After the clock ticks past 12:00 PM EST on this fine October Saturday, we can officially say that the first day of free agency has come to a close! Of course, this doesn’t mean anything of importance in regards to clubs’ ability to negotiate and sign players, however, it might as well be marked as the end of the big action. Day one is, usually, the day filled with the largest flurry of activity as negotiations can officially be started (though, this doesn’t limit verbal agreements made behind closed doors).
Yesterday, then, was no exception. Though the biggest name on the free agent market, Alex Pietrangelo, is still available, along with other exceptional talents like Taylor Hall and Mike Hoffman, teams decidedly made their moves for the players they had vested interest in, and did so fairly quickly.
So let’s run through all four divisions in the NHL and recap all of the activity:
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
To start, we will begin in the Atlantic division, where our good ol’ buddy Radko Gudas moves from Washington to Florida, as he agreed to join the Panthers. Florida also signed Alexander Wennberg to a peach of a deal, with only a $2.25 million cap hit for the 2020-21 season.
Speaking of deals, let’s talk about a bad one, shall we. In return for trading Max Domi, the Montreal Canadiens received Josh Anderson, a bottom six winger whose best season came in 2018-19 (47 points in 82 games). It’s obvious the Canadiens are wishing (or rather, praying) that Anderson returns to this level of production, since he is now getting paid like a middle six winger instead. Anderson signed a seven, yes, SEVEN, year contract worth $5.5 million annually. Obviously this will be a steal if he shows the improvement seen previously, though Anderson isn’t a kid anymore. At 26, he is an established NHL veteran, and many have been left scratching their heads at this move.
Another large contract was handed out to goaltender Matt Murray, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators earlier, truly a fate worse than death. Murray inked a four year deal that will pay him $25.0 million over the course of it. Though the AAV will remain constant at $6.25 million (which seems a bit high for Murray), the salary value itself is backloaded.
In Detroit, Jon Merrill and Bobby Ryan signed with the struggling club, as they look to help develop their young talent by bringing in experienced veterans.
Lastly, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed both Wayne Simmonds and TJ Brodie to contracts, the latter having disappointed us Flyers faithful who perhaps for a moment anticipated Brodie may be heading to Philadelphia. In the end, however, Brodie’s $5.0 million cap hit and no movement clause would’ve left us disappointed.
Metropolitan Division
In the Metropolitan division, as the Flyers stayed still, only making a minor move in signing Derrick Pouliot, other clubs made more splashy dives into the free agent market, some of them good and some of them laughably bad.
Related
Flyers sign Derrick Pouliot to one-year deal
Max Domi, after being traded to Columbus, signed a two year, $5.3 million AAV contract, which for a center with second line production, isn’t bad, and could be a steal if he ends up progressing. In the “signed after traded” category as well is Evan Rodrigues, who was re- acquired by the Penguins and signed a new deal with them.
Corey Crawford left Chicago to sign with everyone’s favorite former offseason winners, the New Jersey Devils. The 35-year-old goaltender signed for two years at $3.9 million AAV, but apparently Mackenzie Blackwood is better than Carter Hart (as I audibly laugh).
The Washington Capitals made an interesting pick up when they signed The King, Henrik Lundqvist, to a one year, $1.5 million contract as Brayden Holtby leaves the club. This leaves Lundqvist and Ilya Samsonov as the Capitals’ options in net. They also signed defenseman Justin Schultz for two years at $4.0 million a year, which is simply baffling.
Last but not least, the New York Rangers; after buying out Mark Staal, signed JACK….JOHNSON….to a one year, $1.15 million contract. Now, this is only for a year and he’s almost certainly just a temporary stop gap solution, but oh what a solution this is for the Rangers. By nearly every advanced metric in the league, Jack Johnson is one of the poorest defensemen in hockey. You simply love to see this.
Western Conference
Central Division
In the Central Division, there weren’t a ton of moves made, but one big move that involves that man above you.
The St. Louis Blues signed Torey Krug to a seven year deal with an AAV of $6.5 million. This deal makes sense for the Blues as they are expected to lose Alex Pietrangelo and needed to bolster their blue line.
The Minnesota Wild also gave goaltender Cam “Best Friend of Carter Hart” Talbot a three year, $11.0 million total contract which seems like a hefty sum, though in fairness, Talbot was good last season.
Otherwise, the Avalanche signed former Flyer Mike Vecchione, the Predators signed Mark Borowiecki, and Anton Khudobin chose to stay on with the Dallas Stars, and after the playoff he had, he deserves every penny.
Lastly, the Jets brought back Nathan Beaulieu and Mason Appleton.
Pacific Division
The Pacific Division was by far the most active on day one of free agency. Though it was reported that the Flyers were interested in bringing on Kevin Shattenkirk, he ultimately signed with the Anaheim Ducks, for three years at $3.9 million AAV. For that value, I would’ve certainly taken Shattenkirk, who has really made the Rangers look foolish for buying him out.
Continuing with the theme of Flyers’ disappointment, Tyler Pitlick will officially not be back in the Orange and Black as he was picked up by Arizona, getting a pay-raise with a $1.75 AAV, two year contract. In fairness, I wouldn’t have wanted to give Pitlick a raise, but the Flyers will miss him, as he is an actually-effective bottom six skater.
The Calgary Flames took advantage of the “Great Canadian Goalie Swap” of 2020 and signed Jacob Markstrom from Vancouver, as well as bringing in Chris Tanev from the Canucks, filling the gap left by TJ Brodie.
Looking to bolster their roster around Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers signed both Kyle Turris and Tyler Ennis to cheap deals at under $2.0 million each. The Oilers desperately need depth, and I think these were shrewd moves for them to make. Kudos.
And, finally, the Vancouver Canucks, after letting Jacob Markstrom go (even after he played spectacularly in the playoffs), signed Brayden Holtby to a two year contract at $4.3 million a season. I simply don’t understand this, as they could’ve paid Markstrom that amount and Markstrom is younger, but I’m sure there’s some good reason for the Canucks moving in this direction (possibly).
