Where the stars don’t come out The big names are rare game on the NHL freeagent market.
GMs search for sensible solutions, the Leafs and Marleau included
Patrick Marleau has spent 19 years in a fruitless search for the Stanley Cup. He wants his name on it badly.
Marleau believes it’s the Maple Leafs — and not the San Jose Sharks that made it to the final just two springs ago — that give him his best chance.
“It was the team, I think. The excitement that’s around it, the youth, the coaching staff, the coach, the management, the way they see the game going, the players that they have on their roster,” Marleau said on a conference call Sunday. “It’s extremely exciting to be a part of that.”
The longtime Shark signed a threeyear deal with the Maple Leafs worth $18.75 million that contains a full no-movement clause. Marleau turns 38 in September and becomes Toronto’s oldest and highest-paid player.
“I think I’ve worn out a few carpets pacing around the house trying to make this decision over the last couple days,” said Marleau. “I’m extremely excited and happy to be part of the Maple Leafs organization. It’s definitely an honour to be able to call myself a Maple Leaf. The decision took me quite a while to come to, but I’ve made it and I’m happy with it and I can’t wait to get started.”
Moves like signing Marleau and Kevin Shattenkirk, who signed Saturday with the New York Rangers, are rare in the early days of the 2017 free agent season.
Teams seem more worried about keeping their core together — like Montreal did in signing Carey Price to an extension — rather than bringing in a big-name, big-money players.
Here’s a look at some trends early in the NHL’s free-agent signing period.
A LOCKOUT LOOMS
Hockey could be interrupted by a lockout for the fourth time in commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure as early as the 2020-21 season. Agents are aware of this and are lockout-proofing long-term contracts — i.e., ensuring players get paid even if they don’t play. The surefire way of that: Signing bonuses, which are paid in the off-season, which would not typically be part of lockout dates. Price’s deal includes $70 million in signing bonuses. Marc-Edouard Vlasic will get $5 million of $14 million in singing bonuses in the summer of 2020. Cam Fowler, meanwhile, is guaranteed his lowest take-home pay ($4.75 million) in 2020-21 and 202223, the two most likely lockout years. He gets paid more than $6 million and $7 million in the other years of his eight-year deal.
RESTRAINT
The first day of free agency saw 101 players to sign contracts worth more than $438 million, according to Cap- Friendly.com. More than $140 million went to extensions to retain players. The second day saw minor moves around the periphery of teams. There were no crazy deals for unrestricted free agents that will give teams buyout hangovers in a few years, the way some deals from last year might, including Milan Lucic (seven years, $42 million) in Edmonton or Andrew Ladd (seven years, $38.5 million) with the Islanders. Shattenkirk’s four-year, $26.6 million deal is the biggest for a UFA switching teams this year, and pales in comparison to the Lucic or Ladd deals. If Marleau fails to work out with the Leafs, it’s only for three years.
CORES ARE INTACT
The big money was shelled out to keep core players, something teams can do when players are one year away from contract expiration. Price, Vlasic, Cam Fowler. Connor McDavid shortly. In fact, no team over-reached for free agents, each seemed to think the core players they had, or had just traded for, were good enough. There are no rebuilds through free agency, although Nashville in adding Nick Bonino, and the Rangers in adding Shattenkirk added significant pieces to keep their momentum going. Vancouver is hoping Sam Gagner, Michael Del Zotto and Alex Burmistrov — highly regarded talents with a history of underachieving — can help turn the tide.
CREASE CAROUSEL
There wasn’t a single team that solved its goaltending issues. Philadelphia, Winnipeg and Colorado went into the summer looking for netminding help and found it by signing goalies that had failed in their previous stops. The Flyers now have Brian Elliott, on his third team in three years. The Jets have Steve Mason, whom the Flyers no longer wanted. The Avalanche have ex-Leaf Jonathan Bernier, now getting his third “new” start. In fact through trades and signings over the past few days, a perfect goalie loop is formed: Mike Smith (Arizona to Calgary), Elliott (Calgary to Philadelphia), Mason (Philadelphia to Winnipeg), Ondrej Pavelec (Winnipeg to the Rangers) and Antti Raanta (Rangers to Arizona).
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
When it came to attracting UFAs, some GMs skewed to the familiar: Patrick Sharp left Dallas to return to Chicago, where he had his best seasons; Mike Cammalleri left New Jersey to return to Los Angeles, the team that drafted him; Justin Williams left Washington for Carolina, where he won his first Stanley Cup; goalie Anders Lindback returns to Nashville, where the hype about him being the next big thing first began.