NHL free agency blog

Welcome to NHL free agency. The market opened at noon ET on Wednesday and there has been a flurry of signings, along with some trades. Several players changed teams and some stayed put. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen was following the action all day with our free agency blog. .

6:30 p.m. ET

Dougie Hamilton is now officially a defenseman for the New Jersey Devils. New Jesrey has announced it signed Hamilton for seven years and $63 million ($9 million annual-average value).
Hamilton scored 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 55 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, tying for seventh in the NHL among defenseman in points and finishing alone in ninth in assists.
The 28-year-old scored 121 points (42 goals, 79 assists) in 184 games with the Hurricanes the past three seasons.
For more on Hamilton, read the 5:30 p.m. ET blog entry.
The Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman Alex Edler to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. He joins center Phillip Danault, who signed a six-year contract worth $5.5 million annually with the Kings.
And with that, the live blog is no longer going to be live. It's more than 6,500 words of breaking news and analysis of one of arguably the craziest day on the NHL calendar.
Read it. Enjoy it. And read all of NHL.com's coverage for reporting insight and analysis on all of the day's big transactions.
Stay tuned for more too, because the news won't stop just because this blog is.

6 p.m. ET

As we wait for the New Jersey Devils reported signing of Dougie Hamilton to become official, the Boston Bruins have made all of their signings Wednesday official.
It's quite the list.
Linus Ullmark, goalie: 4 years, $5 million AAV
Nick Foligno, forward: 2 years, $3.8 million AAV
Erik Haula, forward, 2 years, $2.375 million AAV
Tomas Nosek, forward: 2 years, $1.75 million AAV
Mike Reilly, defenseman: 3 years, $3 million AAV
Derek Forbort, defenseman: 3 years, $3 million AAV
The Bruins also announced several two-way contracts and that goalie Dan Vladar was traded to the Calgary Flames for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
So, Ullmark is their new No. 1 goalie, teaming with Jeremy Swayman at the start of the season.
Foligno and Haula give the Bruins middle-six forward depth. Nosek could be a fourth-liner, as he was with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Reilly and Forbort fortify the left side of the Bruins defense.
But the Bruins will have to do some salary cap finagling to get center David Krejci under contract. He's an unrestricted free agent.
In addition, the Anaheim Ducks made it official that they signed center Ryan Getzlaf to a one-year contract.

5:30 p.m. ET

Two big reported signings to talk about:
1. The New Jersey Devils signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year, $63 million contract ($9 million AAV).

2. The Boston Bruins and goalie Linus Ullmark.

First, on Hamilton, if signed he instantly becomes the Devils' No. 1 defenseman. P.K. Subban's $9 million cap charge comes off the Devils' books at the end of this season, so for one year the Devils, who have the cap space, will have $18 million locked into Hamilton and Subban.
The Devils opened $3.733 million in cap space on their defense this season by trading Will Butcher and a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the Buffalo Sabres for future considerations.
But is Hamilton a No. 1 defenseman?
He scored like one with the Carolina Hurricanes, but he wasn't their No. 1 because that's Jaccob Slavin. Hamilton will certainly give the Devils a huge lift offensively and on the power play, but he will have to prove himself as an elite defender without Slavin as insulation.
The move, though, is good for the Devils because it shows they will pay for top free agents AND that top free agents want to go to New Jersey. That's big, but now Hamilton has to prove worth it.
On Ullmark, let's just say the Bruins goaltending situation is intriguing for this season. Let's not even worry about the three seasons he would have left on his contract. They prove that the Bruins believe in him enough to think he's their future No. 1.
Ullmark will go in as the No. 1 ahead of Jeremy Swayman.
Tuukka Rask could eventually want to return to the Bruins too when he's fully recovered from hip surgery, which could be sometime in February, otherwise known as shortly before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
If Rask wants back in, the Bruins will be interested. But if Ullmark dominates and proves he's a true No. 1, they probably wouldn't be signing Rask to be their top goalie anymore. And what if Swayman plays well enough too.
There's a lot there, but for now the Bruins need goaltending and they have it in Ullmark.
Ullmark went 9-6-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 20 games with the Sabres last season. Those are pretty strong numbers when you consider the Sabres finished last in the overall NHL standings.
He was 17-14-3 with a 2.69 GAA and .915 save percentage in 34 games with the Sabres in 2019-20, when they were 25th in the overall NHL standings.
In another news, the Detroit Red Wings signed forward Pius Suter to a two-year contract. He didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Chicago Blackhawks, which is why he was an unrestricted free agent. He scored 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 55 games last season.

5 p.m. ET

It's been a busy last 30 minutes.
The Vegas Golden Knights signed forward Mattias Janmark to a one-year contract worth $2 million. Janmark scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in 16 playoff games with the Golden Knights last season.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Ian Cole to a one-year, $2.9 million contract. Cole and Ethan Bear, acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the day, are new to a Hurricanes' blue line that is expected to lose Dougie Hamilton.
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a two-year, $2 million contract ($1 million AAV).
The Lightning lost third-line center Yanni Gourde to the Seattle Kraken and traded fourth-line center Tyler Johnson to the Chicago Blackhawks, so Bellemare fills a bottom-six need.
The Calgary Flames made it official that they've signed former Lightning forward Blake Coleman to a six-year contract worth $4.9 million annually. Coleman played on the Lightning's third line with Gourde the past two seasons, winning the Stanley Cup twice.
In addition, the Arizona Coyotes signed goalie Carter Hutton to a one-year contract and the Nashville Predators signed goalie David Rittich to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.
Hutton could get a lot of playing time in Arizona if the Coyotes trade Darcy Kuemper, which is a possibility. Rittich will play behind Juuse Saros in Nashville.
Forward Mike Hoffman is reportedly signing with the Montreal Canadiens.

It appears center Ryan Getzlaf new contract with the Anaheim Ducks is close to being done.

Getzlaf was addressed earlier in the blog in the 1 p.m. ET entry. Check that out because nothing has changed in the past four hours.
It also appears forward Nick Foligno is heading to the Boston Bruins.

Foligno has a soft spot in his heart for Boston.
His daughter, Milana, had her first surgery to correct the mitral valve in her heart at the Boston Children's Hospital. She was three weeks old and the 17th baby in the world to have the surgery to replace her mitral valve.
Nick and his wife, Janelle, made a $500,000 donation to the Boston Children's Hospital in November of 2016.

4:30 p.m. ET

The Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins still need goaltending help.
The Seattle Kraken all of a sudden are loaded at the position with the addition of former Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer on a six-year contract worth $5.9 million annually to join Chris Driedger and Vitek Vanecek.
It's possible Vanecek could be on the move out of Seattle. Would the Washington Capitals have interest in re-acquiring him after losing him in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft to Seattle? They should. So should the Avalanche, and the Bruins for that matter.
It's possible goalie Darcy Kuemper could be on the move from the Arizona Coyotes and could he be a target of the Avalanche? It certainly seems plausible.
What happens now with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and is he an option for a team in need of a No. 1 goalie if he doesn't want to play for the Chicago Blackhawks, who acquired him in a trade Tuesday?
There have been multiple media reports all day linking defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the New Jersey Devils, but nothing is official yet.
The Devils have signed goalie Jonathan Bernier to a two-year, $8.25 million contract ($4.125 million average annual value).
Similarly, goalie Frederik Andersen is linked to the Carolina Hurricanes, but nothing is official there yet either.
The Hurricanes have signed goalie Antti Raanta to a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million AAV). They lost Petr Mrazek to the Toronto Maple Leafs (three year contract, $3.8 million AAV), James Reimer to the San Jose Sharks (two year contract) and Bernier to the Devils.
The New York Islanders have been very quiet, which is not surprising because that's general manager Lou Lamoriello's M.O. Nothing leaks out of the Islanders with Lamoriello in charge, but there have been reports that they are re-signing right wing Kyle Palmieri, signing left wing Zach Parise and working to re-sign center Casey Cizikas.
We'll see on that front.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they signed forward Michael Bunting.
There is still a lot to be determined.

4 p.m. ET

The biggest news since our last entry has nothing to do with the free-agent class from this year. It's forward Brayden Point signing an eight-year contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth $9.5 million annually, the same cap charge forward Nikita Kucherov carries.
This might be the most impactful signing of the day and it's a contract that doesn't kick in until the 2022-23 season.
Point is elite in every sense of the word. He scores, skates, backchecks, gets open, passes, etc. as well as just about anyone in the NHL. He's already a two-time Stanley Cup champion and the Lightning, even though they've lost some important players, should remain contenders for years to come.
Point joins fellow Lightning core players in Kucherov, defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy who signed contract extension when they still had a year remaining on their previous contracts.
The fact that all of these players are signing extensions nearly a year before they can test the free-agent market speaks to what the Lightning have built in Tampa Bay. It's not changing any time soon.
Getting Point under contract now also takes away a potential huge headache for the Lightning. His future and the term of his next contract would have been a topic of conversation all season if the Lightning didn't get it done now.
In other news, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they've signed goalie Antti Raanta to a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million AAV).
The Hurricanes are also expected to sign goalie Frederik Andersen.
The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Luke Schenn to a two-year contract ($850,000). He won the Stanley Cup the past two years with the Lightning.
The Nashville Predators announced the four-year, $20 million contract for forward Mikael Granlund.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Kurtis Gabriel to a one-year, $750,000 contract.

3:30 p.m. ET

The market has been open for three and a half hours and still it's been busy, but several impact players remain on the market.
Forwards Brandon Saad, Zach Parise, David Krejci, Casey Cizikas, Kyle Palmieri, Mike Hoffman, Eric Staal, Mattias Janmark, James Neal and Nick Foligno are all available.
Dougie Hamilton headlines the group of defensemen who are still not signed, though he's reportedly going to the New Jersey Devils. Among the other defensemen available are Ryan Murray, Jason Demers, Brendan Smith, Erik Gudbranson, Erik Gustafsson, Sami Vatanen, Jordan Oesterle and Dmitry Kulikov.
Linus Ullmark is the top UFA goalie remaining.
Some signings have come in in the last half hour.
The Edmonton Oilers finally made the contract for forward Zach Hyman official. It's seven years and worth $5.5 million annually.
Hyman will bring some bite, grit and goal scoring in a top-nine role to the Oilers, who can use all of it. He proved he's capable of playing with elite players in Toronto (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitchell Marner), so perhaps he fits with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward Brock McGinn to a four year contract that carries a $2.75 million cap charge.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed forward Josh Leivo to a one-year, $750,000 contract. They also announced forward Jordan Martinook's three-year contract ($1.8 million AAV).
The Vancouver Canucks brought back defenseman Travis Hamonic on a two-year, $6 million contract ($3 million AAV) and forward Brandon Sutter on a one-year, $1.125 million contract. They also signed goalie Jaroslav Halak to a one-year, $1.5 million contract that could have an extra $1.5 million in bonuses.
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward David Kampf to a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million AAV).
The Buffalo Sabres signed forward Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year, $1.05 million contract.
The Detroit Red Wings signed defenseman Jordan Oesterle to a two-year contract.

3 p.m. ET

Petr Mrazek is now officially a goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mrazek signed a three-year contract worth $3.8 million annually with Toronto. He will form a goalie tandem with Jack Campbell that will cost Toronto $5.45 million on the salary cap.
It could be great value for the cap money spent on goaltending for the Maple Leafs.
Mrazek has a career 2.59 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 275 regular season games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. He is 128-96-31, including 6-2-3 with a 2.06 GAA and .911 save percentage in 12 games last season with Carolina.
The Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Cody Ceci to a four-year contract worth $3.25 million annually. Ceci effectively replaces Ethan Bear, who Edmonton traded to the Hurricanes for forward Warren Foegele earlier Wednesday.
Ceci scored 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 53 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. He led the Penguins' defense with 70 blocked shots and played 18:31 per game.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made the signing of center Sean Kuraly official. Kuraly, who is from Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb, signed a four-year, $10 million contract ($2.5 million AAV).
The homecoming storyline is nice for Kuraly, but the Blue Jackets are getting a big (6-foot-2, 213 pounds) center to play on their third or fourth line. He can drive a line to some offense too. And he kills penalties. It's a good signing for Columbus.
The Hurricanes signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a one-year, $1 million contract. DeAngelo had his contract bought out by the New York Rangers, which made him an unrestricted free agent.
DeAngelo's offense should replace what the Hurricanes got from defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who is reportedly signing with the New Jersey Devils. DeAngelo has scored 106 points (24 goals, 82 assists) in 206 NHL games, including career highs in goals (15), assists (38) and points (53) in 2019-20.

2:40 p.m. ET

A couple of signings to report in the last 20 minutes.
The Edmonton Oilers re-signed defenseman Tyson Barrie to a three-year contract worth $4.5 million annually. Barrie led all NHL defenseman with 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) last season. He scored 23 points on the power play (four goals, 19 assists).
Re-signing Barrie keeps the Oilers' NHL-best power play together. Edmonton was 27.6 percent on the power play last season.
The Oilers are expected to announce they signed forward Zach Hyman too. That's not official yet.
The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Andrew Cogliano to a one-year contract. He joins forward Nick Bonino and goalie James Reimer in San Jose. They both signed two year contracts with the Sharks.
The Sharks still have a core group of players they believe in, including forwards Logan Couture, Timo Meier, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc, and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mario Ferraro. They've added more veterans to it in an attempt at getting back to being a Stanley Cup Playoff contender.
The Florida Panthers have re-signed defenseman Brandon Montour to a three-year contract. They acquired Montour before the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. He scored four points (two goals, two assists) in 12 games with the Panthers last season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made the signing of defenseman Zach Bogosian official. It's a three-year contract ($850,000 AAV). He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020.

2:20 p.m. ET

It's official now, the Seattle Kraken have signed goalie Philipp Grubauer to a six-year contract worth $5.9 million annually.
Check out the 2 p.m. ET entry for what this means, dominoes that could fall. But Grubauer to the Kraken is done and it will have a multi-layered impact.
The Kraken also announced they signed forward Jaden Schwartz to a five-year contract worth $5.5 million annually.
Schwartz was an option for the Kraken to pick in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, but they chose defenseman Vince Dunn from the St. Louis Blues instead, possibly because they knew they could circle back with Schwartz when the market opened and sign him then. That's two for one for the Kraken from the Blues.
Schwartz won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. He's 29 and scored 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 40 games with St. Louis last season.
The Los Angeles Kings have signed center Phillip Danault to a six-year contract worth $5.5 million annually.
Danault slides in behind Anze Kopitar as the Kings' second-line center, the replacement for Jeff Carter, who Los Angeles traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline last season. He could eventually become their third center as Los Angeles' prospects continue to develop, including Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte.
For now, good luck winning a face-off against the Kings top six forward group. Kopitar won 57.3 percent of his face-offs last season (661 of 1,154) and Danault won 52.5 percent of his (476 of 907) with the Montreal Canadiens last season.
The 28-year-old Danault, like Kopitar, is a Selke Trophy candidate on an almost annual basis.
The San Jose Sharks signed goalie James Reimer to a two-year contract. The Sharks bought out the contract of Martin Jones earlier Wednesday. They now have Reimer and Adin Hill as their goalie tandem.
Jones signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Sharks also announced they have signed center Nick Bonino to a two-year contract.
San Jose does not reveal financial details in contracts.
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they signed goalie Brian Elliott to a one-year, $900,000 contract to be the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Montreal Canadiens announced contracts for defenseman David Savard (four years) and forward Cedric Paquette (one year). Savard won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning last season. Paquette won the Cup with the Lightning in 2020.

2 p.m. ET

Let's start the latest update right here, with multiple reports saying goalie Philipp Grubauer is signing with the Seattle Kraken.
For starters, that would give the Kraken a 1-2 punch of Grubauer, who was third in the Vezina Trophy voting last season, and Chris Driedger, which would in theory make Vitek Vanecek expendale.
Seattle chose Vanecek from the Washington Capitals in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. The Capitals need a goalie because they lost Vanecek. Could the Kraken try to trade Vanecek back to Washington? Interesting indeed.
Then there's the Colorado Avalanche, who would need a new No. 1 goalie if Grubauer goes to the Kraken. Could Vanecek then be on the move to the Kraken? Does this put them in the mix to try to acquire Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes. He's on the trade market.
And what about Marc-Andre Fleury to the Avalanche in a trade if the goalie doesn't want to report to the Chicago Blackhawks, who acquired him in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
There's a lot to unpack here regarding Grubauer to the Kraken, so stay tuned.
The Ottawa Senators signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto to a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million average annual value).
The Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly signing defenseman Ian Cole to a two-year contract, further proof that Dougie Hamilton is not returning, which has been widely speculated. The Hurricanes also acquired defenseman Ethan Bear from the Edmonton Oilers earlier Wednesday.
Tweet from @FriedgeHNIC: Ian Cole 1x2.9 in Carolina
The Hurricanes are also reportedly close to signing goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta.
The Kraken have also signed center Alexander Wennberg to a three-year contract ($4.5 million AAV).
The Chicago Blackhawks signed forward Jujhar Khaira to a two-year contract ($975,000 AAV) and defenseman Jake McCabe to a four-year contract ($4.0 million AAV).

1:40 p.m. ET

The biggest news in the last 20 minutes was the Chicago Blackhawks signing defenseman Seth Jones to an eight-year contract worth $9.5 million annually.
Jones' contract was widely reported when they acquired him Friday, but now it's official.
It's a lot of money for Jones, but the Blackhawks clearly identified the 26-year-old as their cornerstone defenseman for many years and believe he can do for them what Victor Hedman has done for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
We'll see how this plays out over the next several years, but the Blackhawks have a lot of work to do to make it so that Jones can do for them what Hedman has done for the Lightning.
Hedman, by the way, has four years left on his eight-year contract that pays him $7.875 million. If he were to sign today, the 30-year-old would likely be getting more than Jones' $9.5 million annually as a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
In other news, the Florida Panthers re-signed forward Carter Verhaeghe to a three-year contract extension that begins in the 2022-23 season. Verhaeghe, scored a career-high 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 43 games with the Panthers last season.
The New York Rangers agreed to terms with defenseman Jarred Tinordi on a two-year contract. They previously signed defenseman Patrik Nemeth to a three-year contract.
Nemeth is 6-foot-3. Tinordi is 6-foot-5. Clearly, the Rangers are going big on the back end.
The Minnesota Wild signed center Frederick Gauthier to a two-year, $2.4 million contract ($1.2 million AAV).

1:20 p.m. ET

Another goalie is off the board, with Jonathan Bernier signing with the New Jersey Devils on a two-year, $8.25 million contract ($4.125 million average annual value).
The Devils goaltending looks a heck of a lot better with Mackenzie Blackwood and Bernier than it did last season with Blackwood and a mixture of Scott Wedgewood, Aaron Dell and one game of Eric Comrie.
Bernier, 32, was a bright spot, one of the lone ones, for the Detroit Red Wings the past three seasons, with a 3.02 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 105 games (94 starts), going 33-51-9.
He was 9-11-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .914 save percentage last season.
The Devils are also reportedly signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton, though that's not official yet.
Free agents are showing interest in New Jersey again, which speaks to the direction the Devils appear to be headed and the program they're building.
And, let's toss this one out there too as a tease, because what big news it would be.
The Lightning have been able to avoid having any of their core players go to free agency and if center Brayden Point signs an eight-year contract extension that would track with their history.
More on this when/if it becomes official.

1 p.m. ET

Ryan Getzlaf is reportedly staying where he's always been. The Anaheim Ducks are re-signing their captain to a one-year contract, according to NHL Network's Kevin Weekes.

The 36-year-old center clearly doesn't want to go anywhere and this might be his last contract. If it's not, look for Getzlaf to go the Joe Thornton route and continue to sign one-year contracts on a year-by-year basis depending on how he feels.
Getzlaf is more in the third-line center role in terms of production. He scored 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 48 games last season after scoring 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists) in 69 games in 2019-20.
Keeping him around will benefit the Ducks as they slowly transition away from the excellent Getzlaf era.
Then there is also always the possibility that the Ducks could trade him before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline if they're not in the mix to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In addition, the Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman Alex Goligoski to a one-year, $5 million contract.
Goligoski fills an immediate need on the back end for the Wild, who lost Carson Soucy to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and bought out Ryan Suter, who signed with the Dallas Stars for four years, $14.6 million.
Goligoski scored 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 56 games for the Arizona Coyotes last season. The 35-year-old is from Grand Rapids, Minnesota and he played for the University of Minnesota, so this is a homecoming for him.

12:40 p.m. ET

The Dallas Stars signed goalie Braden Holtby to a one-year contract, $2 million contract.
The Vancouver Canucks bought out the final year of Holtby's two-year, $8.6 million contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. That he's going to Dallas certainly puts into question the future of goalie Ben Bishop, who missed all of last season following knee surgery.
And then there is the question of what this means for Jake Oettinger, who was 11-8-7 with a 2.36 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 29 games (24 starts) last season.
We'll wait to hear more from Stars general manager Jim Nill on this signing and the future of Oettinger and Bishop, who could start next season on long-term injured reserve.
The Stars also signed forward Luke Glendening to a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million AAV).
The New York Rangers agreed to terms with defenseman Patrik Nemeth on a three-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Nemeth (6-foot-3, 228 pounds) is a left-handed shooting defenseman who will likely slide into the Rangers' third pair, potentially with rookie Nils Lundkvist, who has a right-handed shot.
The Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Keith Yandle to a one-year, $900,000 contract. Yandle was an unrestricted free agent after being bought out by the Florida Panthers.
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they've re-signed forward Evan Rodrigues to a one-year, $1 million contract. He scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 35 games with the Penguins last season.

12:20 p.m. ET

Let's go through some of the signings, both official and through reports, that we have seen to date.
The Dallas Stars announced they have signed defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year, $14.6 million contract ($3.65 million average annual value). Suter was an unrestricted free agent after having the final four years of his 13-year contract bought out by the Minnesota Wild on July 13.
Suter joins John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell in the Stars' top-four defense group. He could pair with Heiskanen. Jamie Oleksiak was Heiskanen's defense partner, but he's now a defenseman for the Seattle Kraken.
The Edmonton Oilers have announced they're buying out the final two years of forward James Neal's contract. He cleared unconditional waivers Wednesday.
Martin Jones, bought out by the San Jose Sharks, is going to the Philadelphia Flyers to play behind Carter Hart, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Tweet from @FriedgeHNIC: Martin Jones to PHI
The Columbus Blue Jackets are signing center Sean Kuraly, according to The Athletic. Kuraly is from Dublin, Ohio and grew up in the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets youth program.

Columbus officially signed center Boone Jenner to a four-year, $15 million contract extension, keeping him with the Blue Jackets through the 2025-26 season.
The Blue Jackets also announced forward Patrik Laine has accepted his qualifying offer and will play this season on a one-year, $7.5 million contract.
The Vegas Golden Knights re-signed defenseman Alec Martinez to a three-year contract worth $5.25 million annually.
Forward Blake Coleman confirmed he's signing with the Calgary Flames. It's reportedly a six-year contract.
Mikael Granlund is going back to the Nashville Predators, according to The Athletic. Granlund was expected to test the market, but Nashville is still home for him and it makes sense. He's a valuable versatile forward for the Predators.
Much more to come, including analysis on a lot of these deals when things slow down a bit.

12 p.m. ET

The market is officially open, so we will soon see some contracts becoming official. But first, one more report.
Forward Blake Coleman to the Calgary Flames, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, with the details in the tweet below.

Coleman was an important player for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs. It's not a surprise that he's leaving; re-signing him was not a reality for the Lightning with their NHL salary cap situation.
Coleman's departure means Tampa Bay's entire third line is gone, with Barclay Goodrow now with the New York Rangers on a six-year contract and Yanni Gourde selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft presented by Upper Deck.
The Lightning also traded forward Tyler Johnson, who was the center on their fourth line, to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Calgary will benefit from having Coleman and his championship experience. He's a middle-six forward, easily good enough to play on the second line, who grinds, forechecks, kills penalties, can play on the power play, scores, goes to the net, battles in the corners, etc.

11:50 p.m. ET

The market is about officially open, but first we have another trade.
Forward Evgenii Dadonov has been traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights. Defenseman Nick Holden and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft that the Golden Knights previously acquired from the Vancouver Canucks are going back to Ottawa.
Dadonov, who was left unprotected in the expansion draft by the Senators, has two years remaining on a contract that carries a $5 million salary cap charge. He scored 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in 55 games last season.
The Golden Knights opened $7 million in salary cap space Tuesday by trading goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks.
There was some thought they might use some of it to address their center depth, but instead they're adding a potential top-six wing who scored 25 or more goals three straight seasons from 2017-20 with the Florida Panthers.
Holden has one year remaining on his contract, which carries a $1.7 million cap charge. The 34-year-old will be the oldest player on Ottawa's blue line.

11:45 a.m. ET

UPDATE: The trade from the 11:30 a.m. ET entry is now official.
Defenseman Ethan Bear goes to the Carolina Hurricanes. Forward Warren Foegele goes to the Edmonton Oilers.
See below for details.

#

11:30 a.m. ET

The Edmonton Oilers are trading defenseman Ethan Bear to the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Warren Foegele according to multiple media reports.

Bear has one year remaining on a two-year, $4 million contract he signed with the Oilers on Dec. 29. The 24-year-old scored eight points (two goals, six assists) in 43 games last season.
Foegele is a restricted free agent. He scored 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 53 games with the Hurricanes last season.
Sportsnet is also reporting that the Hurricanes will re-sign forward Jordan Martinook, who scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 44 games last season.
Tweet from @FriedgeHNIC: Per @reporterchris, CAR will re-sign Jordan Martinook. Will be 3x$1.8M

11 a.m. ET

We have a trade to announce.
The Chicago Blackhawks
traded pending restricted free agent
defenseman Nikita Zadorov to the Calgary Flames for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The pick is the Toronto Maple Leafs' selection that was previously acquired by the Flames.
The Blackhawks are expected to be looking for defensemen, which is likely why they traded Zadorov. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported that Jake McCabe could be signing with the Blackhawks after the market opens in one hour.
Chicago previously acquired defenseman Seth Jones in a trade from the with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. They also traded for his brother Caleb Jones from the Edmonton Oilers, creating even less room for Zadorov on the blue line.
The Flames have an opening for Zadorov and the NHL salary cap space to sign him. They lost defenseman Mark Giordano to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
Calgary is expected to be active in the free agent market too, looking for help at forward, defense and goalie.
Another update: Petr Mrazek is reportedly signing with the Maple Leafs, who appear to have found their goalie to play in tandem with Jack Campbell.
NHL Network's Kevin Weekes reported it's a three-year contract for Mrazek.

TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that forward Nick Bonino is expected to sign with the San Jose Sharks.

10:35 a.m. ET

The market opens in 85 minutes.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman is reporting that forward Kyle Palmieri could be staying with the New York Islanders. Palmieri can become an unrestricted free agent at noon ET.
Tweet from @FriedgeHNIC: All indications Kyle Palmieri stays with NYI
The Islanders acquired Palmieri from the New Jersey Devils prior to the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. He scored four points (two goals, two assists) in 17 regular season games, but he was better and certainly more comfortable in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring nine points (seven goals, two assists) in 19 games.
The Islanders are also reportedly in the mix to sign left wing Zach Parise, who was bought out by the Minnesota Wild.
There hasn't been much in the way or rumors or reports around Casey Cizikas, who has been the center on the Islanders' fourth line between Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin. Cizikas can become a UFA as well.
In addition, TSN's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that goalie Frederik Andersen could sign with the Carolina Hurricanes, who do not currently have an NHL goalie under contract with Mrazek, James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier set to become UFAs.

LeBrun reported earlier that Bernier is expected to sign with the New Jersey Devils.

10 a.m. ET

Reports of some expected signings have started filtering in.
TSN's Bob McKenzie tweeted a bunch of names and potential locations.

McKenzie had defenseman Ryan Suter linked to the Dallas Stars and left wing Zach Parise to the New York Islanders. Suter and Parise each had the final four years of their matching 13-year, $98 million contracts bought out by the Minnesota Wild on July 13.
McKenzie also is reporting defenseman David Savard is going to the Montreal Canadiens. Savard won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, defeating the Canadiens in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.
He also linked forward Michael Bunting to the Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Carolina Hurricanes, goalie Jaroslav Halak and defenseman Luke Schenn to the Vancouver Canucks, defenseman Jake McCabe to the Chicago Blackhawks, forward Andrew Cogliano to the San Jose Sharks, forward Zach Hyman to the Edmonton Oilers and goalie David Rittich to the Nashville Predators.

Pierre Lebrun and Ryan Rishaug of TSN are also reporting defenseman Tyson Barrie will re-sign with the Oilers on a three-year contract.

LeBrun also had forward Jaden Schwartz signing with the Seattle Kraken and linked goalie Jonathan Bernier to the New Jersey Devils.
Stay tuned. The market opens in two hours.

#

9 a.m. ET

We are three hours from the start of the free agent frenzy in the NHL, but the market has not been quiet.
Tuesday was busy. Let's recap before the market starts churning out all kinds of news.
The shocker of the day had to be the
Vegas Golden Knights trading Marc-Andre Fleury
, the Vezina Trophy winner voted as the top goalie in the NHL this season, to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward prospect Mikael Hakkarainen.
Fleury has one season remaining on a three-year, $21 million contract ($7 million average annual value). He didn't comment on his future Tuesday, but his agent, Allan Walsh, said he could be contemplating retirement instead of reporting to the Blackhawks.
Chicago
also acquired
forward Tyler Johnson and a second round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Brent Seabrook, who will remain on long-term injured reserve.
Alex Ovechkin
signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract
($9.5 million AAV) to stay with the Washington Capitals.
Gabriel Landeskog
avoided the UFA market by re-signing with the Colorado Avalanche
, getting an eight-year contract.
The Vancouver Canucks were active. They
traded defenseman
Nate Schmidt to the Winnipeg Jets for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, put goalie Braden Holtby
on unconditional waivers
for the purpose of buying out the final season on his two-year, $8.6 million contract, which will make him an unrestricted free agent in a few hours, and
signed forward
Conor Garland to a five-year, $24.75 million contract ($4.95 million AAV).
Goalie Martin Jones was
put on waivers by the San Jose Sharks
for the purpose of a buyout.
Jones, who had three seasons remaining on his contract, will become a UFA.
Forward Joel Armia
agreed to a four-year, $13.6 million contract
($3.4 million AAV) to stay with the Montreal Canadiens.
Pavel Buchnevich signed
a four-year, $23.2 million contract
($5.8 million AAV) with the St. Louis Blues, who acquired the forward from the New York Rangers on Friday.
All that and the market doesn't open for another two hours.
Stay tuned all day, because the news will be flowing in and we'll have it all here on this blog.