Free agency hit like the usual orgy of spending and with just seemingly minutes gone in the frenzy, it had been estimated that nearly half a billion dollars had been spent.
Some of that went to Artemi Panarin through the New York Rangers’ deal.
Panarin’s former teammate, Sergei Bobrovsky who signed a seven-year deal of his own; financial terms were not released. 
“I am very excited to join the Panthers organization,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s a big day for me and my family. I am looking forward to performing for Panthers fans. I want to thank owner Vincent Viola, president Matt Caldwell, [general manager] Dale Tallon and coach [Joel Quenneville] for trusting me and giving me an opportunity to win the Cup with them in South Florida. I can’t wait to put the Panthers uniform on and start winning.”
With Roberto Luongo’s retirement, the Panthers were looking to fill the void.
Florida also spent free agency money on defenseman Anton Stralman and forwards Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari.
Elsewhere, Mats Zuccarello, 31, landed in St Paul with the Minnesota Wild on a five-year contract.
“I’m really excited to spend the next five years in Minnesota. It’s a hockey-crazy state,” Zuccarello said. “When you call yourself the State of Hockey, it’s got to mean something. I love that about Minnesota. My favorite player growing up was [former Wild forward Marian] Gaborik, and he played in Minnesota, so I always followed that team.
“It’s just really exciting for me to be able come to that team. I like to be able to create something special with the group and everyone around. It’s important for me to know that I’m going to spend a lot of years with the same team and create that kind of bond. That was really important to me and I’m really happy that they gave me the chance.”
Zuccarello led the Dallas Stars in the playoffs with 11 points on four goals.
“I just think, firstly, Mats Zuccarello, his skill level, his compete, his passion for the game. I’ve watched him play for so many years, he’s always been attractive to me as a guy that can help your team get to another level,” Wild general manager Paul Fenton said. “He competes every night, and I know offensively, the way we were challenged last year with having 11 shutouts, he’s got the opportunity to create and to score some goals for us.”
Matt Duchene inked a seven-year, $56 million contract with his new team, the Nashville Predators on Monday.
For Nashville, it was a deal a few years in the making.
“It was talked about in the media for the last three years,” Nashville general manager David Poile said. “We made no secret, I think, that we were trying to get him. He made no secret that he had an affinity for the city. Having said that, just to put everything on balance here, he did have other offers and he did visit other cities. I would think probably when you talk to him that he’d tell you this was the only place he wanted to play. Maybe that’s me wanting to think that, but it’s still part of a negotiation.”
Duchene iced for the Ottawa Senators before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in February. He had 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 73 games with the Jackets and Ottawa, including 12 points on four goals in 23 games with Columbus.
“I think when you know teams are interested and they make things happen to get you, it adds a little bit for sure,” Duchene said. “You know that you’re going to be taken care of and you know that you’re valued. I think at the end of the day, we put so much into this game as pros. And I know I do. I eat, sleep and breathe it. For that to be valued and get what I put into it back, it means a lot.”
Now, if these teams can get their new stars to produce at the money level everyone will be happy.
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