NHL free agency blog

Welcome to NHL free agency. With the market opening at noon ET on Friday, a flurry of signings is expected, along with some trades. What players will change teams, which ones will stay with their current teams? Follow our live blog all day long for the latest news and reports.

RELATED: [2020 Free Agent Tracker | 2020-21 NHL Trade Tracker]

9 p.m. ET

Just when it looked like the first day of free agency would go by without a stunning development, we get one with defenseman Torey Krug leaving the Boston Bruins and agreeing to terms on a 7-year contract with the St. Louis Blues. The contract carries an annual average value of $6.5 million.
Now all eyes turn to defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who had played his entire 12-season NHL career with the St. Louis Blues. Now that the market is set for top defenseman, where will he end up?
And forward Taylor Hall is still out there as well.
Stay tuned.

5 p.m. ET

Taylor Hall is still available. So is Alex Pietrangelo. So too is Torey Krug. Same with Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman and Tyson Barrie.
The free-agent market has been open for five hours but some of the biggest names are still out there, unsigned.
Why?
That remains to be seen. Maybe they're taking their time to feel out the offers. Maybe they're deciding. Maybe they want to wait until the weekend so we can keep the hockey news rolling.
Whatever it is, we know there is still a lot of news to be made.
What we do know is the goalie market has mostly ironed itself out, although there are a few wrinkles still remaining.
Off the board are Braden Holtby (Vancouver Canucks), Jacob Markstrom (Calgary Flames), Henrik Lundqvist (Washington Capitals), Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild) and Anton Khudobin (Dallas Stars).
Matt Murray also signed his contract for four years and $25 million with the Ottawa Senators, who acquired him in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week.
It's still unclear what will happen with Corey Crawford, Thomas Greiss, Craig Anderson, Cory Schneider, Jimmy Howard, Mike Smith and Aaron Dell. It's possible some of them don't get contracts at all this offseason and will have to wait until training camp or beyond.
A lot of defenseman were on the move today with Justin Schultz signing with the Capitals, Jack Johnson with the New York Rangers, Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning with the Nashville Predators, Radko Gudas with the Florida Panthers. Kevin Shattenkirk with the Anaheim Ducks.
Bobby Ryan (Detroit Red Wings), Kyle Turris (Edmonton Oilers), Wayne Simmonds (Toronto Maple Leafs), Mark Jankowski (Penguins) and Alexander Wennberg (Panthers) highlight the forwards who have changed teams since the market opened.
There will be more to come, big news with some big names. Stay tuned to NHL.com for continued coverage of the free agent frenzy.

4:18 p.m. ET

Jacob Markstrom has signed a six-year, $36 million contract ($6 million average annual value) with the Calgary Flames.
The 30-year-old goalie finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting last season, going 23-16-4 with a 2.75 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and two shutouts for the Vancouver Canucks. He went 8-6 with a 2.85 GAA and .919 save percentage in the postseason.
Markstrom was talking with the Canucks about a contract extension, but they ended up signing Braden Holtby to a two-year, $8.6 million contract earlier Friday, pushing the Sweden-born goalie to sign with the Flames.
Thomas Greiss, Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, Mike Smith, Aaron Dell and Jimmy Howard are among the goalies still available on the market.

4:05 p.m. ET

Justin Schultz has signed a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million average annual value) with the Washington Capitals.
Schultz gives the Capitals another right-handed shooting defenseman along with John Carlson and Nick Jensen. Schultz should be the second-pair righty for the Capitals, paired with either Brenden Dillon or Dmitry Orlov.
Schultz scored 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 46 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. The 30-year-old won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, when he scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 21 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

3:35 p.m. ET

Jack Johnson has agreed to terms a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the New York Rangers.
Johnson was an unrestricted free agent because the Pittsburgh Penguins bought out the final three years of his five-year contract.
The Rangers are light on the left side of their defense, which has to be a reason why they signed Johnson, a left-handed shooter. They're already talking about moving Tony DeAngelo or Adam Fox, both righties, to the left side to potentially fill a top-pair role alongside Jacob Trouba.
Johnson, though, provides insurance for the Rangers if Libor Hajek and/or K'Andre Miller aren't ready to play full time in the NHL. They also have Ryan Lindgren and Brendan Smith as left-handed defenseman. Lindgren will be in the top-six; Smith is a wild card.
Rangers assistant Jacques Martin spent the past two seasons coaching Johnson as an assistant with the Penguins, running their defense and penalty kill.
Johnson played 67 games with the Penguins last season, scoring 11 points (three goals, eight assists) while averaging 19:28 of ice time per game. He led the Penguins in blocked shots (97) and was second on the team in hits (183).

3:20 p.m. ET

Kevin Shattenkirk has signed a three-year contract worth $3.9 million annually with the Anaheim Ducks, according to Sportsnet.
Shattenkirk reestablished his value playing with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season on a one-year contract. Shattenkirk is also still getting paid by the New York Rangers, who last year bought out the final two years of what was a four-year contract.
Shattenkirk scored 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in 70 regular season games and 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 25 postseason games with the Stanley Cup-winning Lightning.
He helps the Ducks in a multitude of ways.
The Ducks needed a right-handed shooting defenseman like Shattenkirk. They had only Josh Manson on the right side of their defenseman group that also features Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler and Jacob Larsson, who are all lefties.
Anaheim also needed help on the power play after finishing 30th last season at 14.7 percent. Shattenkirk can be used on the Ducks' top power-play unit, particularly if they want a righty.

3:05 p.m. ET

Mark Borowiecki has signed with the Nashville Predators on a two-year, $4 million contract.
The 31-year-old defenseman should provide depth on the back end for the Predators, which general manager David Poile identified as one of their goals this offseason.
"He adds an element of toughness that we were missing on the back end, as well as being a natural leader and strong penalty killer," Poile said.
Borowiecki should slide into a third-pair role on the left side of the Predators' defense that already features Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm in the top four.
He had career highs in goals (seven), assists (11), points (18) and average ice time per game (17:56) in 53 games with the Ottawa Senators last season.

2:52 p.m. ET

Cam Talbot's contract with the Minnesota Wild is official. The 33-year-old goalie has signed for three years and $11 million ($3.67 million average annual value).
Talbot went 12-10-1 with a 2.63 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 26 games, including 22 starts, with the Calgary Flames last season.
As expected, goalies have dominated the early part of free agency since the market opened at 12 p.m. ET. Here is where we stand so far:
Cam Talbot - Signed for three years, $11 million with the Minnesota Wild
Braden Holtby - Signed for two years, $8.6 million with the Vancouver Canucks
Jacob Markstrom - Reportedly signed with the Calgary Flames; details TBD
Henrik Lundqvist - Signed for one year, $1.5 million with the Washington Capitals
Anton Khudobin - Re-signed for three years, $10 million with the Dallas Stars
Malcolm Subban - Re-signed for two years, $1.7 million with the Chicago Blackhawks
Thomas Greiss, Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, Mike Smith, Aaron Dell and Jimmy Howard are still available.

2:32 p.m. ET

Anton Khudobin has re-signed with the Dallas Stars on a three-year, $10 million contract ($3.33 million average annual value).
This is not a surprise. The Stars were not shy about their desire to have Khudobin return after he was the goalie who led them to the Stanley Cup Final.
"His impact on our team has been immeasurable," Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
Khudobin went 16-8-4 with a .930 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average in 30 games in the regular season. He then went 14-10 with a .917 save percentage and 2.69 GAA in the postseason.
The Stars still have Ben Bishop and with Khudobin back too they will maintain one of the top goaltending tandems in the NHL.

2:25 p.m. ET

The Florida Panthers have signed three players who could be impactful, according to multiple media reports; defenseman
Radko Gudas for three years
($2.5 million average annual value), forward Carter Verhaeghe for two years ($1 million AAV) and forward Alexander Wennberg for one year ($2.25 million AAV).
Gudas will add some bite to the Panthers' defense group that was too often exposed and outmuscled last season. The rugged 30-year-old scored 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) in 63 games with the Washington Capitals last season.
Wennberg, who had the final three seasons of his contract bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets, should be a threat in the Panthers' bottom six forward group. He fell out of favor in Columbus under coach John Tortorella, but scored 59 points (13 goals, 46 assists) in 80 games in 2016-17.
Panthers general manager Bill Zito knows Wennberg well since he was the Blue Jackets senior vice president of hockey operations, associate GM and alternate governor before taking the job in Florida on Sept. 2.
Verhaeghe gives the Panthers a depth forward. The 25-year-old scored 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in 52 games with the Lightning last season.

1:55 p.m. ET

The goalie market remains active with two more signings being reported.
Jacob Markstrom to the Calgary Flames. Anton Khudobin staying with the Dallas Stars.
Details are still coming in on both.
Markstrom ends up in Calgary by way of two previous moves.
The Vancouver Canucks moved on from Markstrom by signing Braden Holtby to a two-year, $8.6 million contract Friday. The Flames had an opening because they moved on from Cam Talbot, who is reportedly signing a three-year, $11 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.
Khudobin staying in Dallas, reportedly on a three-year contract, is not a surprise. General manager Jim Nill has been saying all along that the Stars wanted Khudobin back and it just came down to making a deal that works for both sides.
In addition, Matt Murray has signed a four-year, $25 million contract ($6.25 million average annual value) with the Ottawa Senators, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Ottawa acquired Murray from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

1:45 p.m. ET

Kyle Turris has signed a two-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, reportedly worth $1.65 million annually. Turris became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday when the Nashville Predators bought out the final four years of his six-year, $36 million contract that he signed on Nov. 5, 2017, when he was acquired in a trade from the Ottawa Senators.
Turris scored 54 points (16 goals, 38 assists) in the past two seasons, including 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists in 62 games last season.
This is a relatively low-risk, potential high reward signing by the Oilers, who can use Turris as a third-line center behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

1:31 p.m. ET

Cam Talbot is signing a three-year, $11 million contract with the Minnesota Wild, according to multiple media reports.
All indications are that Talbot replaces Devan Dubnyk as the Wild's new No. 1 goalie. Dubnyk was traded to the San Jose Sharks last week.
Talbot went 12-10-1 with a 2.63 goals-against average and .919 save percentage with the Calgary Flames last season.
The Flames, by the way, need a replacement for Talbot, and Chris Johnston from Sportsnet is reporting that it could be Jacob Markstrom, who will not re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks. They are instead reportedly signing Braden Holtby.
This was supposed a fluid goalie market and that's exactly how it's playing out.
The Wild are banking on Kaapo Kahkonen to be their goalie of the future, but the 24-year-old from Finland has appeared in only five NHL games, all this season, going 3-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .913 save percentage.
Kahkonen will compete with Alex Stalock for playing time behind Talbot.

1:25 p.m. ET

Braden Holtby is signing a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, according to multiple media reports, pushing the goalie carousel into overdrive on this free-agent frenzy Friday.
Holtby's signing, reportedly worth $8.6 million ($4.3 million average annual value), certainly means Jacob Markstrom won't return to the Canucks.
Markstrom was the Canucks No. 1 choice, general manager Jim Benning said, but clearly they decided it was time to move on from the goalie who was fourth in the Vezina Trophy voting this season after going 23-16-4 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
Holtby, who won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and the Vezina Trophy in 2015-16, will pair with Thatcher Demko in Vancouver.
This is a good deal for the Canucks. Two years of Holtby gives Demko enough time to further establish himself as an NHL goalie and the Canucks one of the best 1-2 goalie tandems in the League.

12:55 p.m. ET

Henrik Lundqvist is going to the Washington Capitals on a one-year contract, according to several media reports. Lundqvist had the final year of his seven-year contract bought out by the Rangers, making him an unrestricted free agent.
He could be the ideal fit for the Capitals to pair with Ilya Samsonov, the 23-year-old Russian who went 16-6-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .913 save percentage last season.
Samsonov was injured and did not play in the postseason.
But Lundqvist is not a mentor, he's a competitor. Will he help Samsonov? Yes, of course he will, but while doing so Lundqvist will do everything in his power to steal as many starts as possible from Samsonov.
He's 38 years old and still believes he can play. Lundqvist tweeted recently that he still wants to win too. The Swedish goalie is going to the Capitals with motivation.

12:35 p.m. ET

Forward Patrick Maroon and defenseman Luke Schenn have agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. In addition, forward Tyler Johnson has been placed on waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Maroon agreed to a two-year, $1.8 million contract and Schenn to a one-year, $800,000 contract. Both played a role in helping the Lightning win the Stanley Cup.
So did Johnson, who has four years remaining ($5 million salary cap charge) on the seven-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Lightning on July 10, 2017.
By placing him on waivers, the Lightning are clearly hoping a team is willing to claim Johnson and his entire cap charge so they can be free from it to pursue other options. Tampa Bay reportedly had been trying to trade Johnson, but no deal could get made.
Johnson scored 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 65 games and seven points (four goals, three assists) in 25 postseason games, helping the Lightning win the Stanley Cup.

12:30 p.m. ET

Bobby Ryan has signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The 33-year-old forward became an unrestricted free agent last month when the Ottawa Senators bought out the final two years of his seven-year, $50.75 million contract.
Ryan won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey last season. He had to take an extended leave of absence from the Senators in November to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, citing issues with alcohol abuse.
He returned against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 25 and two days later scored a hat trick in his first home game back, a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks.

12:15 p.m. ET

Wayne Simmonds is signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team, for one year and $1.5 million, according to Sportsnet.
Simmonds is from Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The 32-year-old right wing had 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 68 games last season, 61 with the New Jersey Devils and seven with the Buffalo Sabres.
The Maple Leafs have been trying to become a harder team to play against. Simmonds is known for his grit and netfront presence. He has 499 points (251 goals, 248 assists) in 909 NHL games.

12:10 p.m. ET

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is not going anywhere, according to Craig Morgan, who covers the Arizona Coyotes for azcoyotesinsider.com.
The Coyotes had until 12 p.m. ET to trade the defenseman and their captain who gave the team that deadline, his agent, Kevin Epp, told TSN earlier this week.
The clock hit zero and there was no trade, so the Coyotes are keeping Ekman-Larsson, who has a no-movement clause and reportedly told the team he would be traded only to the Vancouver Canucks or Boston Bruins.
This is not really surprising either based on Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong's comments on the NHL @TheRink podcast Thursday. Armstrong said he didn't feel any reason to make a panic move or any pressure to trade Ekman-Larsson.

12:05 p.m. ET

The market is open and the Chicago Blackhawks have announced that they're keeping two of their own.
The Blackhawks signed forward Dominik Kubalik, a Calder Trophy finalist last season, to a two-year contract extension that carries a $3.7 million salary cap charge. They also signed goalie Malcolm Subban to a two-year contract that has a $850,000 cap charge.
Kubalik scored 46 points (30 goals, 16 assists) last season. He was the fifth rookie in Blackhawks history to score 30 goals.
Subban was 9-7-3 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 20 games last season, 19 with the Vegas Golden Knights and one with the Blackhawks after they acquired him on Feb. 24.
The Blackhawks are not going to re-sign two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Corey Crawford, making him an unrestricted free agent, and it appears they will go with Subban, Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen as their goalies, hoping one emerges as a No. 1.

11:40 a.m. ET

Twenty minutes until the free-agent market opens and it certainly appears one of the first big names who will come off the board is former New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who is expected to sign with the Washington Capitals.
Lundqvist, who had the final year of his seven-year contract bought out by the Rangers, could be the ideal fit for the Capitals to pair with Ilya Samsonov, the 23-year-old Russian who went 16-6-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .913 save percentage last season.
Samsonov was injured and did not play in the postseason.
Lundqvist knows the Capitals well having played in the same division as them for the past 15 years while with the Rangers. He played in five Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Capitals, winning three.
The domino effect here is that goalie Braden Holtby will be leaving Washington as an unrestricted free agent. It's possible Holtby, who is from Saskatchewan, could be heading to Western Canada to play for either the Calgary Flames or Edmonton Oilers.

11:17 a.m. ET

Paul Stastny has officially been traded to the Winnipeg Jets from the Vegas Golden Knights.
Vegas gets defenseman Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft in return for Stastny.
Stastny fills a hole for the Jets as their No. 2 center behind Mark Scheifele and his acquisition should cool, at least for now, the trade rumors swirling around forward Patrik Laine.
Stastny, Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers formed a productive line for the Jets at the end of the 2017-18 season and in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs after the Jets acquired Stastny from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 26, 2018.
Stastny scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 19 regular-season games and then scored 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Jets reach the Western Conference Final before losing to Vegas.
Stastny signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Golden Knights on July 1, 2018. In two seasons with Vegas, he scored 80 points (30 goals, 50 assists) in 121 regular season games; he scored another 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 25 postseason games.

11:10 a.m. ET

The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenseman Victor Mete to a one-year contract worth $735,000, meaning one of the pending restricted free agents is off the board before 12 p.m. ET.
Mete scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 51 games last season. He also scored two points, both assists, in 10 postseason games.
The 22-year-old Mete, a fourth-round pick by the Canadiens (No. 100), scored 31 points (four goals, 27 assists) in 171 games in his first three NHL seasons.
In other news, forward Mike Hoffman is expected to become an unrestricted free agent in 50 minutes, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported. Hoffman scored 29 goals last season, the most among all pending UFAs.
There was some thought Hoffman could sign with the Florida Panthers before the market opened, but it doesn't look to be the case now. The 30-year-old will be an interesting player to watch, especially for any team that loses out on the Taylor Hall sweepstakes.

10:45 a.m. ET

The trade has not been officially announced, but TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting the Winnipeg Jets will acquire center Paul Stastny from the Vegas Golden Knights for defenseman Carl Dahlstrom and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

The Golden Knights will clear Stastny's $6.5 million salary cap charge, but trading him means they have a hole at center behind William Karlsson.
It's possible they believe it can be filled by
Cody Glass
. The 21-year-old scored 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 39 games this season. He didn't play in the postseason.
The Golden Knights could also consider Chandler Stephenson to be their No. 2 center with Glass as their No. 3. Stephenson signed a four-year contract with an annual average value of $2.75 million salary Wednesday.
Stephenson fit in well with the Golden Knights after they acquired him from the Washington Capitals on Dec. 2. He scored 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 41 regular-season games and five points (three goals, two assists) in 20 postseason games.
Dahlstrom had one assist in 15 games with the Jets last season. The 25-year-old is 6-foot-4, 231 pounds. The Jets could be in the market to replace him.

10:30 a.m. ET

As we wait for news on a possible trade of Paul Stastny from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Winnipeg Jets, we have our first signing of the day.
Zemgus Girgensons signed a three-year, $6.6 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres. It has an average annual value of $2.2 million.
The 26-year-old forward could have become an unrestricted free agent at noon ET.
Here are all the details
.

10 a.m. ET

We're two hours away from the start of the free-agent frenzy in the NHL and there is already rumblings of a trade that could have a big impact on the market.
Reports say the Winnipeg Jets are acquiring center Paul Stastny from the Vegas Golden Knights.
For the Golden Knights, moving Stastny opens $6.5 million on their salary cap, which could be used in a multitude of ways.
The most obvious is they could be going after a big-ticket free agent. Perhaps defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo
or defenseman
Torey Krug
.
There have been rumors that the Golden Knights are also shopping defenseman Nate Schmidt. If they move him and his $5.95 million salary cap charge for the next five seasons that opens a spot and more money to sign Pietrangelo or Krug, who are the top two UFA defensemen.
The Golden Knights may also be trying to move goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who has a $7 million cap charge.
For the Jets, this is a no-brainer. They get Stastny in the last year of his contract and for now at least this should kill the rumors of the Jets looking to trade forward Patrik Laine.
Stastny played 19 games with the Jets at the end of the 2017-18 season after they acquired him from the St. Louis Blues. He scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) playing on a line with Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. He then scored 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Jets reach the Western Conference Final before losing to Vegas.
Stastny signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Golden Knights on July 1, 2018.
Stay tuned. The news will be flowing in shortly and we'll have it all here on this blog.