Revisiting the opening of the NHL's 2018 free-agency period

John Tavares (TOR) – 7 years, $77M – This one came as a bit of a surprise given what Toronto had on the horizon for signing their top young stars. At an $11M AAV, the contract was never going to be a bargain at but he has averaged over a point per game over his two years with the team while taking over as team captain. He’s providing Toronto with what it expected – a legitimate top center – but with the cap crunch coming as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this deal along with those handed to their top youngsters could soon paint the Maple Leafs into a corner when it comes to trying to keep the core together. Morgan Rielly and Frederik Andersen aren’t that far away from being UFA-eligible themselves.

James van Riemsdyk (PHI) – 5 years, $35M – Who says you can’t go back to a former team?  JVR did just that by signing with Philadelphia, who initially drafted him second overall back in 2007. He gave up a bit of length to take a higher salary relative to expectation and while he hasn’t quite produced at a $7M level, he has been reasonably productive. He's tallied 46 goals over his first two years despite a dip in ice time compared to his average with Toronto. One area of some concern is van Riemsdyk’s drop in power-play production – he had 39 points with the man advantage over his last two seasons with Toronto but just 22 with the Flyers.

Paul Stastny (VGK) – 3 years, $19.5M – A late effort by Winnipeg to free up money to sign Stastny proved unfruitful as he moved on to Vegas, where his production has taken a dip. Injuries limited him to just 50 games in his first season while this year he had the lowest point per game average of his career (0.54) over his 71 games. The $6.5M AAV isn’t an ideal price tag, but Vegas will be out of the contract a year from now and Stastny still provides the team with some quality depth down the middle.

Ones To Forget

Ilya Kovalchuk (LA) – 3 years, $18.75M – Kovalchuk’s return to the NHL from Russia cost more than expected, especially for someone on a 35-plus contract. The early returns were good as he had 14 points over his first 14 games with the Kings before things went completely off the rails. His ice time dropped quickly and he was told late in the year that he could skate with the team if he wanted to but wouldn’t play. It didn’t get any better this year and he was eventually sent home to await a contract termination once a signing bonus installment was paid. Kovalchuk wound up with Montreal before he was shipped to Washington near the trade deadline while Los Angeles now has $6.25M in dead cap space for next season because of the 35-plus distinction.

Jack Johnson (PIT) – 5 years, $16.25M – Handing a 32-year old player that many viewed as a third pairing option a five-year deal raised a lot of eyebrows. Johnson’s no longer the top pairing player he was in his prime but he’s still decent in a limited role. However, for a team that’s cap-strapped as often as Pittsburgh is, having a player costing $3.25M against the cap in that role isn’t ideal. It’s not a massive price tag but with the salary cap now flattening out, this could cause some problems in the near future.

John Moore (BOS) – 5 years, $13.75M – The $2.75M isn’t a terrible price tag on its own but the five-year term didn’t make much sense then and makes less now. Yes, injuries cost him 30 games this season but he was still scratched on several occasions while his ice time dipped to 16:33 per night. It’s fair to suggest he’s not a part of their top six now and with some youngsters on the cusp of making it, Moore may not make it back into that group.

Jay Beagle (VAN) – 4 years, $12M – For years, Beagle has filled a specific role and done it well – he wins faceoffs and logs a lot of ice time shorthanded. That role carries some value on a lot of teams but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a fourth-liner. Giving a fourth-liner $3M per year is risky, especially for four years and even more so knowing that he was 33 in his first season with the Canucks. Beagle still wins draws and kills penalties but he struggled considerably outside of those situations and two more years of that deal on the books isn’t ideal.

Leo Komarov (NYI) – 4 years, $12M – Komarov’s at his best in a limited role where his physicality can make a difference. The Islanders had several of those players when they signed him – they still do – and his effectiveness has waned over the first two years to the point where he was in the press box as a scratch on multiple occasions. At $1M, he would provide some value still but at three times that, it may become a problematic deal over the next couple of years.

Bargains

David Perron (STL) – 4 years, $16M – Going back to a former team isn’t incredibly rare but it’s still relatively uncommon. Going back for a third stint with the same team is much rarer but that’s what happened here. Perron had a career year in Vegas with 66 points so this was somewhat of a below-market deal and he has played quite well on it. While his point per game average with Vegas was the best of his career, these last two seasons were his second and third highest. $4M doesn’t always get you a lot on the open market but a capable top-six forward is certainly better than most.

Jonathan Bernier (DET) – 3 years, $9M – This begins the run on goalies as basically every other bargain deal was signed by a netminder. Bernier essentially took over as the starter for the Red Wings this season while faring okay in the first year while in a platoon role. The overall numbers don’t look great but considering how much Detroit has struggled, they weren’t going to be great. If he winds up being the starter again this season, the value will go up even more.

Jaroslav Halak (BOS) – 2 years, $5.5M – Getting someone who had started as much as Halak had for this price was impressive enough. But the value he has given the Bruins is more than that as they have been able to lighten Tuukka Rask’s workload and the benefits have been significant. They’ve been among the top goaltending tandems in the league since then. Halak has embraced the role and already has signed an extension for next season.

Anton Khudobin (DAL) – 2 years, $5.5M – Rask’s old partner with Boston moved on to the Stars and the results were similar to Halak with the Bruins. He picked up a significant share of the workload which helped keep Ben Bishop rested and both netminders responded with strong performances. With more teams starting to see the value of a platoon, Khudobin should be well-positioned to earn a raise on the open market this summer even with it not being a great time to hit free agency. Dallas will certainly make an effort to keep him as well.

Petr Mrazek (CAR) – 1 year, $1.5M – After a rough 2017-18 campaign, Mrazek’s market was minimal so he joined the Hurricanes with the hopes of bouncing back. He did exactly that, posting a 2.39 GAA with a .914 SV% during the regular season which helped propel the Hurricanes to a surprising Eastern Conference Finals appearance. At a time where the good backups were signing for a fair bit more than $1.5M, Carolina got someone who basically did just as well for a fraction of the price. Mrazek was able to parlay that strong performance into some job security as he landed a two-year, $6.25M deal last July.