Fast and Furious Start to NHL Free Agency

The NHL Free Agency period is off to a fast and furious start. This seems like it occurs every year with the NHL as the signings happen so fast that they become impossible to keep track of. Throw in the fact that there are about four million free agents in the market (actual number on the ESPN free agent tracker is well over 600 players), half of whom you see once a year at most, and it becomes almost entirely hopeless to grasp who has done what with their rosters. That being said, here are a few of the more notable signings that I have seen, and their potential impacts on the respective teams.

Anton Volchenkov (6 years, $25.5M) and Henrik Tallinder (4 years, $13.5M) to the Devils – The game of defensemen musical chairs continued on day one. The Penguins essentially traded Gonchar and Hamhuis for Martin and Michalek. The Devils did some retooling of their own on the blue line with the additions of Volchenkov, a very defensive minded guy, and Tallinder, a good puck moving defenseman. These signings should be helpful to the Devils but they do not address their primary concern which should be putting the puck in the other team’s net. I would also rather have the Penguins’ two additions, both of whom are younger and slightly more versatile.

Dan Hamhuis (6 years, $27M) to the Canucks – Speaking of Hamhuis and moving defenseman, Hamhuis’ rights were traded twice before free agency began with neither team, Penguins included, coming close to signing this solid two-way defender because of his desire to return home to the British Columbia. This is a nice signing, and it came gift-wrapped, for Vancouver who continue to upgrade their roster in front of Roberto Luongo. The addition of one or two scorers could make the Canucks a viable Stanley Cup contender next year.

Toni Lydman (3 years, $9M) to the Ducks – I am not so much thrilled with this move for the Ducks, although Lydman is a good skater and passer from the blue line and becomes a cheap replacement for the retired Scott Niedermayer, as I am wondering what the Buffalo Sabres are doing. Losing Lydman and Tallinder in front of goaltender Ryan Miller could prove to be a significant blow to a team who was built around winning games 1-0 and 2-1 last year.

Ray Whitney (2 years, $6M) to the Coyotes – I mention Whitney because he was on many people’s short list for the Penguins to acquire and shows the relative lack of scoring punch on the market. Despite being 38-years-old, I like the signing for Phoenix as the relative small dollar amount and short timeframe limit the risk associated with the winger’s age. For a team needing some scoring power, Whitney was one of the better alternatives out there.

Antero Niittymaki (2 years, $4M) to the Sharks – From the ”this does not make any sense” category, the Sharks decided to let Evgeni Nabokov leave to sign Antero Niittymaki, the same Niittymaki that was a career bum in Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. What? Say that again, please. I know that the Sharks have been extremely disappointing in the post season the past few years, but they let their world-class goaltender, the one who led them to the Western Conference Finals last year and the best record in hockey over the last three years, leave for a career underachiever with no Stanley Cup playoff credentials. I can honestly say that I do not understand that one. There is going to be a team that gets Nabokov at a discount in this free agency and turn out to be very happy that they did.

And finally, for all of the Penguins fans out there, Colby Armstrong signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for three years and $9 million. I know Colby was a fan favorite here but I am glad that he signed on day one so that we would not have to hear his name continue to come up in these parts. Armstrong is a nice role player, but he is not worth the $3M per year that he received on the open market, a price that reflects the lack of forward depth available. Good for Colby and I hope to see him do well, just glad that he was never on Ray Shero’s radar.