NHL teams make splashes in opening hour of free agency
NHL teams combined to make a flurry of deals on the first shift of free agency.
Soon after the puck dropped to open the market Friday, a slew of players cashed in as franchises aggressively agreed to deals with the best players available.
Kyle Okposo and Milan Lucic each got $42 million, seven-year contracts, taking advantage of Steven Stamkos being off the market.
The Buffalo Sabres landed Okposo to lead their young team. The winger had 22 goals and 64 points last season with the New York Islanders. Buffalo was one of the teams expected to offer Stamkos $10-plus million a year if Tampa Bay let him get away, but the Sabres had to settle for Plan B after he stayed with the Lighting with a $68 million, eight-year contract.
The Edmonton Oilers lured Lucic to essentially replace Taylor Hall. The Oilers traded Hall earlier in the week to New Jersey six years after drafting him No. 1 overall. Lucic scored 20 goals and made 35 assists last season with the Los Angeles Kings after being one of the Boston Bruins' key players the previous eight seasons.
Thanks to Stamkos taking less money than he would have gotten on the open market, the Lighting had space under the $73 million salary cap to make another big move: They signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a $63 million, eight-year contract extension. He was a candidate for Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when Tampa Bay lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
After a decade in St. Louis, David Backes bolted to play for the Bruins. The center, with 206 career goals, signed a $30 million, five-year deal.
The Blues, though, made a significant deal of their own soon after the puck dropped in free agency by bringing back winger David Perron with a $7.5 million, two-year contract. The 2007 first-round pick of the Blues played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks last season, scoring 12 goals and making 24 assists.
The Detroit Red Wings, who were also interested in trying to add Stamkos, made a desperately needed move to add center Frans Nielsen after Pavel Datsyuk decided he was done playing for the franchise and in the NHL. Nielsen agreed to a six-year, $31.5 million contract, after averaging 51 points over the last three years with the New York Islanders.
Datsyuk's agent, Dan Milstein, told The Associated Press on Friday afternoon that his client hadn't yet agreed to a deal to play in Russia next season. The Red Wings gained salary-cap relief by trading Datsyuk to the Arizona Coyotes a week ago. He has a year remaining on his contract and will count $7.5 million against Arizona's salary cap. Even though it is a formality, the Coyotes have not signed off on Datsyuk playing in the Kontinental Hockey League.
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AP sports writer John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno contributed to this story.
