UFA Frenzy Live Blog
Welcome to Rotoworld’s 2015 free agent frenzy blog. Be sure to check back often as I'll be updating this article throughout the afternoon.
6:00 - The Detroit Red Wings signed Brad Richards to a one-year contract that comes with a base salary of $3 million and could reach $4 million with bonuses. Who he plays with will influence his fantasy value, although we're not too optimistic about him from an offensive production standpoint.
Additionally, Toronto signed Mark Arcobello to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. He played with four different NHL teams last season and still managed to score 17 goals and 31 points in 77 contests. He won't save Toronto, but he's a solid bottom-six forward.
That's it for the live blog, but as always Rotoworld will continue to post the latest news as it happens.
4:37 - Things have gotten pretty quiet, so we're winding down the live blog. I'll be back at 6 though to recap any noteworthy signings between then and now. And of course, we will continue to report on the news as it happens throughout the night (as we always do), so be sure to check the hockey section for all the latest trades and signings.
4:17 - The Calgary Flames have shipped Max Reinhart to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick. Reinhart, 23, had 15 goals and 39 points in 69 AHL contests in 2014-15. He's the older brother of Griffin Reinhart and Sam Reinhart.
4:00 - The Boston Bruins have inked Ryan Spooner to a two-year, $1.9 million contract. There's an opportunity in Boston for him to play as the third-line center.
3:55 - Mike Green has agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal with the Detroit Red Wings. While a $6 million cap hit is nothing to sneeze at, the fact that it's only three years is pretty favorable for Detroit. He's something of an injury risk, but when he's healthy, he's still a very effective offensive defenseman.
3:52 - Minnesota's Jared Knight accepted his qualifying offer, which is a two-way deal worth $761,000 at the NHL level. He was taken with the 32nd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he hasn't been able to break into the NHL. Fun fact: His draft pick was part of the deal that sent Kessel to Toronto from Boston.
3:36 - There's a bit of a lull right now in terms of noteworthy signings, but there are quite a few big names left on the market. Forwards Antoine Vermette, Matt Beleskey, Martin St. Louis, and Justin Williams as well as defensemen Mike Green and Cody Franson are among those still looking for a home.
3:22 - Took a while, but Burmistrov's contract details have been revealed. His new two-year deal with Winnipeg is worth $3.1 million.
3:17 - Toronto has re-signed RFA Richard Panik to a one-year, $975,000 deal, which is up from the $735,000 he made in 2014-15. He had 11 goals and 17 points in 76 contests.
3:11 - Sergei Plotnikov has officially inked a one-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was never drafted, but the 25-year-old has made a name for himself in the KHL. He had 15 goals, 36 points, and 71 penalty minutes in 56 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
3:04 - Ruslan Fedotenko has agreed to a two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild. His best years are behind him, to the point where he might not even play in Minnesota next season, but he is a veteran of 863 games.
2:59 - Stalberg's contract is a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Can't really argue with the price, but don't expect Stalberg to crack the Rangers' top six.
2:58 - Jack Eichel has agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres. That's not exactly surprising, but there was some speculation about him opting to spend another season in Boston University. Eichel would be regarded as the early frontrunner for the Calder Trophy if not for Connor McDavid.
2:54 - The New York Rangers have reportedly signed Viktor Stalberg after he was bought out by the Nashville Predators. No details yet.
2:42 - A couple more notes about the Kessel trade, or more specifically the first-round pick Toronto got from Pittsburgh. It turns out that's conditional on Pittsburgh making the playoffs. If the Penguins miss the playoffs, then the Maple Leafs get their 2017 first-round pick instead. However, if the Penguins miss the playoffs yet again in 2017, then Toronto won't get a first rounder at all. At that point Toronto will get a second rounder from the Penguins instead.
2:33 - In some non-Kessel related Maple Leafs news: PA Parenteau has inked a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Toronto. His chances of rebounding aren't great, especially on a Leafs team that frankly isn't looking promising in the short-term, but it's hard to fault Toronto for taking a chance on him given the low-stakes nature of this signing.
2:21 - The New Jersey Devils have signed John Moore to a three-year, $4.6 million contract. He'll probably end up being a third pairing or perhaps seventh defenseman.
2:14 - Vancouver's getting Brandon Prust from Montreal for Kassian and a 2016 fifth round pick.
2:13 - Glen Sather has decided to step back from the GM job in New York. He'll stay on as the Rangers' team president, but he's handing the general manager job to Jeff Gorton. It's a big change for the Rangers. Sather joined the organization as its president and GM back in 2000.
2:07 - Vancouver has traded Zack Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens. No word yet on what's going the other way.
2:06 - Quick follow up on Hodgson: It's a one-year, $1 million deal. Really nice bargin bin signing.
2:03 - Cody Hodgson, who was bought out by Buffalo, was reportedly signed by Nashville. No contract details yet, but it's probably at a discounted price under the circumstances. Could be a good, low-risk gamble for the Predators.
2:00 - Cal O'Reilly, older brother of Ryan, has signed a two-year, $1.4 million deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Maybe that will help with the Ryan O'Reilly negotiations. Cal has 113 games worth of NHL experience, but he hasn't played at that level since 2011-12.
1:57 - Alexander Burmistrov's two-year stint in the KHL has come to an end. The 2010 eighth overall pick has agreed to return to Winnipeg on a tow-year deal. He had 10 goals and 26 points in 53 KHL contests in 2014-15.
1:54 - Erik Condra has agreed to a three-year, $3.75 million deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had nine goals and 23 points in 68 contests last season with Ottawa.
1:50 - Martin's contract with the Sharks is a four-year, $19.4 million deal. That's not a great deal given that he's already 34 years old, but it's also not surprising when compared to what defensemen are going for in this thin market.
1:46 - Okay, all these Kessel updates are bound to confuse at this point, so here is the Kessel trade in its entirety: Kessel, Biggs, Erixon, and a 2016 second rounder are heading to Pittsburgh. Kapanen, Harrington, Spaling, and 2016 first and third rounders are going to Toronto. The Leafs will retain $1.25 million annually of Kessel's contract.
1:42 - Toronto sending Tyler Biggs and Tim Erixon to Pittsburgh in the Kessel deal. It's likely they were just included to keep the numbers right in terms of total contracts per franchise.
1:37 - A little housekeeping: Greg Pateryn signed a two-year, $1.6 million extension with Montreal, Brad Richardson inked a three-year, $6.24 million deal with Arizona, Riley Nash is sticking with Carolina for another season at the price of $1.15 million.
1:31 - The Coyotes, which had a long way to go to the salary floor by the way, keep handing out money. Zbynek Michalek inked a two-year, $3.2 million deal with them. Keep in mind he started the 2014-15 campaign with Arizona, but was dealt to St. Louis at the deadline in exchange for Maxim Letunov.
1:27 - Couple more goalie signings: Anders Lindback is heading to Arizona and Jhonas Enroth has signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Both former Sabres/Stars goalies are projected to be backups with their new team.
1:23 - Okay, now back to Kessel. Toronto will retain 15% ($1.2 million annually) of Kessel's contract. So between Kessel, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, Pittsburgh will be charged $32.25 million annually in cap space. That seems problematic, but on the plus side, Kessel should excel with either Crosby or Malkin.
1:18 - Some non-Kessel news (!): Barret Jackman has agreed to a two-year, $2 million contract with Nashville. His role with the Blues declined in recent years and this change of scenery might be what he needs to breathe new life into his career. That said, being more of a defensive defenseman, he's not a major factor in most fantasy leagues.
1:16 - The Kessel trade could also involve Nick Spaling coming to Toronto and a second rounder going the other way. The big X-Factor in all of this: How much, if any, of Kessel's salary will Toronto retain? Keep in mind the Penguins were already top-heavy when it came to their cap consumption. Adding Kessel to that will make it very hard for the Penguins to build around their core unless Toronto is retaining a large chunk of his salary.
1:11 - A little more Kessel information: The pick going Toronto's way is reportedly a first rounder. So if you want you can think of Toronto as getting two firsts for Kessel, given that Kasperi Kapanen was taken with the 22nd overall pick in 2014.
1:06 - The Blues have inked Jori Lehtera to a three-year, $14.1 million deal. He made the transition from the KHL to NHL last season and recorded 44 points in the process. He's 27 years old, so it's not like he's an emerging prospect, but it still wouldn't be surprising to see him do meaningfully better now that he's got a full NHL season under his belt.
1:04 - Michael Frolik has signed a five-year deal with the Calgary Flames. He'll give them some scoring depth after Jiri Hudler, Johnny Gaudreau, and Sean Monahan.
1:00 - Leafs reported return for Kessel: Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, and a draft pick.
12:57 - While we're waiting on Kessel details, very quickly: Mark Letestu signed a three-year deal with Edmonton. No financial terms on that one.
12:56 - Phil Kessel got traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. No details yet.
12:55 - Steve Downie has inked a $1.75 million deal with the Arizona Coyotes. As long as he plays regularly he should get 200+ PIM, but I can't see him doing much offensively in Arizona given what he'll have to work with.
12:51 - Just following up on Comeau: His three-year deal is worth $7.2 million.
12:50 - The Philadelphia Flyers have sorted out their goaltending situation. Steve Mason will be backed up by Michal Neuvirth, who inked a two-year, $3.25 million deal. As far as backup goalies go, he should be regarded as one of the better ones and he might even steal some starts from Mason along the way.
12:47 - Blake Comeau is going to Colorado on a three-year deal. He had 16 goals and 31 points in 61 contests with Pittsburgh in 2014-15.
12:43 - Edmonton signed Andrej Sekera to a six-year, $33 million deal. That's a lot of money to throw at him, but it's another big addition to the Oilers as they look to kick off the Connor McDavid-era on a positive note. With Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart working their way up, the Oilers defense is actually starting to look decent.
12:39 - Paul Martin has inked a four-year deal with the San Jose Sharks. No financial terms yet, but that gives the Sharks five defensemen signed to one-way contracts, plus Mirco Mueller, who should make the opening game roster.
12:34 - Minnesota isn't done yet. Nate Prosser tested the UFA market, but still ended up signing a two-year extension with the Wild. He had two goals and seven points in 63 contests with them last season.
12:31 - Greiss' deal with the Islanders is a two-year, $3 million contract. Seems like a fair deal for a decent backup.
12:26 - Thomas Hickey's stint as a restricted free agent was brief. He's inked a three-year, $6.6 million deal with the Islanders.
12:23 - Mike Richards is now on the UFA list, so it's probably best not to read anything into his earlier omission from the list.
12:22 - We got our first big signing of the UFA period. Francois Beauchemin will make $13.5 million over the next three seasons with Colorado. He fills the Avalanche's desire to get a left-handed shooting defenseman, but given that he's already 35 years old, giving him three years is a bit of a risk.
12:17 - Toronto bolstered their defense by inking Matt Hunwick to a two-year, $2.4 million contract. Not a bad signing given the term, but he's not likely to be an impact player. Definitely not worth taking in standard fantasy leagues. On a similar note, Adam Pardy has re-signed with Winnipeg; One-year, $1 million.
12:15 - The Islanders got their backup for Jaroslav Halak. Thomas Greiss is coming over after posting a 2.59 GAA and .908 save percentage in 20 games with Pittsburgh last season. Not a bad understudy.
12:12 - Yannick Weber didn't get a qualifying offer from Vancouver, but he's not going anywhere after agreeing to a one-year, $1.5 million deal. It was a bit surprising when he didn't get the QO, but clearly it worked out for the Canucks in the end.
12:10 - Granlund's deal is a $6 million, so a $3 million annual cap hit. Minnesota's been busy as Mike Reilly has officially inked a two-year deal while Marc Hagel has inked a two-way contract. The Wild are also expected to re-sign Ryan Carter before the day is done.
12:05 - Mikael Granlund has inked a two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. No financial terms yet. He was coming off of his entry-level contract.
12:00 - The free agent period has officially begun. Interestingly enough, Mike Richards isn't on the official list of free agents despite the fact that the Los Angeles Kings terminated his contract.
Although the free agent period officially began at 12:00 p.m. ET, several teams managed to lock up their own players this morning.
Kevin Bieksa inked a two-year, $8 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He still has one season left on his existing deal at a $4.6 million annual cap hit, so he will actually be taking a cut in that regard starting in 2016-17.
Karri Ramo signed a one-year, $3.8 million extension with Calgary. That means the Flames will once again go with the goaltending duo of Ramo and Jonas Hiller. Both netminders are eligible to test the UFA market next summer though, so this is unlikely to be the Flames' long-term solution.
Speaking of long-term, Chicago agreed to a five-year, $22.75 million contract extension with Artem Anisimov. He came to the Blackhawks as part of Tuesday's Brandon Saad trade.
Nashville and Mike Ribeiro agreed to a two-year, $7 million deal. That's a pretty good price for the forward given that he's coming off of a 62-point campaign.
Finally, Patrick Eaves signed a one-year, $1.15 million extension with Dallas. He had 14 goals and 27 points in 47 contests last season.
