Free agency without the frenzy
Flat salary cap means NHL teams have less to spend this off-season
Marc Bergevin and his counterparts believed they had a pretty good grasp on how NHL free agency was going to pan out.
With the league’s salary cap staying at $81.5 million (U.S.) because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Montreal Canadiens general manager saw a shortage of money in the system and little wiggle room, especially for teams looking to make significant moves.
Turns out those predictions have been mostly spot on.
Once a frenzied sprint where GMs would throw money at big names with barely a second thought, and when much of hockey’s middle class could expect to cash in, the current freeagent market has largely been stuck in mud since it opened Friday.
Sure, a number of the big names got paid, but not exactly how they probably envisioned. And many players further down the pecking have settled for shorter deals, less money, or both. Then there are the ones still awaiting a dance partner.
“A lot of players, right now, don’t have a chair,” Bergevin said. “They might have overshot the market, and this is a reality for all of us. We have a cap that’s not going to go up in the near future, for sure, and it might be longer than we expect.”
In almost any other year, teams would have lined up to sign Taylor Hall, the Hart Trophy winner two years ago, to a long-term deal. He signed with Buffalo for one year at $8 million.
“We knew it was going to be a unique marketplace,” said the 28-year-old Hall, who could test the market again next summer.
“Once free agency started, we were made aware pretty quickly how much things have changed ... It went from wanting to get a six- or seven-year contract to thinking a one-year deal might be best for me.”
San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson said the unique nature of what’s happened since the league shut down in March through the resumption of play this summer and into the fall has presented a variety of unknowns.
“The good players are always going to get their money,” Wilson said. “(But) there’s going to be a squeeze somewhere. We’re all weeding through this journey together.”
Tyler Toffoli chose a different path compared to Hall. After scoring at least 23 goals in four of his seven full NHL seasons, the winger signed a four-year contract with Montreal that carries an average annual value of $4.25 million, a pay cut of $325,000 from his last deal.
Toffoli’s contract was just one of six across the UFA market signed by Wednesday afternoon at least four years in length with an AAV north of $4 million, joining Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8 million), Torey Krug ($6.5 million), Jacob Markstrom ($6 million), T.J. Brodie ($5 million) and Chris Tanev ($4.5 million).
A number of talented forwards are no doubt hoping to be presented with palatable offers soon.
Mike Hoffman, who scored 29 goals last season in the final year of a contract with an annual average value of $5.187 million, Mikael Granlund ($5.75 million) and Evgenii Dadonov ($4 million) are among those available.