NHL Free Agency is Off and Running
July 11, 2017
Free Agency opened up for the NHL on July 1st and there has been a lot of new faces placed in new cities (although, some notable players have also stayed put). Many of the key free agents signed on day one, while others dabbled between which team would be the best fit for them. Let’s go through some of the big names that signed away from their previous team.
Trevor Daley – Detroit Red Wings, 3 years, $9.5 mil. Daley’s game has dropped off from his early days in Dallas. He is coming off back to back championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past two years, adding to the rich history of Detroit’s championship experience. Entering his 15th season in the NHL, this is likely Daley’s final NHL contract for his career. Daley won’t provide much offense (5+14=19) given his totals last season, but he should be used on the penalty kill and provides a veteran presence in the locker room.
Dan Girardi – Tampa Bay Lightning, 2 years, $6 mil. Girardi’s time came to an end in New York with the Rangers buying out his contract due to his lack of productive play on the ice. Injuries did play a role but so did some healthy scratches, while he has yet to put up beyond 20 points in a season since the 2011-2012 campaign. The 33-year-old will be a good fit in Tampa Bay I think, he brings size as well experience with 788 games under his belt. I expect Girardi to have a bounce back year. He is a pro-typical defensive-defenseman and should skate extra hard when Tampa Bay takes on his former team a handful of times this year.
Steve Mason – Winnipeg Jets, 2 years, $8.2 mil. The 29-year-old goaltender has moved on from the Philadelphia Flyers after having a season with a 2.66 GAA, but just a .908 save percentage. Mason never lived up to the hype he had when he left Columbus after posting his best year with the Jackets his rookie season going 33-20-7 with 10 shutouts. With Connor Hellebuyck still working on his game as a youngster, Mason will earn his starts in Winnipeg, but if things go wrong this could be a waste of a signing for the Jets.
Karl Alzner – Montreal Canadiens, 5 years, $23 mil. The Canadiens have to be happy to land this former first round pick from 2007. Alzner is just 28 and is a very solid defensive defenseman as he proved in Washington the past seven seasons. He has yet to miss a game since his first full season during the 2010-2011 season. Alzner will make a great first unit penalty kill alongside Shea Weber and should be a true pain in the ass against the Bruins for the next five years.
Nick Bonino – Nashville Predators, 4 years, $16 mil. Another Penguin leaving to join another team. This time it is the 29-year-old center Although Bonino hasn’t provided a ton of offense over his career, he does score in spurts that usually last over the course of a couple weeks. I love Bonino’s game. and with the aging Mike Fisher bound to be on his last stint in Nashville, Bonino could and should fill that third line/second line role for the Preds. Now Bonino has a chance to help Nashville get back to the big stage and potentially knock off his former teammates from Pittsburgh.
Dmitry Kulikov – Winnipeg Jets, 3 years, $12.99 mil. Kulikov kicked off his NHL career in Florida after being drafted ninth overall in 2009. He hasn’t scored more than 10 goals in his career yet, but he has provided 15+ assists four times. Kulikov will be a great fit in Winnipeg alongside Tyler Mylers and Dustin Byfuglien and should be an offensive spark on the powerplay. This former Bruins-killer will have to adjust his speed game a bit in the Western Conference, but given he is only 26, he should adjust accordingly.
Martin Hanzal – Dallas Stars, 3 years, $14.25 mil. Hanzal is 6’6” and a former first round pick in 2005 by the then, Phoenix Coyotes. The 30-year-old has 326 points in 628 games, he has missed games due to injury and has yet to play a full season. However, being as big as he is, Hanzal provides a tough presence in front of the net for defensemen and the goaltender. Hanzal is a good fit in Dallas as he not only remains in the Western Conference but gets to play with guys like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, the Stars and their fans should be content.
Kevin Shattenkirk – New York Rangers, 4 years, $26.6 mil. The native New Yorker returns home and the Rangers, their fans, and himself as well should all have a fat smile on their face. The most coveted free agent this summer is a perfect fit for the blue shirts. Shattenkirk scored a career high 56 points last season between the St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals with 13 goals and 43 assists. Shattenkirk plays all over the ice, lays out his body in front of shots, smashes opponents in the corners and at open ice, and has many years of playoff experience. Also known as, “Shatty”, the blue-liner is a locker room guy and still has upside, an A+ signing for the Rangers.
Patrick Marleau – Toronto Maple Leafs, 3 years, $18.75 mil. Marleau finally left the West Coast, who knew huh? Marleau is obviously known for his offensive game, despite his age catching up to him (37). Marleau still put up 27 goals last season and has 14 seasons of 20+ goals in a season, including a 44 goal campaign in 2009-2010 over his almost 1,500 game career. Marleau will fit nicely with the young core Toronto has, and should earn some more assists with the youngsters using their speed. It will be different seeing Marleau in a jersey that isn’t black, white, and turquoise, but Toronto should enjoy seeing him ending his career in the white and blue.
Alexander Radulov – Dallas Stars, 5 years, $31.25 mil. The most lucrative deal during this offseason goes to the former Montreal Canadiens right winger. Over 230 career NHL games Radulov has 156 points (65 G, 91 A) and the 31-year-old has an eye for the back of the net. Radulov is another good signing for the Stars and will add to the star talent up front (he also brings size at 6’2” and 205 lbs). I expect Radulov to break the 20 goal mark for the second time in his career this year and should also get a bunch of assists skating alongside Benn, Seguin, and Spezza, a nice land for Dallas.
These free agents were all unrestricted free agents, meaning they could sign with any team across the league without their former team receiving any compensation. Some notable restricted free agent signings were, Tyler Johnson, who resigned with the Tampa Bay Lightning, John Larsson, who signed with Buffalo, Mark Pysyk, who resigned with the Florida Panthers, Alex Galchenyuk, who resigned with Montreal, Jesper Fast, who resigned with the Rangers, and Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov, who both resigned with the Capitals.
One side note for you Bruins fans…Don Sweeney signed yet another seventh defenseman in Paul Postma who came over from Winnipeg. It was not a huge contract, just one year for $850K, but still the signing is pointless. I would rather see younger guys getting a chance to fill in for the injury plagued duo Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid. But whatever, I guess the Bruins just don’t want to improve their team and they feel what they have now is good enough to just lose in the first round, again. Or, better yet, miss the playoffs entirely. Also, the Bruins front office better open up their check book for young stud, David Pastrnak. Pastrnak is a restricted free agent and scored 34 goals this past season. If the Bruins want to win with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand over the duration of their contracts, they better resign Pastrnak as well.
Written by Nick Gendreau