NHL free agency 2019: Winners and losers of the RFA signings

With the 2019-20 NHL season ready to get underway, let’s take a look at the best and worst for NHL free agency and the RFA signings.

With players like Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Brock Boeser, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Matthew Tkachuk, and Charlie McAvoy all hitting NHL free agency this year as restricted free agents (RFAs), it seemed we were in for an exciting offseason.

Everyone seemed to be holding on tight as they waited for the biggest three – Marner, Rantanen, and Point – to budge first. It seemed as though the entire league was on standby, waiting to hear what the new standard in NHL contracts for top tier players would be.

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We all knew that it was a matter of Point, Marner or Rantanen coming to terms on a deal first and the rest of the dominoes would start to fall. So when Marner signed his new six-year, $10.893 million per year contract, we all thought the landscape was set.

What we ended up seeing, and this is my opinion, looking at it from a current situation viewpoint and not speculating on the future of these RFAs the biggest loser in all of the deals was the Leafs.

Before you start jumping down my throat, I’m not saying that Marner is a bad player or that the contract isn’t warranted. What I am saying is that holding it up to all the other deals, Toronto overpaid Marner.

Kudos to Marner and his camp for getting the most out of their buyers. Can’t knock someone working to maximize his income potential and succeeding. This is not a bash piece on Marner.

All I am saying is that looking over the rest of the deals signed players like Point and Rantanen, who have been more productive than Marner, have taken less money annually for their respective clubs. This is all I’m saying.

The true winners in this are the Tampa Bay Lightning. They get a player that has out produced Marner for just over half the annual salary of Marner in Brayden Point. The term isn’t as long and it is a bridge deal, but this leaves Tampa with the necessary cap space to remain competitive over the course of the next three years.

Mikko Rantanen signed his own six-year deal but at $55.5 mil total, averaging $9.25 million per year. That is $1.5 million, roughly, less than Marner. Keep in mind Rantanen has outproduced Marner. Taking taxes into consideration as well as assuming taxes are higher in Canada that is still a significant difference per year.

Winnipeg I believe won with their free agents. Signing Kyle Connor to a seven-year deal at $7.14 million per year and Laine to a two-year $6.75 million per year contract. I like it because to me, Connor is the more consistent, and team-oriented player. Laine has made controversial headlines with the latest saying he wanted to play with better linemates.

So signing a temperamental player to a two-year deal makes sense to me. Gives the player a chance to prove that the team comes first. Connor has proven to me he’s that kind of character guy. He produces and has been a steady offensive weapon for them in the regular and post-seasons.

Rounding out the RFAs are Tkachuk, Boeser, and McAvoy. All of which I believe have signed fair market value contracts with their respective clubs. Aside from the injury proneness of Boeser, I belive each was earned and the only real difference among them is taxes in their respective home cities.

Congratulations to all the RFAs, teams and fans! It was a long wait and kept the off-season rumor mills churning making for an entertaining off-season. Long term, we will see who truly won the RFA signings in 2019-20, but at first glance, Toronto looks to be in a bit of a bind with so much money being spoken for by four players. Time will tell.

Even with the expected salary cap raising that’s a lot of money for four players. I’m not sure that spells championship in the NHL, but we shall see.