When the free agent market opens up on July 1st, a handful of General Managers go crazy, throwing large sums of money at unrestricted free agents in hopes of improving their team for the following season, and beyond. Some players get more than their worth. Some astronomically more.
July 1st, 2015 was not like that. It was supposed to be, but it wasn’t.
At the strike of noon, the dinner bell rang and 30 General Managers began discussions and inking names on the dotted line. Like prior Free Agent Frenzy days, there were many players finding new teams to play for, whether they signed with them or were traded to a new destination. However, nobody expected some of the big deals that would go down, including one that left sports panels sitting in silence, scrambling to figure out all the pieces that were involved and often updating the situation with new information. As the clock hit midnight, the very first day of the free agent scramble had ended. Who came out the biggest winners? Who looks less convincing as of today? Last Word On Sports takes a look at some of the winners and losers of day one.
Day One Free Agency Winners and Losers
Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins
As aforementioned, July 1st had a giant bang that stunned hockey fans everywhere, as prolific goal-scoring forward Phil Kessel was dealt by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. General Manager Jim Rutherford may just be a genius, not only getting Toronto to retain 15% of his annual cap hit, but also extracting a draft pick. Sure, there could be cap problems as Rutherford has $37.9 million committed to Kessel, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury, but their salary crunch is still manageable. Brandon Sutter is the third-line center on a deep depth chart in Pittsburgh, but on another team he could easily be top-six. At $3.3 million on one more year, his contract is extremely attractive and could earn Pittsburgh a great deal in return, filling some holes or at the very least opening up a little more room.
The Penguins also signed 25-year-old left-winger Sergei Plotnikov to a one-year deal worth under a million bucks. Putting up two back-to-back 15-goal seasons, the Russian forward has proven he can score in the KHL, both in the regular season and the post-season. He’s a big boy, standing at 6’2 and over 200 pounds, and he plays a mean, physical game. On the Penguins top-nine, he’s dangerous.
The Penguins sought out to fix their goal-scoring woes from last season and they added Kessel for their top-six and Plotnikov from Russia. This allows one (or both) of Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis to slide down the depth chart, creating one of the deepest rosters from top to bottom that the Penguins have boasted in a long while.
Loser: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs opened up their day with an underwhelming contract handed out to P.A. Parenteau, who had been recently bought out by the Montreal Canadiens. The 32-year-old forward has been on a downward trend since the 2011-12 season, where he posted 67 points in 80 games. Last season, he scored just 8 goals and finished with 22 points. He also missed two months of action due to a head injury, but has also missed 53 games in the last two seasons.
But it’s the return from Kessel that left everyone at a loss for words. On Kessel’s contract, the Leafs are retaining 15% per year. They are also paying the $4 million roster bonus that Kessel was to receive this summer. Then you add Nick Spaling‘s $2.2 million and you’d think that there would be a significant piece coming back. Instead, they received prospects Kasperi Kapanen and Scott Harrington. Both are decent prospects, but they’re not Olli Maatta or Derrick Pouliot, two prospects that should have been at the top of the food chain for the Leafs. And the first-round selection they received from the Penguins? Lottery-protected for 2016. If the Penguins miss the playoffs next season, the pick becomes a first in 2017.
And worst of all, you still have Tyler Bozak around, who played with Kessel. In the near 900 minutes of even-strength ice time played without Phil on his wing, Bozak has managed just 14 points. Now that he’s gone, new Head Coach Mike Babcock will have to find a suitable replacement, and one that can compliment Bozak’s poor possession numbers.
Winner: Calgary Flames
General Manager Brad Treliving landed one of the hottest free agents on the market in Michael Frolik after signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a lucrative deal and retaining the services of Mikael Backlund for three more years. The Flames made the playoffs last year and advanced to the second round, but the lack of depth up front had caused too much problems and they were no match for the Anaheim Ducks. With captain Mark Giordano healthy, Hamilton added to the blue line and Frolik’s versatility at the forward position, the Flames have created a whole new dynamic to their team. They also signed Karri Ramo to a fair one-year, $3.8 million deal.
Loser: Colorado Avalanche
Paying Francois Beauchemin $4.5 million per year until he turns 37 would have made a lot more sense if the Colorado Avalanche were pushing for a Stanley Cup next season. They’re not. Beauchemin’s possession stats have typical been average at best, and were quite poor last season. The Avalanche were also among the worst in terms of advanced stats, so putting two and two together, this deal gets more confusing. The team is also repeating the same mistake they recently made with Brad Stuart, who was expected to come in and help out the defensive core but instead faltered, becoming a liability on the back-end. Blake Comeau also had a great season with Pittsburgh and cashed in on a new deal with the Avalanche. Given he’s going from playing on the Penguins top-six to dealing with a team that has a hard time controlling the puck, he’s due to regress as well.
Winners: Detroit Red Wings
After a decent season with the Blackhawks that ended with a Cup ring, Brad Richards signed a one-year deal with Detroit, earning just a million bucks more from his $2 million from last season. Experience and skill down the middle is what the Red Wings could definitely use, and he’ll be moving the puck on the powerplay that will feature some great plays and some big bodies camping in front of the net. They’ll also have a cannonading shot from the point, as defenseman Mike Green was picked up as well on a 3-year contract. He has spent the last few seasons trying to find his game in Washington but hasn’t been able to re-capture that form he once had early in his career. A rebirth to the style of Larry Murphy is what General Manager Ken Holland is hoping for. He also happens to be a right-handed shot, which is something Detroit needs. Two great signings that will help push more offense next season.
Losers: Boston Bruins
A little confusing to see them here, as they generally had a busy and productive day. They traded Reilly Smith and Marc Savard‘s contract to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jimmy Hayes, and that overall is a decent upgrade and provides cap space. They also signed Matt Beleskey to much less than he was originally hoping for, at $3.8 million per for the next five seasons, also avoiding a David Clarkson situation. At the end of the day, even if there are the minor victories in the signings and trades, it’s hard to mask what has been done and these new additions don’t cover them up too well. Milan Lucic, Carl Soderberg, Dougie Hamilton. Three players that have been replaced by Beleskey, Hayes and Zac Rinaldo, who was had for a third-round pick. There are still problems on defense and even if Beleskey can repeat his 22-goal season from last season, the Bruins will be in tough with a troublesome blue-line.
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