With the holiday this weekend in the US, there was little movement in the NHL free agency market.
This gives a bit of time to make some brief assessments on the frenzy and what it may mean for a few of the clubs.
The first up are the Anaheim Ducks who have been quiet, really too quiet for them, their fans and their prospects of continuing to be a Stanley Cup contender. 
The Ducks have signed only one player through Monday, Nate Guenin, to a one-year contract. After losing Frederick Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs they need a goaltender and don’t seem terribly anxious to sign one. There are certainly issues with the cap if they want to resign Hampus Lindholm but their standing pat position is a mystery.
This year’s free agency got started with a near orgy of signings and bonus-laden deals with five and six years and $6 million being common threads. The Boston Bruins were one of those teams making such deals and they shelled out $30 million to 32-year old David Backes for five years. A five-year deal that ends at 32-years of age is one thing but starting when the player has already seen offensive numbers slide is questionable given that Backes has some long, rough miles under the hood.
One team that regressed from 2014-15 to 2015-16 was the Calgary Flames who failed to make the playoffs a season after setting itself up as a playoff darling. One weakness the club has faced is the lack of steady, consistent goaltending. Over the last couple of weeks, the Flames have indeed addressed that with the addition of Brian Elliot from the St Louis Blues and Chad Johnson as his backup. The addition of solid goaltending gives the Flames more freedom to press the offense and not feel like thy need to keep one defenseman back just in case.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have yet to make a signing of any kind. They are saddled with long deals on aging players in their lineup and there is no room to add anyone and it is getting late to find a gem of any kind in the pool right now. And after the disgorging of cash on July 1st who has the cap space to trade for one of the Jackets’ big contracts?
The Florida Panthers are one team to make smart decisions in loading up the train for the next run at post season success. They have signed Jason Demers, Jonathan Marchessault, James Reimer, and Colton Sceviour to various contracts with sensible dollars affixed to each. Heading into training camp this season the Panthers will be stronger than their club that lost to the New York Islanders in the first round this year.
One disappointing team was the Toronto Maple Leafs who signed Matt Martin and Roman Polak to contracts. Coming off a stronger than expected year, the Leafs have not added a rallying star to the lineup. Toronto has a stable of young prospects and the management may be looking to Mike Babcock to insert that talent into a roster that gives them time and the team time to get better and develop the talent pool as fodder for trade deadlines.
The big-dollar deals of this year’s free agency has clouded some of the assessments because the money was released to players on the edge or in the twilight of their careers. It shows how thin the talent pool really is and why the NHL may have said yes to only one expansion team for the 2017-18 season.
You must be logged in to post a comment.