After one week of NHL free agency, it is clear that there have been some big winners and some big losers. Some teams left fans cheering and rejoicing about the moves that were made, other teams left their fans questioning what the general managers were thinking. One of the biggest winners of free agency thus far has been Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa had a big decision to make: let 26 year-old Steven Stamkos test the waters or sign him to a long-term deal. They ultimately chose to bring him back before anyone else could have a chance, signing him to an 8-year, $68 million dollar deal. Not only did Yzerman manage to resign his star forward, he also signed his star defenseman Victor Hedman to an 8-year, $63 million extension, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to a 3-year, $10.5 million dollar extension. They may not have done much outside of their organization, but they did what they needed to do to stay a cup contender for years to come. (Tampa Bay Lightning Grade: A)
Another big winner of NHL free agency thus far comes from the same division and state as fellow winner Tampa Bay, the Florida Panthers were big winners in the first week of free agency. They are looking to once again win the Atlantic Division and avenge their first round elimination by the hands of the New York Islanders. Florida stayed inside the organization and also brought in a couple of outsiders. They resigned forwards Vincent Trocheck to a 6-year extension, Reilly Smith to 5-year extension, and Derek MacKenzie to a 2-year extension. Also, they signed star d-man Aaron Ekblad to an 8-year contract extension. Other than resigning veteran forward Jarmoir Jagr to one-year deal earlier in the year, which was all Florida did with players already on their team. The Panthers then went out and brought in a James Reimer, who will be solid back up for starting goaltender Roberto Luongo. They also beefed their blue line by adding Jason Demers and trading for Keith Yandle. The rest of the Atlantic Division better watch out because this Panthers team is nothing to take lightly. (Florida Panthers Grade: A)
With winners come losers, and one team that stood out as a loser was the Detroit Red Wings. Free agency season has not been kind to Detroit fans the past few years, and it was not any better for them this year. Although they did bring in a few good players, the contracts that were given to them were awful. First, signing 30 year-old Darren Helm to a 5-year, $19.25 million dollar extension was a horrific move by GM Ken Holland. Helm is a good player, but they could have used that money elsewhere in free agency to help fill other needs. This deal would not be as bad if it were not as long and for as much, a 3-year $11 million dollar deal would have been better. Next we have the Frans Nielsen signing. Wings fans everywhere should love that they were able to get him, but what they should not love is how long they signed him for. Frans is currently 32 years old and signed with Detroit for 6 years, which is too long to sign someone of that age. If the Wings could have snagged him on a 4-year deal, and paying him till he is 36 rather than 38, they would be in a much better situation. Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek were the other two signings that were also horrendous. Both players are way past their days of being elite and neither of them fill the need of a right-handed shot defenseman, they just give us an overload on forwards. (Detroit Red Wings Grade: C-)
The biggest loser of free agency so far is the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets were not able to sign any free agents to their roster. There were plenty of big name guys and role players who could have helped Columbus get their team back on track. The one good thing the Blue Jackets did do though was sign defenseman Seth Jones to a 6-year, $32.4 million dollar extension. Locking down this good, young d-man was a brilliant move by Columbus, but they needed to do more to help their team become a contender for a playoff spot. As they sit now, Columbus will not be much better in the 2016-2017 season, but if they go out and add a few players via free agency or trade, they could eventually compete for a wild card spot in the West. (Columbus Blue Jackets Grade: D)
