The orgy of spending on day one of NHL free agency calmed enough to let the dust settle Saturday.
The Anaheim Ducks finally dipped their toes in the pool and picked up defenseman Nate Guenin formerly of the Colorado Avalanche. Guenin iced for the Ducks in 2011-12 and was drafted by the New York Rangers in 2002.
The Florida Panthers signed defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year $22.5 million deal. 
The New York Islanders signed PA Parenteau to a one-year contract at a reported #1.25 million. The 33-year old Parenteau skated for the Isles in 2010-12.
“This team is more than a playoff team,” Parenteau said in a Newsday interview. “They’ve been real legit the last couple years. There was no Johnny Boychuk, no Nick Leddy (on defense) when I was there; with them and Travis [Hamonic], not many teams have a top-three [defensemen] like that. It’s a big reason why I decided to sign.”
Roman Polack signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The stay at home defenseman was singled out in post Stanley Cup breakdowns as a weak link in the San Jose Sharks defensive scheme because of his lack of speed.
The relative silence from the New York Rangers is now a bit more than nerve wracking. Sure the salary cap limits have forced them to be more judicious in their signings but they have yet to make even a rumored move that would loosen up cap space and dump under-performing players. And now with clubs having opened checkbooks Friday and let fly with more than a third of a billion dollars in salaries who can afford the likes of Rick Nash both fiscally and on ice performance value?
The flood of cash and deals Friday can be linked in part to the need to win “now” and also the set up for the summer of 2017’s expansion draft for the Las Vegas entry. Expansion fodder will be needed by each club including games played this season and signed contracts through 2017-18 at least. One can imagine the new Vegas team not wanting to have players coming in for a single season and bailing out from the desert heat. A goalie with a long contract would be nice, James Reimer maybe.
Today’s warm and fuzzy feeling for one player or another or one club or another will evaporate over the season and next summer as teams protect their asset, the franchise, and jettison bloated contracts that were signed in an effort to win “now” and slough off the excess over the next 12 months including those huge signing bonuses.
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