Free Agency Day 1 Recap: Drouin Returns and The Big Chips Begin To Fall

Jess and Ezra react to the major signings on Day 1!

The NHL was, as expected, busy for the first day of the new league year and the Colorado Avalanche were no exception making a handful of small moves of their own. Here are our thoughts on how the day unfolded.

Jonathan Drouin Stays in Colorado for one year at $2.5 million

Ezra: Love this deal! Definitely wanted more term for Drouin, but to get him under 3 mil for a year and then revisit the situation next year with more clarity around Nichushkin and Landeskog just makes so much sense.

Jess: I knew Colorado wouldn’t be able to do much because of the uncertainty around Landeskog and Nichushkin, but my one wish going into today was that they resigned Drouin. That’s exactly what they did, and I have absolutely no complaints personally. I agree, I would’ve loved some more term on one hand, but on the other hand, this deal allows Colorado to kick the can down the road to next summer a bit and wait until they have more clarity on their roster, along with more cap space since the cap is projected to go up once again. I cannot overstate how happy I am that they got it done, it’s just a ridiculously good piece of business.

Joel Kiviranta Returns on one year two-way deal with $775,000 AAV

Ezra: Like this as a two way deal – if he stays in the AHL all year that means things are going well for the Avs, and if he has to come up he’s solid.

Jess: No complaints about resigning Kiviranta at all. He arguably earned another contract with Colorado after the playoffs he had, I personally thought he was phenomenal in his role. I also like that it’s a two-way deal, to your point if he never plays for the Avs outside of a handful of games, they’ve presumably had phenomenal injury luck. If he does play for them quite a bit, then that’s still a guy that you trust dropping onto your fourth line, and when it comes to finding players to fill spots like that, that’s arguably all you can really ask for.

Calvin De Haan Signed with Colorado for one year at $800,000 AAV

Ezra: Big De Haan fan, but he’s injury prone and I worry this ends up like Ryan Murray… De Haan is much stouter defensively than Murray and much more fleet of foot than Jack Johnson, so when he’s in the lineup we’re going to like him on the third pair. He has played a full season just once in his career, and skated over 70 games just two other years.

Jess: I also really like De Haan. The injury history if definitely worrysome, there’s no two ways about it, but for $800k, I don’t at all mind taking a swing on him. Similarly to signings like Drouin last year, it’s very much a low risk, kind of high upside deal.

Ezra: I don’t see too much upside, but that’s ok as long as he can be a solid #5/6 defender.

Jacob McDonald Returns to Colorado on two year, two way 775,000 AAV deal

Ezra: I like Jake! As with Kiviranta, I like him more in the AHL than the NHL but he can be a dependable fill in at either a wing or defense spot in a pinch. He probably sticks in the NHL as a 13th forward/7th D hybrid to save cap space. My favorite thing about this is it probably eats up the roster spot Jack Johnson was penciled into.

Jess: This signing definitely wasn’t on my radar at all as a possibility, but I don’t mind it at all. You know exactly the kind of player you’re getting in MacDonald, there’s already a previously established relationship between him and the coaching staff in Colorado, and he’s someone that you can bring on long road trips as injury insurance if you want or need to. The flexibility of MacDonald to be able to drop in to either a defensive or winger spot is also a huge plus.

Parker Kelly Joins the Colorado Avalanche on a two year $825,000 AAV deal

Ezra: I like Parker Kelly as a bottom six guy. At 25 years old, he’s coming off career highs in goals and points with 8 and 18, so he’s not coming here to create any offense – rather, he’s going to defend and work HARD, like a somewhat lesser version of Logan O’Connor, or a slower Brandon Duhaime. Not sure why Ottawa didn’t QO him, but hey, one man’s trash is another man’s checking winger.

Jess: There were a handful of players from the Senators that didn’t get QOs that certainly peaked my interest a bit, and Kelly was one of them. To your point, he might not be as fast as someone line Duhaime, but he works insanely hard, and just overall seems like he would be an absolutely perfect fit on the Avs’ fourth line, or in the bottom six if you need him to move up to your third line because of injuries, for example. You also can’t really have any issues with that contract, $825k is a very friendly deal for a fourth line player, especially seeing some of the deals handed out today for bottom six and fourth line players.

Calle Rosen Returns to Colorado on one year deal

Ezra: Terms haven’t been disclosed, but I’d expect this to a be a minimum two-way contract, and he’ll be in the AHL unless injuries eat up the right side of the Avalanche blue line. That’s fine by me, I liked him enough in his stint here and he grew some with NHL time in St. Louis.

Jess: Completely agree. I don’t remember not liking him or anything when he was in Coloado previously, I thought he was perfectly servicible here, and I’m always in favor of league minimum depth signings, you can never have too much in my opinion. And if they do have what someone would consider ‘too much depth’ then that’s a great problem to have!

Let’s move on to the rest of the league starting with the biggest move of the day.

Steven Stamkos to Nashville for four years with a $8 million AAV

Jess: Maybe this is just me, but a part of me feels a little bad for Stamkos given the way this whole sage unfolded. I remember back to, I believe it was the beginning of this past seaon, when Stamkos voiced his frustration at the lack of contract negotiations happening. Flash forward all the way to July 1, and Tampa Bay’s captain that won back-to-back Stanley Cups with that team is now no longer in Tampa Bay, or their captain. I’m thrilled for him that he got, in my opinion, a pretty good deal from Nashville, but I can only imagine how frustraiting it might be to watch other parts of Tampa’s core, like Victor Hedman, get taken care of around you and get radio silence when it’s your turn to get taken care of. Overall, for me personally anyways, it just feels a bit wrong knowing that Stamkos won’t be a Bolt anymore.

Ezra: It’s not just you, it’s Nate Thompson too:

For Nashville it’s also kind of a weird deal. They’ve got a surprisingly old team now, and still don’t look like a true contender. But the Stamkos deal in a vacuum is great for them.

Jess: You make a really good point about Nashville, too. I keep seeing some people talk about how they’re horrified of Nashville now with the signings they made, and I get it, but I feel the same as I did last summer when it comes to their team – they’re just weird. They’re an old team and don’t have perhaps the makings of a true Cup contender compared to a lot of the consistent contenders, but they’ve also got some serious firepower in their lineup, especially with the additions of guys like Stamkos.

Jonathan Marchassault, Brady Skjei, and Scott Wedgewood also go to Nashville

Ezra: Wedgewood for two years at $1.5 mil is a good contract, but blocks stud goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov from taking the job. Marchessault for $5.5 million for five years means they’ll be paying him til he’s 38, but he won the Conn Smythe last year and should be worth that for at least half the contract. 30 year old Skjei on a 7×7 seems awfully long and rich. I dunno about all this. The Predators all the sudden are locked in to a bunch of aging when it appeared just last summer they’d be rebuilding,

Jess: The Wedgewood signing really makes me wonder about Askarov’s future in Nashville and if any team is going to bite the bullet and trade for him, especially given that reports about the asking price for Askarov from this past weekend talked about how insanely high it was. I feel exactly the same about both the Marchassault and Skjei signings, too. I know I said it earlier, but after today I still feel the same way about Nashville that I felt last summer after they signed guys like Ryan O’Reilly – they’re just a weird team.

Brett Pesce Signed with New Jersey for six years $5.5 million AAV

Ezra: I love Brett Pesce’s game and I think New Jersey got him on a very fair contract. He’s going to be the ideal partner for Luke Hughes as a 29 year old with a ton of games under his belt, who thinks the game at a high level and can skate with just about anyone.

Jess: I’m totally with you, I love Brett Pesce too and have always felt that he was maybe a bit underrated for the game that he plays and what he brings. To your point, I think he’s going to be a great partner for Luke Hughes, as he’s always kind of struck me as someone who can be the “adult” of whatever defensive pairing he’s on, for lack of a better term. Meaning he can be more consistently reliable and relied upon on whatver pairing he’s on, not that Hughes isn’t already a responsible defenseman, but with all of the games and experience that he has under his belt like you said Ezra, that certianly means something when you talk about having a reliable defenseman.

Brandon Montour to Seattle for seven years at $7 Million AAV, Chandler Stephenson follows him on a seven-year $6.25 Million AAV deal

Ezra: Montour is exactly what they need on the blueline, but signing him til he’s 37 is a big risk – his decline could be sharp as he relies a ton on athleticism. Stephenson is already declining, is also 30, and doesn’t drive play himself. Two overpays, one more drastic than the other… not ideal if you ask me.

Jess: I don’t at all mind the Montour deal, that AAV might be high to a lot of people at a first glance, but the Cup tax is a very real thing, so it’s not difficult to see how they got to that number ultimately. The Stephenson one though, oh boy. That one I have a pretty big issue with personally. Sure it’s a nice veteran prescence and everything, and a guy who’s won a Cup so he knows what it takes, which is all well and good. But does that really justify giving, to your point, a 30-year old declining player who doesn’t drive play by himself both a ridiculous amount of term and a high AAV? Personally, I don’t think so.

Joel Edmundson signing a four-year deal with Los Angeles at a $3.8 million AAV

Ezra: Hate the player, hate the term, hate the price. What are they thinking? Joel Edmundson has not been good in a decade, and he wasn’t even worth this money then. He’s a relic of a different hockey era who cannot skate or stickhandle at a modern NHL level and they’re paying him middle pair money. Bad business, Rob Blake. Just bad.

Jess: Agreed. I don’t hate Edmundson or anything personally, I just think he’s overpaid, and this deal is no different. There is probabaly something to be said for having guys like that in the NHL and playing on your blueline as like your seventh or eighth depth defenseman, but at like $900 K or so for one or maybe two years, certainly not at $3.8 million for four years.

Ezra: Oh yeah, I don’t hate the person!! Just the play on the ice. LA seems to spend every offseason with Rob Blake at the helm taking what looks like a step forward only to shoot themselves in both feet.

Jacob Chychrun traded from Ottawa to Washington for Nick Jensen and a 2025 3rd Round Pick

Ezra: This one shocked me, Chychrun has been a high value asset for a long time and netting only a third pair vet and third round pick seems extremely cheap. I like the fit for Washington but I simply don’t get what Ottawa is doing.

Jess: Wholeheartedly agree. I love the trade and the fit for Wasington, but I seriously thought Chychrun was going to fetch more of a return for Ottawa in a trade given how much he’s been billed as a high value asset in the past.

Ezra: Exactly. I do like Jensen in Ottawa, I think he is what they needed to stabilize the bottom pair… but not in this deal.

Chris Tanev signing a six-year deal with Toronto at a $4.5 million AAV

Jess: I’ll be honest, I don’t know what Toronto’s thinking with that term entirely. I understand that there’s a premium to pay for right-handed shot defensemen and that term helps keep the AAV down, but still, six years is a little rich for my blood given where Tanev is at this point in his career. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still an effective player, but he’s also 34 years old currently, and has a bit of an injury history. In my opinion, that is not a recipe for a contract that’s going to age well at all. Maybe Toronto wins the Cup while he’s there and I’ll gladly eat my words if that happens, but right now at a first glance, it doesn’t at all strike me as a deal that’s going to age well when all is said and done.

Ezra: I actually like it, it’s potentially smart cap management because Tanev is worth $5-6 million right now so in the short term they’ve got a little bargain. Then in the long term, Tanev either keeps up this play or goes on LTIR and his cap hit doesn’t matter anymore. The way he plays, he definitely has injuries coming and it’ll be easy to Robidas Island him later in the contract term.

Jess: That’s actually a fair point about Tanev. Another thing I wonder about with him is what if something similar happens to him like what happend to Bertuzzi, where he comes in and it’s just a really tough fit, or at least a really touch fit at times. And if he can’t turn it around, then you have to explore trading that contract, and that term might make it really tough to do so. While that scenario is a pretty specific one, if that scenario plays out, then Toronto is in the same spot they started in, with too much money wrapped up in a few select players making it really hard for them to improve the rest of their roster.

Ezra: Yeah it’s definitely possible, but Tanev’s play style I think fits pretty much anywhere – they needed a solid truly defensive defenseman and Tanev is one of the very best. I think this one works for a couple years, then goes to LTIR for the rest – but Toronto won’t win a cup or anything, let’s not get crazy!

Boston signed both Elias Lindholm for 7 years at $7.75 million and Nikita Zadorov for 6 years at $5 million

Jess: I coupled these two together because my thoughts are pretty much the same for both of these signings. I had a feeling that teams were gonna do something that bordered on being irresponsible for both Lindholm and Zadorov, I did not think however that it would be the same team signing those two. Obviously the price for Lindholm was always going to be high, he is arguably the current standard as far as true-blue second-line centers in the NHL go, so I’m less surprised by that signing. Now as much as I love Zadorov, that term and price feels a bit too high, but I still expected someone to potentially take on that cost given the playoffs that he just had. Recency bias is a very real thing, folks.

Ezra: Lindholm I think could be exactly what Boston needs in a top line center and Zadorov brings the snarl they covet, but long deals at high AAVs like this almost never work out in the long term and it would not be a huge surprise if both these guys disappoint in the short term too.

Jess: Absolutely agree. I don’t expect either guy to fully disappoint, just because they’re both incredibly skilled NHLers, but given both of those contracts, it would not shock me either if they at least perform below whatever expectations those in Boston might have for them.

Matt Dumba signed in Dallas for two years at a $3.8 million AAV

Jess: I don’t think it’s exactly a secret that Dumba struggled quite a bit this past season in both Arizona and Tampa Bay. Now in my mind and generally speaking throughout history, players who have down years and struggle like Dumba just did are probabaly viewed as reclemation projects more than anything, and usually sign close to one-year league minimum deals. Clearly Dallas saw something they liked in Dumba, which is fantastic and all, but this to me immediately feels like a much higher risk deal than I would personally be comfortable giving to a guy who by all accounts is along the lines of a reclamation project.

Ezra: This AAV shocked me. Truly shocked me. Dallas bought out Ryan Suter and traded Chris Tanev’s rights to go out and overpay Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin ($3.25Mx2) and fill out the roster with a lesser former Wisconsin Badger in Brendan Smith. They somehow managed to get slower and more turnover prone on defense without Suter – that is wild.

Jess: Exactly my thoughts, too. The AAV for both Dumba and Lyubushkin genuinely floored me. Especially seeing the AAV on some of the other deals that were handed out to defenseman similar to those two throughout the course of the day.

Ezra: They just absolutely should have signed Chris Tanev instead, but maybe he wanted to go back to Canada and that wasn’t an option.

Jake Guentzel signed for seven years at a $9 million AAV in Tampa Bay

Jess: I know it’s Guentzel, but still, this deal just seems like a lot to me, although that could just be the inital sticker shock. Guentzel’s age helps justify signing him over Stamkos, given that he is five years younger than Stamkos, but to further my feelings about how the Stamkos saga went down, if you could afford to pay Guentzel this kind of money, truthfully I don’t know why you’d completely push out Stamkos, the now most recent captain in your franchise’s history, for him.

Ezra: Players like Guentzel are hard to overpay, and I don’t think they did. The term is the kind of thing guys of his caliber demand even if it is a little long, but he’ll definitely contribute at least $9 million of value on the ice. Can he replace what Stamkos meant to this team off the ice? Probably not. But that’s not even my issue with this for the Lightning – it’s that I don’t think they improved the team in the short or long term this week. I would much rather have 25 year old top pair defender Mikhail Sergachev than a 30 year old winger, and he was on a much better value contract. I don’t get the vision in Tampa right now – they’re not rebuilding, but they are retooling and it seems like a worse toolkit to me.

That’s a wrap on Day One!