2015 NHL Free Agency Recap

How’s that for the first day of the NHL Free Agency? A torrent of deals happened and a lot of ink was spent on signing new contracts over the past few hours and yet, we’re still far from over. Expect more of the same in the coming days, as the free agent market remains abundant with players still looking for work.

While waiting for more updates, let’s refresh ourselves with some of the most noteworthy moves that have transpired thus far in this wild free agency period.

The madness of free agency period has also engulfed  the NBA. Click here for a summary of the wheeling and dealing in Gary Bettman’s former league.
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NHL Free Agency Recap

Players landing on new teams

[sc:NHL240 ]Let’s begin with the Detroit Red Wings, who were among the busiest teams right from the get-go. It’s no top secret that Detroit has long been looking for a two-way defenseman, and it finally found one in Mike Green. Green, who played 10 seasons wearing the Capitals’ uniform, was inked by the Red Wings to a three-year, $18 million deal. He scored 10 goals and finished with 45 points in 72 games last season with the Caps.

The Red Wings also added another veteran to their offense when they signed veteran center Brad Richards to a one-year contract worth $3 million. Richards played last season for the Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks, scoring 12 goals and collecting 37 points in 72 games.

Speaking of the Capitals, the team has acquired former LA King forward, Justin Williams. The Caps signed Williams to a two-year, $6.5 million contract on Wednesday. The three-time Stanley Cup winner is expected to be the top-line right winger alongside Alex Ovechkin and Niklas Backstrom. Williams’s Cup-winning experience will be a big boost to the Caps, who are priced at +1,500 to go all the way next year.

Another forward who’s going to play for a new team next season is Matt Beleskey. Beleskey is fresh off a breakout season, wherein he scored 22 goals and amassed 32 points (both career highs) in 65 games for Anaheim. As a reward, Beleskey will be paid by the Bruins a total of $19 million over the next five seasons. His scoring is going to be a valuable asset for an offense-starved Bruins team that averaged just 2.5 goals per game (22nd overall) last season.

Antoine Vermette, meanwhile, is going back to Arizona after winning the Cup with the Blackhawks last season. Traded by Arizona to Chicago last February, Vermette tallied four goals for the Blackhawks during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including two game-winners against Tampa Bay in the Final.

Although Phil Kessel is not a free agent, it’s still worth noting that his arrival to Pittsburgh via trade is by far the biggest news thus far in this free agency period. With the Maple Leafs in rebuild-mode, the team felt that it needed to pull the trigger on Kessel.

In exchange for the enigmatic but dangerous scorer, the Leafs got a slew of prospects and future picks that they hope will help them forget the disastrous six-year relationship they’ve had with Kessel. Meanwhile, the Penguins – priced at +1,200 to win next year’s Stanley Cup – get another valuable weapon for that potential Cup run.

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Players who are staying put

While many players found new homes, there are also some quality player, who opted to stand pat and re-sign with their current teams. Take for example center Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro forewent chasing for more money as a free agent and instead decided to stay in Nashville, as he signed a two-year $7 million deal on Wednesday. R

ibeiro saw his numbers decline over the past few seasons, but his career got a much-needed jumpstart when he was signed to a one-year contract by the Preds last year. Ribeiro finished the 2014-2015 season second in the team in points with 62 (15 goals, 47 assists).

Over at Dallas, the Stars elected to bring back forward Patrick Eaves, whom they signed to a one-year deal reportedly worth $1.15 million. The 31-year-old journeyman obviously impressed the Stars’ top brass after scoring 14 goals and finishing with 27 points in 47 games for Dallas last season. He also led the team in plus-minus rating of plus-12.

Then there’s Calgary, which re-signing of goalie Karri Ramo to a one-year contract amounting to $3.8 million. Ramo has been a reported target of a number of teams, including San Jose, but Calgary certainly has set its sight of retaining the tandem of Ramo and Jonas Hiller for at least another season. Ramo finished last season with a 15-9-3 record and a 2.60 goals against average and .912 save percentage.

Still Available

Although the 2015 free agent market is considered a shallow one, the talent in there is still far from running dry. Several quality free agents are still waiting for things to unfold. Among the notable remaining available free agents are Martin St. Louis, Eric Fehr, and Chris Stewart.

St. Louis is coming off a disappointing playoff run with the Rangers, scoring just a goal in 19 postseason games last spring. Factor in his age (he turned 40 last June 18) along with a paltry seven-goal output over his last 35 regular season games with New York, and you get the idea that only a handful of teams may want to sign St. Louis. That being said, there are still clubs out there, which may be looking for a veteran presence on the bench—something St. Louis can definitely provide.

With St. Louis likely not coming back to New York, the Rangers are reportedly keeping an eye on Fehr as they prepare for another run at the Cup. After consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers are odds-on favorites at +800 to bring the Cup back East. Fehr, who has played nine of his 10 seasons with Washington, can certainly help get them there. He scored 19 goals and accumulated 33 points in 75 games in Caps uniform last season.

As for Stewart, he’s expected to attract attention from a lot of teams given his age (27) and size (6-22, 231 pounds). Stewart is a very capable scorer, who once upon a time scored 28 goals for Colorado back in the 2009-2010 season. Despite his talent, though, some teams may be turned off by his well-known inconsistency. Stewart played 81 total games for the Wild and Sabres last season, scoring 14 goals and finishing with 36 points.
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