Teams make moves as free agency gets set to shift into gear
Several NHL teams made moves Saturday on the eve of free agency.
Detroit got its own defenseman under contract for the next two seasons by agreeing to deal with Mike Green that pays him $5.375 million annually. Signing Green could be just the start of the action for the Red Wings, who have been linked to unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier and winger Thomas Vanek.
New Jersey also shored up its goaltending situation by re-signing Eddie Lack to a $650,000, oneyear deal. The Devils also have Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid, who split time last season and in the playoffs.
A person with direct knowledge of discussions said the Buffalo Sabres are expected to sign goalie Carter Hutton, who had been the St. Louis Blues’ backup to Jake Allen. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because agreements cannot be announced until the signing period begins.
Hutton and others seem to already be ticketed for certain places, but many big-name players are still up for grabs.
Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, who tied Tavares with 36 goals last season, has been drawing significant interest and, at 29, could easily command a seven-year contract at a substantial raise over his previous $4.25 million salary. The Western Conference-champion Vegas Golden Knights have cap space but might lose wingers David Perron and James Neal, who combined for 110 points last season.
The Winnipeg Jets are doing their best to try to bring back center Paul Stastny after he was so instrumental in their playoff run. They cleared about $5.5 million in cap space by trading goaltender Steve Mason and Finnish forward Joel Armia to Montreal on Saturday but may still need more room to bring back the 32-yearold.
The Canadiens are set to buy out Mason, putting him on unconditional
waivers as the Minnesota Wild did with forward Tyler Ennis to clear cap space.
Teams looking for a center who don’t land the New York Islanders’ John Tavares will look to Stastny and Toronto’s Tyler Bozak and could look into a trade for Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who is signed for the next five years and owed a $7.5 million bonus Sunday.