NHL Free Agency Just Started And It's Absolute BananaLands
NHL Free Agency day tends to be a dud. You hear all offseason about the potential moves your favorite team is going to make, only to see all the star players who are hitting the market just re up with their original teams. Last season got pretty crazy though, with guys like Torey Krug and Alex Pietrangelo signing in new cities. This offseason? The craziness continues. We got horny GM's just handing out money left and right. Hockey twitter has been pure chaos since the second these NHL insiders woke up. Kinda shocked we have only seen blogs from Chief at this point and no one else with all the madness, so I had to step in and give my take on a few of the signings.
- Dougie Hamilton got the BAG in New Jersey. After reports came in that the Devils were offering around $6mill AAV per season, it makes sense that Hamilton tested the market and signed with New Jersey, who is giving the Dman 7 years and just north of $60million. Wonder if this means we'll see NJ eat some money on a PK Subban trade?
- I think Keith Yandle is a perfect fit in Philadelphia. Chuck Fletcher said there is no way they come back with the same roster, a culture change was needed and who better to help your culture than Keith Yandle. He can help the powerplay and eat up some bottom pair minutes. And most importantly, he's bringing the Sonk with him.
- Blake Coleman is headed to Calgary on a six-year deal with a $4.9m AAV. Coleman, who was reportedly linked heavily to Boston, finds his long term home in Calgary and frankly, I'm glad the Bruins passed. $4.9m AAV is a good cap hit, but 6 years? thats some long term. Not sure I would have went the full distance. He'll make an immediate impact in Calgary though, providing the Flames some much needed depth.
- Ryan Suter will be a member of the Dallas Stars next season after signing a 4-year deal with an AAV of $3.65m. Suter will be getting just under 900k from the Wild until 2029, bringing his estimated career earnings to just over $100m. Not bad for a guy who got bought out a few weeks ago.
- Tyson Barrie is staying in Edmonton after a good season with the Oilers last year. Not a bad deal for the Oilers either, people (Biz) were talking about Barrie getting $7-8m AAV a few years back and the Oilers got him at just under $5m for the next 3 years. We are talking about a guy who lead the NHL in points by a defenseman last season too. Granted, it's pretty easy to rack up the points when you're playing on the Oilers powerplay, nonetheless a much needed signing for Edmonton.
- Freddy Anderson is ditching Toronto to head to Carolina. What a relief that must be. I can't imagine being a goalie in a market like Toronto is any fun. It definitely sucks. Freddy is gonna go from people telling him to fuck off while he's out to dinner to people lining up to take pictures with him in Carolina. Good deal for both sides too, coming in around 2-years, $4.5m AAV.
- Zach Hyman got PAIDDD in Edmonton. This deal confused me a bit. I don't hate the $5.5m AAV at all, but 7-years? That is a long time. We discussed this move in depth on Chiclets, teams now make the deals expecting to buy these dudes out towards the end of their deals. This seemed like it was a deal to make Connor happy. Get him some much needed top-6 help now and worry about the cap ramifications later.
- David Savard is headed to Montreal on a 4-year deal that will pay him around $3.5m AAV. A much needed signing for the Canadiens, especially with the potential loss of Shea Weber. The Habs will probably still need to add more help on the back end to help fill the role of Weber, but Savard is a start. Savard was averaging almost 15 minutes of ice time a night in the playoffs this past season, and almost 20 minutes of TOI during the regular season. Much needed minute eater for the Habs.
This list isn't including all the names who have been traded as well, Zadorov, Dadonov, and Ethan Bear are some names to mention. But this is a day the NHL needs, the NHL needs all the trades and big name signings they can this offseason. The more people are talking about the league the better, especially heading into next season with ESPN and TNT.