As free agency wraps up after yet another silly season that has lasted approximately 2 weeks, it is time to break down the sneaky good and the obviously awful contracts awarded by the GMs of the greatest sim hockey league ever to exist.
Things didn't get quite as crazy as I had predicted, but very close... Let's start with the defenders and goalies, as a couple of forward battles are yet to close out.
MATT MURRAY TO ST. LOUIS - 2 x $975,000 - Darn, I really missed the boat on this one. I'm sure Murray will never regain the prior form that saw him dominate 2 leagues and win multiple cups over half a decade, but considering his dominant 25 games in limited action over the past 2 seasons (yes, mostly in the AHL), I think that Eric taking a flier on him at UNDER $1 Million per was an epic under-the-radar add very early on. GRADE A+
PHILIPP GRUBAUER TO BUFFALO - 5 x $2,500,000 - Was Jared the only one who needed a starting goalie?! As far as rates for this season are concerned, he was the top goalie available. So, wow, well done, Jared. Now, do I think he could be trash for most of the rest of his deal? Sure. But what a great yearly salary to pick him up for (even with the 6.25 million SB). I have Grubauer rated around 10th to 12th best out of all goaltenders this season, so unless you are really targeting an elite tendy for this season, this was certainly one of the savvy moves of free agency. GRADE A+
CONNOR MURPHY TO TAMPA - 3 x $2,500,000 - While I'm not sure what the future will hold for the real-life Connor Murphy as he ages and potentially gets pushed down the depth chart, I will say this: for a stay-at-home 93 DF defender, I do love the tiny AAV and think that Eric found good value here. I wouldn't love this as a 5, or even 4-year contract, but I think 3 was a nice sweet spot to settle on. Well done, Mr. Ferraro. GRADE A
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK TO VEGAS - 2 x $11,000,000 - There is a lot to break down here. Hellebuyck doesn't have great rates this season, obviously, so this signing is for the future. Though to only give him a 2-year deal tells me that Joe doesn't have faith in him long-term. Hellebuyck is actually the Vezina Trophy favourite (according to some sportsbooks), so I do love the signing, as the experts believe a rebound is in order. I guess Joe just doesn't see an extended return to glory, though. If he's wrong, I imagine he'll be sorry he didn't attempt more term. I thought ahead of time that it could really pay off big-time for whoever signed him; I just would've liked to see Joe be more adventurous and gamble on a couple more seasons. GRADE B
HENRI JOKIHARJU TO MONTREAL - 5 x $2,000,000 - The former 1st round draft pick has had a fairly underwhelming career, but seemed to have found a nice little home in Boston. He picked up a solid pro-rated 30 points last season, and although I don't see him doing anything spectacular in either the sim or the NHL, he's still young enough that a cheap flier at only $2 million per was a tidy little move here for Steve. GRADE B+
VICTOR HEDMAN TO ANAHEIM - 1 x $8,000,000 - The winner of this summer's free agency is undoubtedly Devon Cordell. While I don't love the $12 million that he threw Hedman's way to ensure his services, he continues to sport fantastic rates even into his old age and his PP2 (rather than PP1) era. His DU would be a concern given that injuries are supposedly being ramped up this season, but when healthy, he's still at least a borderline top-pairing D-man. I like the one-year term for him. GRADE B
BRAYDEN MCNABB TO THE ISLANDERS - 5 x $2,000,000 - The 5-year contract for a 35.5-year-old seems a little excessive, but the $2 million a season is a solid number to be sure. He may not put up a point this season for Joe, but he's massive and still good physically and defensively, so I'm sure he'll slot in on the PK and bottom pairing. Definitely a depth signing, but Joe is still a contender, so I think this was a nice little fit in Long Island. GRADE B
ALEX LYON TO BUFFALO - 5 x $2,000,000 - Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a strong free agency for goaltenders, but Jared landing the two top-rated ones is for sure a win in my books. I had Lyon rated between Grubauer and Helly and the 2nd best option for teams needing immediate help. Jared went from looking hopeless at the position to having some great (at least short-term) depth there. GRADE A
ALEX NEDELJKOVIC TO MONTREAL - 5 x $2,750,000 - Great signing for Steve. Ned has a nice little gig going for him playing backup minutes in San Jose these days. He's still somewhat young too, so even if the Sharks decide to move on from him, he could find another home elsewhere to showcase his skillset. Vardy didn't even have to offer him any signing bonus. Now he may not have the best rates currently, but a nice investment going forward for Steve. GRADE B+
ANTHONY STOLARZ TO MINNESOTA - 4 x $3,200,000 - With Bobrovsky in the fold in Toronto, it's hard to know what the future holds in regards to playing time for Stolarz. Either way, he's had a fantastic career when he's been given the reins (outside of a couple of stretches last season). I am a big fan of his, and with Bobrovsky's age and recent inconsistencies himself, I like the move by Toby to snag him at a very manageable $3.2 million a season for the next 4 years. GRADE B+
ADAM LARSSON TO TORONTO - 2 x $4,000,000 - Steady as she goes seems to be Larsson's career motto. Outside of his DF, which is always in the good to very good range, his other rates consistently don't wow, but are solid enough to give him some value as a bottom-4 defender. I think $4 million a season is the high end you'd want to give him, but the term is nice and short, and Garrett didn't have to fork over any cash for him either. GRADE B
OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON TO VEGAS - 3 x $2,000,000 - The lack of interest around OEL during free agency was very puzzling to me. Because his rates for next season will likely drop off due to Darren Raddysh now running the Leafs ' power play, I figured there wouldn't be a lineup for his services. But his current offensive rates are great after being the man for the Leafs for most of last season. Joe has a sneaky solid team this year, so I love this move, and it should help him out while on the man advantage. GRADE B+
ERIK CERNAK TO SAN JOSE - 4 x $4,000,000 - Cernak this season is definitely a D-man with both some clear strengths and clear weaknesses. The 29-30 year old UFAs certainly get a little extra attention, and Cernak clearly caught Sumit's eye. He has real value as a hard-hitting, defensive workhorse, but there will be nights when he takes multiple bad penalties and won't ever make up for it by chipping in offensively. I don't hate the yearly salary or the SB amount, but both added together make this one a little iffy for me. GRADE C+
BRENDEN DILLON TO MINNESOTA - 3 x $2,000,000 - I won't dwell too long on yet another stay-at-home defender who doesn't do much on the other side of the puck, but much like Cernak, he might spend a bit too long in the sin bin, but is a solid PKer / 3rd pairing guy when behaving himself. GRADE B
COLTON PARAYKO TO NASHVILLE - 4 x $5,300,000 - Alright, so now we have the much more disciplined version of Erik Cernak and Brendan Dillon. So, clearly more valuable than them at least for this season, but is it enough to justify the $5.3 million price tag? He is between the 2 in age, so that doesn't really settle things. Overall, not a wow signing, but not the worst either. GRADE B-
DOUGIE HAMILTON TO NASHVILLE - 4 x $5,700,000 - Hamilton has some sneaky-good rates this season. Can't go wrong with a D-man having scoring in the 60s combined with a defense in the 80s and, of course, his usual massive ST rating. I think this is a good signing for this year. However, Hamilton's DF is usually much lower. So, if he does regress closer to that this season, and loses his PP1 gig to Luke Hughes at some point, the deal won't age well. GRADE B
ERIK KARLSSON TO LOS ANGELES - 2 x $7,500,000 - Wow, how did this happen?! The guy with apparently no financial wiggle room, who had to have a lesson in how the salary cap works, lands the best UFA available?! Mind-boggling stuff. Good for Rumpy though. His rates are 97 SK, 91 PH, 78 PA, 61 SC, and 85 DF. Extremely impressive. The short length of the contract makes it even more appealing given Karlsson's age. The Kings are clearly a Cup contender heading into next season. GRADE A+
MIKE MATHESON and JACOB TROUBA TO DETROIT - 5 x $6,999,999 and 5 x $6,950,000 - Considering I signed both of these players, and I didn't bow out of the running, means I liked them / liked what I was offering them, at least to a certain extent. The offense from Matheson... and elite skating... was enough, when combined with his 99 DF, to justify a big payday in my books. Trouba, while less impressive at quick glance, is strong in every single rating across the board. The $6.95 million per year isn't a steal, but it did not command any SB, which was nice. GRADES B
SETH JONES TO SAN JOSE - 4 x $9,500,000 - There are a lot of moving parts to assemble with this signing. I think considering there are no immediate threats to his running of the Panthers' top PP unit, Jones has great value in the sim. His DF is solid, though not always that good. Skating does suck, and he isn't particularly physical. The term and salary are probably justified. The $17 million-ish SB needed to lock him up was a little gross, though. GRADE C