cup finals, however, displayed his acumen for clutch situations. He would sign with Columbus. To replace him on the wing, Boston would etch a one-year deal with Jarome Iginla, who had previously spurned them in favor of Pittsburgh on deadline day, March 2013.

Much talk surrounded Daniel Alfredsson’s departure from Ottawa, but the hullabaloo didn’t exactly speak to what he’d be able to offer to a new team as much as it encompassed the mere fact that he was leaving Ottawa. There was also a lot of humming about the buyout of Vincent Lecavalier from Tampa Bay — with clearly a lot left to give as a player, many felt he had fallen off everyone’s radar with injuries and subsequent underperformance. Valtteri Filppula would end up being the steal of the free agency, replacing Lecavalier’s second line production with much aplomb; Lecavalier would sign for 4 million in Philadelphia, scoring 20 goals but leaving a lot to be desired nonetheless. Mike Ribeiro and Clarke MacArthur would round out the town’s talk of the free agency. All in all, the earth-shaking movements of 2013 would come via trades; Dallas absconding away with a young franchise 1C in Tyler Seguin, Cory Schneider becoming the incumbent heir apparent to Martin Brodeur, and Bobby Ryan traded away to Ottawa.

Flash forward to the March 2014 trade deadline. Roberto Luongo, having been freshly benched by John Tortorella in the Heritage Classic versus Ottawa, was traded to Florida. Martin St Louis had his movement request fulfilled, his desire to be closer to his family accepted by the GM whose relations were rocky with him, in the process baffling many of Martin’s devoted followers. Ryan Miller moved from a basement dweller to a contender in a deal that expressed Buffalo’s new direction in a microcosm, whilst simultaneously expressing the Blues’ desire to grab the piece that would put them over the top. And, in a move that nobody quite foresaw, Marian Gaborik was brought in by Los Angeles at no cost to their roster.

At the time, the myriad of movements were all hard to digest simultaneously. The Gaborik deal had almost slipped right past everyone, almost as if it were an afterthought; an “oh yeah, I forgot they got him” type of acquisition. Most of the focus was elsewhere. People wanted to talk about Martin St Louis and his motivations for leaving Tampa. Was it because of the Olympic snub of Steve Yzerman and Hockey Canada? Did he really want to be closer to family? Many others openly wondered whether Ryan Miller was what the Blues had been lacking to make a deep run. And of course, Luongo getting traded, despite Vancouver struggling mightily for playoff contention, was a move that was pasted across headlines all the same. Even Thomas Vanek had his lion’s share of media and fan attention, turning down a large extension from Garth Snow’s Islanders and tying their hands in a deal that saw table scraps sent their way.

All this to say, it seems like a Los Angeles Kings trademark to fly underneath everyone’s watch. The Gaborik deal, though touted as an addition that would make the West all the more miserable to play in, did not make the same waves as others had on deadline day. The Kings rather quietly made the playoffs in the 6th seed, not scoring a lot of goals, not allowing a lot of goals, not winning more regular season games than one would expect by looking at their roster. And, like their Cup run in 2012, no expected home ice advantage in the playoffs. Nobody was thinking “contender” when they were down 0-3 to San Jose in round 1.

And then, ka-boom. Marian Gaborik’s two-goal game in game 4 would trigger one of the most massive comebacks of the modern NHL. Not only that, but it would be the catalyst to a legion of other effects. Gaborik wouldn’t score for the rest of the series, but 6 goals against Anaheim, 2 against Chicago, and 3 against the Rangers would yield a cup victory for the Kings. And, in a style people have come to expect from the Kings, they took home a victory where their backs had been against the wall more times than ten fingers could count; a 0-3 games deficit, three game 7s on the road (including game 7 overtime), three come-from-behind overtime wins in the Finals. And at the spearhead of such a miraculous never-say-die championship team was the fourteen goals of their deadline acquisition.

One can only hope for such a contribution from a recently-obtained star player. Martin St Louis traditionally put up point-per-game numbers in Tampa, but 15 points in 25 playoff games would fall slightly underneath expectation (even if those numbers would be considered exceptional for many NHL players). Thomas Vanek’s 10 points (5g, 5a) in 17 postseason contests wouldn’t prove to be enough to overcome the Canadiens’ loss of Carey Price to injury.

Further along into this timeline, we find ourselves at the evening of the 2014 draft. Marian Gaborik had two days earlier signed an extension well beneath his market value to allow the Kings financial maneuverability. Meanwhile, rumors of Ryan Kesler’s despondency had swirled and encircled the Canucks organization since the Olympics. Shambling to make sense of a failed season, several managerial positions in Vancouver had been held accountable via firing. Where a shrewd Mike Gillis might have held his cards close to his chest, Jim Benning wasted no time in moving Kesler to a destination of desire: the Anaheim Ducks. Fresh off losing to the Kings and Gaborik’s 6 goals, the Ducks pushed hard to land a star forward of their own. They had been clamoring for Kesler, and he had been clamoring for them.

With two teams in the Pacific division garnering star players at minimal cost, the draft would progress rather smoothly. The Canucks would end up swapping a few more picks and players. The Predators would acquire James Neal for Nick Spaling and Patric Hornqvist in the biggest deal to happen at the draft itself. That would put the total of teams in the West that have set aside a roster spot for a new star forward at three, mere days before free agency. Something big was brewing.

With the weekend’s draft having passed with no other notable movements (aside from Arizona adding Sam Gagner into the fold, presumably in a 3C role but potentially a second-line center), Tuesday came with an inversely proportional avalanche of signings as the Free Agency opened. The West was looking tougher than ever — and the GMs knew it.

It started with the St. Louis Blues. Aching for a new 2C after Derek Roy didn’t pan out, they gave Paul Stastny the money and the term he was looking for: 7 million dollar cap hit for 4 years, 28 million total to be paid out in that time, and a no-trade clause. Yet again, the Blues jumped at the chance to grab a player who just might put them over the top. But this time, they have added a bona fide star in their top 6.

Then, a trade. Jason Spezza got his wish to be moved, in the process nearly handcuffing the Senators into a deal to the Dallas Stars involving Alex Chiasson, 3 young prospects and a second-round pick. Though voluminous in terms of bodies being moved, Senators fans couldn’t help but express their discontent at the return. Spezza had recently rejected a deal to be moved to Nashville, perhaps unconvinced that having James Neal on his wing would be worth his interest. Ales Hemsky was also signed to Dallas. He had previously engaged in talks to sign there, but having a linemate with that level of immediate chemistry (17 points in 20 games with Spezza) surely amped up his level of excitement as it would for Dallas fans as well.

Then, minutes later, the Minnesota Wild added the long-rumored-to-be-headed-there Thomas Vanek to their ranks. He rejoins old linemate Jason Pominville to beef up a top six that is looking all the more lethal with Mikael Granlund coming into his own, as well as Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle taking large developmental strides. The deal is fair in length and fair in money; 6.5 over 3 years. Not an overpayment, not a cheap deal, but just perfect for all parties involved. The number of 30 goal scorers on Minnesota in 2014-15 just might be through the roof with their newest free agent addition.

Seeing all the movement around them, a division in which just about every team had become objectively stonger (even Winnipeg adding Mathieu Perreault is worth noting), the Blackhawks signed the recently-bought out Brad Richards to a one year contract of insane value — just two million dollars. The deal places the former Conn Smythe winner, Cup champion, and recent Finals competitor straight into the 2C slot with a chance to play with some of the greatest talent league-wide. Everybody involved knew the Hawks were tight up against the cap, unwilling to waver on term or dollars, staring down many of the same constrictions that more or less gutted the depth they had on their 2010 championship team. They still have a lot of work to get under the cap, but the price for which they were able to fix their hole down the middle is one of great league-wide envy — not one team would be unwilling to pay Brad Richards that little money.

Not to be outdone, and having just lost a top six center to the free agency, Colorado added Jarome Iginla straight into, you guessed it, their top six. He joins a youth movement on a long term deal, “long term” of course being relative to his age. Although not guaranteed at this stage in any athlete’s NHL career, Iginla surely won’t surprise anyone should he put up another 30 goal season for which he’s become so well-known. P.A. Parenteau was also moved for Daniel Briere, though compared to other moves on the day it’s likely to be viewed as a downgrade, a move more beneficial to Montreal.

Even the Vancouver Canucks would get in on the action, signing Radim Vrbata to a two-year 5 million dollar deal a day after the Day One dust had settled.

All this is just accounting for the deals in the West. So let’s recap this arms race of sorts. Marian Gaborik to the Kings was the first deal, way back at the 2013 trade deadline. Then Kesler was traded to Anaheim. Then Neal to Nashville. Gagner took a path to Arizona via Tampa. Following the opening of free agency, we saw Stastny move to St. Louis. Mathieu Perreault stepped into Jets colors. Spezza and Hemsky took their talents to Dallas. Minnesota obtained Vanek. Chicago nabbed Brad Richards. Colorado added Jarome Iginla. And finally, Radim Vrbata signed with Vancouver.

Of the 8 teams to make last year’s playoffs out of the West, six have added a star forward to their top 6. Extending that parameter to last year’s trade deadline, Marian Gaborik makes seven teams to pull off such a procurement. Extending that parameter even further to bubble teams Arizona and Nashville (2 and 3 points out of a playoff spot respectively), you have 9 out of 10 playoff teams calibrating their offense for potency, San Jose the lone competitor content to stand pat on a core being taken over by youth. Never before, in this age of parity underneath a salary cap, have so many teams tried to out-duel each other via trades and free agency.

You can thank Dean Lombardi for tipping over the dominoes. For the first time in a long time, a trade deadline acquirement made an utmost remarkable impact en route to a championship victory. The 2014 free agent class certainly had a lot more to offer than 2013’s. But without Gaborik leading the playoffs in goals and hoisting Stanley’s glorious chalice over his shoulders, we would not have seen such desperation from so many teams looking to go shot-for-shot in firepower. The West is looking more deadly than it’s ever been, and 2014-15 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting seasons yet.