NHL Free Agent Re-Signings: Teams Begin Locking Down Players

NHL Free Agent Re-Signings Continue to Heat Up as the July 1st Deadline Nears, Teams Begin Locking Down Players

Starting on June 13th following the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup win, NHL free agent re-signings began to heat up.

Carolina signed a pair of prospects to entry-level contracts (ELCs) in Sebastian Aho and Aleksi Saarela; Calgary signed a Czech netminder David Rittich out of Europe; Montreal re-signed hometown defender Mark Barberio; and Nashville re-signed 24-year-old goaltender Marek Mazanec.

NHL free agent re-signings continued on Tuesday.

All three inked one-year deals as Brian Lashoff stays in Detroit, Chris Summers another year at least on Broadway, and Mac Carruth a depth netminder for the Blackhawks.

There have been NHL free agent re-signings every day this week, a theme that should continue until July 1. Here’s a complete list of those signings so far:

*month/day – name, team > years signed and cap hit

06/13 – Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes > 3yrs $925k
06/13 – David Rittich, Calgary Flames > 1yr $925k
06/13 – Mark Barberio, Montreal Canadiens > 2yrs $750k
06/13 – Marek Mazanec, Nashville Predators > 1yr $575k
06/13 – Aleksi Saarela, Carolina Hurricanes > 3yrs $776k
06/14 – Brian Lashoff, Detroit Red Wings > 1yr $650k
06/14 – Mac Carruth, Chicago Blackhawks > 1yr $575k
06/14 – Chris Summers, New York Rangers > 1yr $600k
06/15 – Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings > 2yrs $2.075 million dollars
06/15 – Richard Panik, Chicago Blackhawks > 1yr $875k
06/15 – Joseph Cramarossa, Anaheim Ducks > 1yr $725k
06/15 – Peter Cehlarik, Boston Bruins > 3yrs $743k
06/16 – Derek Ryan, Carolina Hurricanes > 1yr $600k
06/16 – Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes > 2yrs $3.3 million dollars
06/16 – Dmitrij Jaskin, St.Louis Blues > 2yrs $1 million dollars
06/16 – Sven Baertschi, Vancouver Canucks > 2yrs $1.85 million dollars
06/16 – Craig Cunningham, Arizona Coyotes > 1yr $600k
06/16 – Connor Brickley, Florida Panthers > 1yr $650k
06/17 – Tyler Pitlick, Edmonton Oilers > 1yr $725k

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There are still several NHL free agent re-signings to come in the next couple of weeks. Numerous UFAs are still expected to re-sign, such as Loui Eriksson in Boston or Brian Campbell in Florida.

We also have over 290 RFAs still looking for new deals. Now obviously, several of those bottom-tier prospects will go unsigned, but 2016 features an abundant amount of quality restricted free agents.

We can expect that several of those younger players will go to arbitration with their current club, but we can’t discount the possibility of offer sheets. There’s a major risk in leaving those RFAs without a contract.

Among the most notable RFAs of the 290 seeking a new deal:

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
Jaden Schwartz, St.Louis Blues
Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Marcus Johansson, Washington Capitals
Torey Krug, Boston Bruins
Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks
Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks
Tyson Barrie, Colorado Avalanche
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Michael Stone, Arizona Coyotes
Cody Ceci, Ottawa Senators
Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg Jets
Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks
Matt Dumba, Minnesota Wild
Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks

Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
Brayden Schenn, Philadelphia Flyers
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Ryan Strome, New York Islanders
Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks
Mike Hoffman, Ottawa Senators
Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes
Marcus Foligno, Buffalo Sabres
Alex Chiasson, Ottawa Senators
J.T. Brown, Tampa Bay Lightning
Valeri Nichushkin, Dallas Stars
Calvin Pickard, Colorado Avalanche

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If we take into account the possibility of expansion, the 2016 UFA class, and the quality RFAs still without a contract, you can see why experts/analysts suggest this could be an extremely busy summer of player movement.

For certain teams such as the Chicago Blackhawks, we have already begun to see movement with the trade of Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina.

Logic suggests GM Stan Bowman is making room to retain a core piece in RFA Andrew Shaw. Plus, if you do the math, a player such as Teuvo Teravainen would have run the risk of being left exposed in expansion.

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Another interesting scenario to keep an eye on is the Calgary Flames. They have a little over $50 million dollars committed to next year’s cap, and still need to re-sign Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and potentially a new goalie.

If history repeats itself, we should see a flurry of action in the final days leading into June 24th Draft in Buffalo, and even more throughout NHL Draft Weekend.