The opening day of the NHL's free agent signing period for the 2016-2017 league year started off with a bang, as the big names of the unrestricted free agent class had their deals announced shortly after the 12pm opening bell. After Steven Stamkos signed a new deal with the Lightning prior to July 1, the cream of the crop had his name crossed off the top of the list, leaving players such as Milan Lucic and Andrew Ladd as the class leaders.
Lucic went to the Oilers as expected, while Ladd replaced Kyle Okposo in Brooklyn as Okposo went to the rebuilding Sabres. The Canucks picked up Loui Eriksson, arguably the top free agent goal scorer, while the Wild gave a nice deal to Eric Staal and the Panthers signed James Reimer.
This article will be a quick-hit analysis of some of the mid-range and quieter deals that occurred on the first day of the new league year. For the bigger names and deals, see the links below for eDraft's individual analysis:
Milan Lucic to the Oilers: http://edraft.com/nhl/news/milan-lucic-signs-seven-year-42m-deal-with-edmonton-oilers/
David Backes to the Bruins: http://edraft.com/nhl/news/bruins-david-backes-agree-on-five-year-deal/
Kyle Okposo to the Sabres: http://edraft.com/nhl/news/kyle-okposo-signs-with-buffalo-sabres/
Andrew Ladd to the Islanders: http://edraft.com/nhl/news/new-york-islanders-sign-andrew-ladd-to-seven-year-contract/
Loui Eriksson to the Canucks: http://edraft.com/nhl/news/loui-eriksson-heads-to-vancouver-canucks-on-six-year-36m-deal/
Not every noteworthy name was signed on the first day, so be sure to check back for the deals that were given out after the smoke cleared from day one. Let's take a look at some of the other day moves that will result in a change of address for notable players:
Eric Staal Signs with Minnesota Wild (Three years, $10.5M)
After the Hurricanes traded Staal to the Rangers at the trade deadline last year, the veteran disappointed in New York. It turns out that his lack of offense in Carolina was a symptom of the player and not the team. The 31 year old center scored just 13 goals last season, including only three with New York. His best offensive days are behind him, but he's not completely washed up yet: Staal had one of the worst shooting percentages of his career last year. Though he is no longer a lock for 20 or more goals, he could still hit that number on Minnesota's top line and offers about a 40 point floor.
Early indications are that Staal could be given a center role next to Zach Parise, which would certainly give him a boost. Additionally, the Wild are now coached by Bruce Boudreau, a coach tends to implement strong offensive systems on his teams. Staal would have been a free agent bust if he had been given term, but a three year deal for less than $4M could easily be a steal for Minnesota. He's still a very strong possession player and can play a two-way role.
For fantasy purposes, Staal makes for a great late round pick that shouldn't result in a bidding war. After his poor season last year, he is a prime bounce back candidate and veterans tend to make great value picks in fantasy. If he plays on a line with Parise in Boudreau's system, Staal will likely make a strong value play for DFS purposese to start the season.
James Reimer Signs with Florida Panthers (Five years, $17M)
Roberto Luongo has defied the aging curve for goalies, as he continues to post strong seasons in the blue paint despite finishing last season at 37 years young. After fading a bit down the stretch and having off-season hip surgery, the Panthers picked up some insurance by nabbing Reimer, one of the top goalies in a thin free agent class.
Reimer had a bit of a rough patch with the Maple Leafs last season before being traded to San Jose, but it's tough to argue with his performance in Toronto. The Leafs were the worst team in hockey, but for a period of time last fall, Reimer actually led the league in save percentage. He occuppied a backup role on the Sharks, though he did post a strong save percentage of .938 with three shutouts in eight games in teal.
Luongo isn't a lock to start the season, and based on his age, Reimer makes for a great backup. In fact, it's easy to envision the Panthers limiting Luongo's workload regardless of his health and installing a 1A/1B situation in net. Reimer is also poised to take over the top of the depth chart should Luongo retire or completely fall off (he has two years left on his deal). The money isn't bad for Florida, and as long as it was communicated that Reimer would share the crease with Luongo, it's a strong insurance play for an up and coming team.
David Perron Signs with St. Louis Blues (Two years, $7.5M)
Perron returns to the Blues, for whom he played from 2007 to 2013, on a short term and low dollar deal. The winger never panned out in Pittsburgh like the Penguins had hoped, and he was traded to the Ducks last year. Between both teams, he scored just 12 goals in 71 games, certainly a disappointment for the former Edmonton sniper. At just 28 years old, Perron shouldn't be considered over the hill, though he likely won't match his career high 28 goals from 2014.
A top six role in St. Louis will keep Perron in the neighborhood of 20 goals, though his ceiling shouldn't be too much more than that. With Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen leading the way, a supporting scoring role should fit Perron well. He never clicked with Sidney Crosby or Pittsburgh's system, but it's interesting to wonder if he would have benefited from Pittsburgh's coaching change last year over a longer examination time.
Perron could be worth a look late in fantasy drafts, as he shouldn't cost much and likely won't be highly sought after. If he can duplicate his pace from Bruce Boudreau's system (20 points in 28 games) with Ken Hitchcock's fast-pace style, he could be a 50 point player. Keep an eye out for him on waiver wires next year, and a second line role would make him an intriguing value play in DFS.
Troy Brouwer Signs with Calgary Flames (Four years, $18M)
Brouwer was a prime candidate to be overpaid thanks to a strong showing in the playoffs last spring, when he put up eight goals and 13 points in 20 games with the Blues. Instead, he got a fairly reasonable deal from the Flames, where the veteran winger figures to earn a top six role.
Over the last few seasons, Brouwer has consistently been a half point-per-game player. Actually, he has been right around 40 points since about 2009, with half of his points coming from goals. He's never been an elite goal scorer, and he has often found a role in the middle six of the forward group. He's not exactly a possession monster, registering a CF% of just 49.6% last year, but he's also clearly more valuable than a bottom six grinder.
Ideally, the Flames would put Brouwer on the second line next season, and match team leaders Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan with a younger, faster forward to round out the top line. It can't be ruled out he will play on the top line, though, which may actually serve more as a detriment to Monahan/Gaudreau than a boost to Brouwer. He would seemingly be a good fit with with up-and-coming center Sam Bennett on the second line, as he isn't someone that will take over a game. A solid secondary scorer is what he is, and if he is treated as such on Calgary, his contract won't look like an albatross.
Brouwer can be left undrafted in fantasy leagues, though he could find his way on to your roster at times this season as a waiver wire add when the schedule and his play dictates. His salary likely won't be too high in DFS, so he could be worth a play when he faces off against the Coyotes and Oilers.
Brian Campbell Signs with the Chicago Blackhawks (One year $2.25M)
After being shipped from Chicago to Florida when his contract became a burden to the Blackhawks, Campbell will return to his old stomping grounds on a one year, Cup chasing deal. He isn't going to turn back the clock back in Chicago, but even at 37, he's a valuable middle pair defenseman -- someone that can play against more than the opposing bottom lines that will still contribute 30 points.
In Florida, Campbell was paired with bluechip defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and the two of them formed a very strong duo for the Panthers. He'll likely be a second pairing guy in Chicago, which will allow him to avoid seeing the toughest assignments Chicago has to defend. All in all, Campbell is a perfectly fine pickup for the Blackhawks, but he isn't exactly going to make Chicago's defense comparable to Nashville's.
Campbell is a player that is more valuable in real-life than he is in fantasy, so don't worry about drafting him. He'll likely be taken later in the drafts by someone that recognizes his name and his past puck moving prowess, but he doesn't offer upside much past seven goals and 20 or so assists.
Frans Nielsen Signs with the Detroit Red Wings (Six years, $31.5M)
The Red Wings were rumoured to be interested in Steven Stamkos, so they needed to find an alternate option after Stamkos re-upped in Tampa Bay. After all, the Wings had plenty of cap room to spare after shipping Pavel Datsyuk's contract to Arizona. They landed their man in Nielsen, who previously occuppied a second line center role for the Islanders.
Nielsen never garnered much attention in Brooklyn, between the Islanders being relatively poor during most of his tenure and the emergence of John Tavares as the team leader. Perhaps it's somewhat surprising to learn that Nielsen is already 32 years old with over 600 games on his resume, producing 119 goals and 349 points since 2006. His best season came in 2013-2014, when he posted 25 goals and 33 assists in 80 games. He has scored at least 20 goals one other time -- last season -- and was regularly about a .5 point per game player.
At a cap hit of $6.3M until the time he is 37, Nielsen's contract will likely be looked at as less than ideal in short order. Detroit, failing to completely tear down the team and rebuild, felt they needed to make a splash, but Nielsen isn't the center the team needs. With an aging Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings figure to be weak up the middle and will likely either fail the make the playoffs or be a team that is bounced in the first round for the next few years.
For fantasy hockey purposes, Nielsen can be left as waiver wire fodder for times when injuries hit your team or the Wings have a favorable schedule. He will likely be in the neighborhood of 40 points, and at 32 years old, he is a candidate to regress sooner rather than later. He will have DFS appeal if he can garner playing time next to the likes of Tomas Tatar or Dylan Larkin, but Zetterberg will get the top-end wing talent and Detroit often played yo-yo with their lines last season.
Mikkel Boedker (Four years, $16M) and David Schlemko (Four years, $8.4M) Sign with San Jose Sharks
The Sharks didn't need to make many moves, as the veteran team came within a red-hot Penguins team of a Stanley Cup victory. With the window closing, San Jose added a solid depth player for the blueline, though the contract to Boedker is a bit more questionable.
Starting with the positive, the Schlemko deal is one of those low-key, under the radar moves that often pay dividends for good teams. He played in New Jersey last season, which suppressed his offense output, but he still registered six goals and 19 points in 67 games. He's not without his warts, of course, as 12 of his 19 points came on the power play, he had a poor CF% at just 49%, and he posted an ugly -22. Still, he's a 29 year old bottom four defenseman that shouldn't be a liability on the Sharks blueline due to his solid puck moving ability and respectable Corsi-Allowed of 47.29 at five-on-five.
As for Boedker, the term isn't too bad -- he's just 26 years old -- but $4M for a poor possession player that recorded over a third of his points on the power play last year may not player well in San Jose. With a five-on-five Corsi-For% of just 45.61% last year, Boedker figures to slow down the puck possession specialist Sharks. Further, the Sharks power play is already loaded, so Boedker's point production figures to drop substantially even with a middle six role. He did play with talented linemates in both Arizona and Colorado last year, so there won't be much of an upshoot there.
Both players can be ignored for fantasy purposes. Boedker has potential to gain a bit of relevance from time to time as he should likely play on a line with one of Logan Couture or Patrick Marleau, but he won't be on the top power play unit and his poor possession numbers could make him a poor fit in teal.
Alexander Radulov Signs with Montreal Canadiens (One year, $5.75M)
Much maligned Russian sniper Alexander Radulov is making a return to North American hockey after a notorious flameout with the Nashville Predators. After spending the past three years playing in the KHL, Radulov will look to rediscover his NHL game.
Radulov played three seasons for Nashville before bolting for Mother Russia in 2012. He was successful in his short time in the NHL, notching 102 points -- 47 goals -- in 154 career games. He was considered immature, however, and clashed with former coach Barry Trotz on a number of issues before a public fallout following a night on the town before a playoff game and missing curfew. At 30 years old before the season starts, Radulov is not a lock to step right back in to a productive role in the NHL, though the Canadiens will incentivize him to refind his game with a one year, incentive laden contract.
It's a very curious move for Montreal to make for a whole host of reasons.
First, the Habs recently jettisoned P.K. Subban for what was announced as "character issues," though Subban is widely regarding as a philanthropic -- if flamboyant -- top tier talent. If character issues are so important to Montreal, why would they turn around and sign a player that threw away a promising NHL career due to immaturity?
Second, if Radulov clashed with former coach Barry Trotz, what exactly makes Montreal think he won't do the same with Canadiens coach Michel Therrien? Therrien is widely known as a stubborn old-school hockey mind, and he had no tolerance for fellow Russian Alex Semin -- another player that was (perhaps unfairly) pegged as a headache.
Finally, the in something of an NHL soap opera, Radulov will need to make peace with new teammate Shea Weber. After Radulov was blasted for not following team rules in the playoffs in 2012, captain Weber defended Radulov, only to be burned when Radulov bolted and threw him under the bus. If there are red flags on their own with Radulov, having a big name player on his bad side to start his second act isn't exactly beneficial.
Time will tell if Montreal's gamble pays off, and much of that will depend on if Radulov is truly a changed man. Of course, he is giving all the right soundbytes to the media right now, but Montreal is a tough market and Russian players are often unfairly stigmatized as it is. As was the case with Semin last year, the good thing is that it's a relatively risk free move for the Canadiens in terms of salary implications -- a one year, bonus heavy deal can easily be wiped off the books.
For fantasy purposes, Radulov figures to be a bit overrated and will likely go in the middle rounds of redraft leagues. He is something of a name brand playing in a big market, so he is doubtful to fly under the radar. That said, he was a good player before going back to Russia and he continued to produce in the KHL, so he should able to light the lamp with 20+ goal upside in a top six role with power play time.