The signings came fast and furious on July 1 as NHL teams tried to fill holes on their rosters with the opening of free agency.
While this year’s UFA group may not have had the biggest names, some moves certainly will pay off.
Here’s a look at each UFA — as we start setting our sights on 2023-24.
Klim Kostin, C, Detroit
Contract: Two years, $2 million AAV
I love this bet for the Red Wings, who are a team looking to turn some talented young players into a legitimate playoff team. He’s just 24 and can be the type of useful bottom-six contributor that can thrive in today’s NHL where physical players need to be able to play a bit, too.
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Florida
Contract: One year, $2.25 million AAV
I love one-year bets on talented people who’ve fallen off for one reason or another, particularly guys who aren’t “old” (he’s just 31) and are incentivized to re-convince people they can play. You want to be the team to get that prove-it bounce-back year — like when Kevin Shattenkirk struggled at the end of a long deal at nearly $6.7 million per, got a one-year $1.75-million deal from Tampa, and was excellent en route to winning a Cup, before cashing back in for nearly $4 million a year on a three-year deal in Anaheim.
RW, Ryan Reaves, Toronto
Contract: Three years, $1.35 million AAV
Like Brad Treliving, I too really like the idea of the Leafs having Reaves on a hit-to-hurt forechecking fourth line 2023-24 — there’s no doubt he’s a useful guy in that spot (he’s played a ton of playoff hockey over the past decade for a reason). But you just cannot fall in love with that idea to the point where you give a fourth-line guy three years of term (on an over-35 deal so you’re stuck with it regardless), all while overpaying him along the way.
D, Luke Schenn, Nashville
Contract: Three years, $2.75 million AAV
Sometimes it’s not a matter of “is this the exact projected future value of the player,” and more “is this the exact type of guy a team wants to have around,” and sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more for the exact thing you want (goes for a lot of things in life). It’s too much money and term but good on a great guy who was excellent for the Leafs, and earned a raise, even if this is a bit much.
RW Blake Wheeler, New York Rangers
Contract: One year, $800,000 AAV
Any time you can get a player with some elite skills for around the league minimum, you should probably make that signing. But with it, you need to set their expectations for their use reasonably low, as the Rangers already have several forwards whose focus is one-way, point-getting hockey.
LW James van Riemsdyk, Boston
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
Not too dissimilar form the Wheeler signing, in that it won’t hurt them and has the potential to really help. But I think there’s a case to be made that JVR’s decline is more age-related, and being that he’s fairly one dimensional, this doesn’t move the needle much for the Bruins.
G Jonathan Quick, New York Rangers
Contract: One year, $825,000 AAV
I believe that the elite players can have one or two late-career callbacks to their greatness, even after showing decline. Sergei Bobrovsky (two-time Vezina winner) had a strong playoff run in Florida, Carey Price (Vezina winner) dragged a pretty mediocre Habs team to the Cup Final — and Quick (two-time Cup champ) as a backup has that potential too, so this is a reasonable flyer.
G Joonas Korpisalo, Ottawa
Contract: Five years, $4 million AAV
He’s not yet 30 and coming off a great season, and the Ottawa Senators could use some stability in the net as they try to push from “better” to “legitimately good.” I don’t love the fifth year of term (or fourth, really), but even if he ends up your backup goalie in a few years, you can live with that number for a quality second guy in an environment with a higher cap.
C Tyson Jost, Buffalo
Contract: One year, $2 million AAV
Sure! Useful depth guy on a good team at a reasonable number.
G Cam Talbot, Los Angeles Kings
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
Talbot’s a guy who shown flashes of starting-goalie quality. For a veteran backup of his quality, just $1 million with no term is a no-brainer.
G Frederik Andersen, Carolina
Contract: Two years, $3.4 million AAV
A good goalie, and perhaps in another salary-cap year he’d have been due more money. But the goalie market is unpredictable, and he hasn’t got a team over the hump yet, so that probably limited his options in terms of making bigger money.
RW Connor Brown, Edmonton
Contract: One year, $775,000 AAV ($3.25 million in potential bonuses)
This is a performance bonus-heavy contract that for the Oilers, which kinda looks like a high-end credit card purchase – wonderful right now, probably won’t love paying that off next-season? But if he can’t get back to his previous form it doesn’t hurt you much, and if he can, boy is it found money against this year’s tight cap.
D Erik Johnson, Buffalo
Contract: One year, $3.25 million AAV
Johnson feels like a great veteran fit for a Sabres team looking to go in the winning direction, love the one-year term. Getting out of the cellar after tanking is hard business, and it starts with getting elite talent, but signings like this give the team the bump from “better” to “legitimately good.”
C Morgan Geekie, Boston
Contract: Two years, $2 million AAV
In a world where the salary cap moves up $4-5 million, a guy like Geekie probably doesn’t become available at this point of his career. It’s a relatively low-risk move from the Bruins, who could use an infusion of young energy with a little bit of upside to potentially outperform a deal.
G James Reimer, Detroit
Contract: One year, $1.5 million AAV
It’s pretty remarkable that, with all the great young goalies that continue to come up over the years, Reimer continues to land one of the 62 NHL goaltending gigs. I don’t say that because he’s bad – he’s not, he’s fine, though I’d bet a bottom-third goalie in the league next year – but rather because it feels like he’s been in the league for 100 years.
D Connor Clifton, Buffalo
Contract: Three years, $3.33 million AAV
The Sabres are going to win a lot of hockey games next year. This signing in and of itself isn’t the reason for that, but adding Clifton with Johnson to a D core with two elite young star blue-liners and blossoming forward talent … I’ve got the Sabres in the playoff next season, at a minimum.
D Kyle Burroughs, San Jose
Contract: Three years, $1.1 million AAV
All credit to a guy who’s worked his way up through the ranks to finally earn some real NHL stability and guaranteed money. For the Sharks, I’m not sure what the plan is, unless it’s exactly what it appears – outright tanking for another couple seasons.
D Justin Holl, Detroit
Contract: Three years, $3.4 million AAV
William Nylander has been discussed 100 times more, but Holl still may be the most polarizing Leaf over the past four or five years, given few people actually think Nylander is a bad player. Some Leafs fans have thought Holl is done, and they’ve been flat-out wrong for years about a guy who can defend the blueline against top competition.
D Dmitry Orlov, Carolina
Conract: Two years, $7.75 million AAV
Give the Canes and their management credit – hell, owner om Dundon too – in that they know they’re close, they spend every salary-cap cent they can, and they’re not afraid to take big swings. In that way, they most remind me of Vegas, as a good team knocking on the door which keeps trying to get the best available players in hope it’s enough to get over the top.
D Ian Cole, Vancouver
Contract: One year, $3 million AAV
Here’s the thing with Vancouver, or any other team which is probably not a legit Cup threat: you still need capable bodies for all your other purposes. Whether it’s developing other players, helping the team hang around in close games, whatever your goals (outside tanking) may be, Cole should at least help them meet those on essentially no term while they sort things out.
C Teddy Blueger, Vancouver
Contract: One year, $1.9 million AAV
See above on Cole. The Canucks have some elite talents in Quinn Hughes and Elias Petersson, and so it makes sense to shore up the lower part of the lineup to give those guys a chance to be in games.
G Mackenzie Blackwood, San Jose
Contract: Two years, $2.35 million AAV
Every analyst has their own preferences, and I don’t proclaim to be a goalie guru. I’ll just say I was never a huge Blackwood-as-a-starter booster, but the risk and dollars are low here for San Jose, so worth a shot on a guy who has had flashes of great play.
LW Milan Lucic, Boston
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
I mean who isn’t a sucker for a good story? At $1 million for a legit fourth-line guy now, you could do worse (in that at least he’s capable of having some impact, even if it is mostly intimidation, with some moderate finishing capability).
LW Max Pacioretty, Washington
Contract: One year, $2 million AAV
This is one of those “could be a massive success of a contract, and if it isn’t, it doesn’t hurt you much” deals. I’m surprised Pacioretty didn’t get more than this even on a one-year, prove-it type deal, cause lord knows he can score and scoring’s hard.
D Radko Gudas, Anaheim
Contract: Three years, $4 million AAV
Give the guy credit, he’s turned being an “OK six-foot tall thumper” of a D-man into a lot of money (being nasty is worth a lot to teams, it seems). I don’t think the tail end of Gudas’ career is going to look all that great, but tough to watch him contribute to the Panthers’ playoff run and not acknowledge how he can help a team win games.
D Carson Soucy, Vancouver
Contract: Three years, $3.25 million AAV
Big, pretty affordable, and worth a shot for the Canucks. Not going to move the needle all that significantly, but he has the chance to be a steadying guy on a back end that’s mostly been bad the past couple of seasons.
C Trevor Lewis, Los Angeles
Contract: One year, $775,000 AAV
Hey, I said nice things about Lucic with good stories of guys returning home, cheap depth, low risk, so copy-paste that. Good fourth-line guy on a team with renewed Cup hopes.
D Niko Mikkola, Florida
Contract: Three years, $2.5 million
Florida’s defence got a lot better this weekend. This doesn’t break the bank for a fourth-or-fifth D-man on your depth chart.
G Dustin Tokarski, Buffalo
Contract: One year, $775,000 AAV
If he has to play in the minors, it costs you nothing. If you have injuries, you have a roughly-NHL-calibre guy to put in net.
C/LW Andrew Cogliano, Colorado
Contract: One year, $825,000 AAV
He’s a guy you can trust in high-leverage post-season minutes who’s cheap. Doesn’t push them to more wins on his own, but sure won’t hurt them.
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Detroit
Contract: One year, $4.125 million AAV
I have no idea what to make of this guy who obviously has offensive talent, but his teams just don’t seem to trust him. He gets paid well at 30 years old to “prove it,” with “it” being that he’s actually a middle-pair, PP1 guy — because with the way he defends, if he isn’t, he’s gonna stop making so much money.
C Sam Steel, Dallas
Contract: One year, $850,000 AAV
This is the smart pickup on UFA day — a guy who once had a high ceiling, is still young, and just needs a fresh start. At that price, I imagine most teams in the league would be happy to give Steel a run.
RW Givani Smith, San Jose
Contract: Two years, $800,000 AAV
This isn’t a comment on Smith, so much as his team, but like … I’m having trouble seeing the San Jose plan. This is a good spot for Smith to really make a name in the league and earn more money down the road, but it’s just another signing of a guy for the Sharks, who need impact guys.
RW Tyler Pitlick, New York Rangers
Contract: One year, $787,500 AAV
Lotta cheap depth deals this weekend. This is certainly another one.
C Kevin Stenlund, Florida
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
Excellent pickup. A good player in his prime on the cheap — perfect for Florida’s needs right now, both on the ice and against the cap.
LW Alexander Kerfoot, Arizona
Contract: Two years, $3.5 million AAV
I spent three years living in Arizona when I “retired” as a minor-league player, living in the Chandler/Tempe area because I was sick of living in cold hockey places and because I was broke. I can tell you, now living in Toronto, that getting $3.5 million in Arizona is a MASSIVE pay raise from $3.5 million in Toronto for Kerfoot — which is just about the only commentary I have here, as Arizona is where NHL careers go to be put on pause (maybe a contender will trade for him at a deadline and un-pause it for him).
G Jonas Johansson, Tampa Bay
Contract: Two years, $775,000 AAV
Shame, I thought Brian Elliott’s role as Andrei Vasilevskiy backup was a lifetime appointment, like the Supreme Court. Sometimes they’d cut to him last year with a towel around his neck and you’d be like “Oh right, that’s the guy with the best Lightning season tickets in the house.”
G Alex Lyon, Detroit
Contract: Two years, $900,000 AAV
It’s a simple equation — play well under a bright spotlight, get paid. Lyon is serviceable enough, and at near league minimum, a fine guy on any NHL depth chart.
RW Luke Glendening, Tampa Bay
Contract: Two years, $800,000 AAV
Tampa needs someone to earn near minimum, and here’s a guy who knows his role and works hard. Veteran who won’t cost them on the ice, so sure, why not.
C Ryan Donato, Chicago
Contract: Two years, $2 million AAV
I don’t think Chicago is going to be awful next year, I type with surprise. I mean I don’t think they’ll be good either, but Donato is a decent NHLer, and with Connor Bedard, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Corey Perry, they should at least be more competitive.
D Dmitry Kulikov, Florida
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
Yeah, sure. I like Kulikov, he’s cheap — that’s good.
LW Michael Bunting, Carolina
Contract: Three years, $4.5 million AAV
I actually think this is getting decent value for what Bunting can bring, in particular only locking in for three years with him. He’s had a great run of learning at the NHL level, and they should get the best of his career for … not cheap, but for what he’ll probably be worth.
C J.T. Compher, Detroit
Contract: Five years, $5.5 million AAV
I like Compher fine, but all I know is the Red Wings’ draft picks better prove themselves to be bonafide studs, cause that’s kinda how it all worked out in the end for Steve Yzerman and those Tampa Bay teams, right? Some of his longer-term UFA fill-in-the-gap deals with Detroit – Andrew Copp 5 x $5.625, Ben Chiarot at 4 x $4.75, now these Compfheer and Holl deals – are generously OK and not exactly pushing the team towards greatness.
D Brian Dumoulin, Seattle
Contract: Two years, $3.15 million AAV
Dumoulin was a great Pittsburgh Penguin, and is just 31 years old. You don’t mind him lower down your lineup at this point in his career, and for a Seattle team that feels like they’re getting close, he should help.
D John Klingberg, Toronto
Contract: One year, $4.15 million AAV
You may be surprised to hear that I actually really like this, after years of hosting a Leafs show where once every two weeks I say “Look, I love Morgan Rielly, but on PP1…”, followed by some complaint about slow puck movement and a lack of deception. This is another one of those one-year, prove-it deals where you could get value well past the player’s cost, and with the Leafs’ need for goals and the weapons they possess on their top power-play unit, this could be a good, if brief, marriage.
LW Pierre Engvall, New York Islanders
Contract: Seven years, $3 million AAV
I cannot get over this completely overthought deal being seven years long. Engvall is one of those shredded-fit guys who skates great so you’d expect his career to age fine enough, but this is insane term for a depth guy who may already be through his physical prime.
C Lars Eller, Pittsburgh
Contract: Two years, $2.45 million AAV
Great signing here, quality third-line centre who’s been through the battles and plays hard. I like what the Penguins did on July 1, save for the Tristan Jarry deal.
G Erik Kallgren, New Jersey
Contract: One year, $775,000 AAV
We have collectively decided as a hockey community we don’t know who’s good at goaltending, it seems, so I have no idea what to make of this. He was fine in limited NHL exposure with the Leafs, and likely plays in the AHL all year.
G Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
Contract: Eight years, $8.25 million AAV
I believe Sorokin is one of the best goalies in the NHL, and should be for many years to come. It’s a lot of money, but he’s great and young and they want to keep him, so I’m on board as someone who roots for the Isles.
D Scott Mayfield, New York Islanders
Contract: Seven years, $3.5 million AAV
Lou Lamoriello really went nuts with contract length this year, giving seven years to a 30-year-old, middle-pair D-man. But at least he’s a good 30-year-old, middle pair D-man, and I imagine Lamoriello doesn’t see himself running the team for the back half of that deal (he’ll retire eventually right?) so hey, why not?
C Jonathan Drouin, Colorado
Contract: One year, $825,000 AAV
Colorado was probably my UFA day winner, though this Drouin add is more a buy low and see sort of thing. With Gabriel Landeskog due to miss the entire 2023-24 season, I can see why they’d take a gamble on a talent who could bloom in the perfect circumstances.
C Nick Bjugstad, Arizona
Contract: Two years, $2.1 million AAV
I guess some guys just want to max out the dollars they can earn, and if I were an NHL player who’d never made a ton, I imagine I might be one of them, too. Gotta get paid before you can make Stanley Cups a priority, and for Bjugstad, I’m assuming these are numbers he wasn’t going to get anywhere else (and he may also know he can get dealt to a contender at deadlines).
D Ryan Graves, Pittsburgh
Contract: Six years, $4.5 million AAV
This is such a great signing for the Penguins, just a big defenseman in his prime who should be able to eat quality minutes for them. Maybe the term is long, but that cap hit ain’t bad, and I’d expect they’re going to get a pretty nice player over the bulk of these seasons.
G Alex Nedeljkovic, Pittsburgh
Contract: One year, $1.5 million AAV
I don’t think Kyle Dubas has had much success with goaltenders over his years as an NHL GM, but you can live with $1.5 million for a young guy who’s shown flashes of starter potential. You just hope you don’t need him, given what’s next on this list.
G Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh
Contract: Five years, $5.375 million AAV
Boy, five years for Jarry, was demand that high for him out there that $4 million wouldn’t have cut it? It seems like goalie contracts have gotten all out of whack in that just about anyone who’s deemed in the “good” class (Philipp Grubauer, Darcy Kuemper, hell, Jack Campbell) gets 5×5, anyone slightly worse than that gets about minimum, and just a few guys get big numbers.
RW Noel Acciari, Pittsburgh
Contract: Three years, $2 million AAV
I’ll say it despite it not being a popular take in Toronto (where they loved him); Acciari’s speed is so far on the low end of the scale I’m not sure if he’ll be able to skate well enough for his hard, effective playing style to be relevant for many more seasons. I like the player but I see a notable “was spotlighted in Toronto” bump on this term and figure for me.
RW Josh Archibald, Tampa Bay
Contract: Two years, $800,000 AAV
Scrappy, workhorse of a depth forward. Another guy that makes sense given the contract extensions kicking in for the Lightning.
RW Alex Killorn, Anaheim
Contract: Four years, $6.25 million AAV
Can’t begrudge a great player getting his payday, and at 33 years old no less. The Ducks could use a guy like him to support their rebuild, but I’m not sure he’ll be effective when they hope to be good-good, which presumably isn’t next season.
D Troy Stecher, Arizona
Contract: One year, $1.1 million AAV
Oh, OK. Fine player, sure, maybe a deadline pickup for someone next March.
G Laurent Brossoit, Winnipeg
Contract: One year, $1.75 million AAV
I like Broissoit, particularly at $1.75 million. It’s going to be a weird year in Winnipeg, with a “re-tool” of sorts under way, we’ll see if they need him to play games that matter with Connor Hellebuyck possibly leaving.
C Nick Bonino, New York Rangers
Contract: One year, $800,000 AAV
Depth, two-way guy. Rangers can use that.
D Kevin Shattenkirk, Boston
Contract: One year, $1.05 million AAV
Fresh off another good payday, he’s looking for another Cup. Don’t think this fits what Boston needs though — a skilly D-man with no PP1 spot available for him?
RW Craig Smith, Dallas
Contract: One year, $1 million AAV
Depth guy at this point. He can shoot it, so he may get them a couple bonus goals.
LW Jason Zucker, Arizona
Contract: One year, $5.3 million AAV
I believe it was Tupac in “Changes” who said “I gotta get paid.” That was followed by “Well hey – that’s the way it is.”
LW Miles Wood, Colorado
Contract: Six year, $2.5 million AAV
Steal of a deal for the Avs. Big term allows them to keep the AAV low on a guy who is quality depth (size and speed), which can move the needle in a positive way.
RW Matt Duchene, Dallas
Contract: One year, $3 million AAV
This is like when they brought in Ryan Suter after the buyout, and got good value on a formerly great player. I expect Duchene to have a great year, and cost someone else more money/term next summer.
RW Daniel Sprong, Detroit
Contract: One year, $2 million AAV
Sneaky good signing here. No-risk cost or term and he can drive play.
LW Conor Sheary, Tampa Bay
Contract: Three years, $2 million AAV
The Lightning have won a lot of playoff series getting goals from “Wait who had a breakout series?” type players. Sheary can still be that for them and at this cost, it’s a savvy gamble.
C Michael McLeod, New Jersey
Contract: One year, $1.4 million AAV
The Devils managed to keep together two-thirds of their “BMW” fourth line (Bastian-McLeod-Wood — the latter went to Colorado), which is a big deal for a team with plenty of skill up top. This is fair value for a good depth guy.
RW Garnet Hathaway, Philadelphia
Contract: Two years, $2.375 million AAV
Some players are just made in a lab for certain coaches. Hathaway and John Tortorella are a match made in heaven.
