Knights scoop centre Stastny
Canadian clubs quiet beyond Tavares deal, Canucks add forwards
While new Maple Leaf John Tavares was the biggest name to move, veterans Paul Stastny, Jack Johnson, Michael Grabner and Chris Kunitz also changed teams on the opening day of NHL free agency Sunday.
Stastny was perhaps the most sought-after centre on the market after Tavares. The Winnipeg Jets were believed to have off-loaded goalie Steve Mason’s salary on Montreal last week to leave cap-room to make him a big offer to stay.
But the 32-year-old Stastny, acquired at the trade deadline, and a key piece in the Jets’ playoff run, opted to sign with the team that beat them in the Western Conference final, the Vegas Golden Knights, for three years at $6.5 million per season.
The Jets also lost backup goalie Michael Hutchinson to a one-year $1.3 million deal with Florida, but picked up goalie Laurent Brossoit from Edmonton for one year and $650,000.
Johnson, one of the top defencemen on the market, left Columbus for a five-year, $16.25 million deal with Pittsburgh, while a former Penguin, 38year-old Chris Kunitz, left Tampa Bay for Chicago for one year at $1 million. Grabner moved from New Jersey to Arizona on a three-year pact paying $3.350 million per season.
A new wrinkle this year was a weeklong negotiating window ahead of “free agent frenzy,” so many deals were sealed in advance. That led to a rush as the market opened.
“It’s a busy marketplace; you’ve got to be careful at this time of the year,” said Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving. “As an industry we’re getting more familiar with this courting period. “I don’t know if it’s good, bad or what it is. I would say it’s very similar to years past. You’ve got to be careful how you go about your business.”
The Flames made their big move last week with a multiplayer trade that saw Dougie Hamilton, Michael Ferland and a prospect go to Carolina for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm.
As free agency started, they signed 31-year-old Hurricanes centre Derek Ryan to a threeyear contract worth $9.375 million.
The Vancouver Canucks were looking for size and grit up front when they signed Washington centre Jay Beagle and Dallas winger Antoine Roussel to four-year deals worth an average of $3 million per year, and added forward Tim Schaller from Boston on a two-year contract, worth an average of $1.9 million annually.
“We want to be a harder team to play against and I think the players we added make us harder,” GM Jim Benning said.