Capped: Free Agent Winners
Chris Pudsey
2015-07-02
P.A. Parenteau and Justin Williams were among the free agency bargains this year.
Day One of free agency has come and gone. Surprisingly, most general managers showed great restraint this year in their spending, not only in the cap dollars but also in regards to term. The longest and largest deal yesterday went to the Edmonton Oilers who handed out a six year deal to Andrej Sekera for a total of $33M. The largest cap hit spent yesterday went to the Detroit Red Wings, who shelled out $6M per year for three years to defenseman Mike Green. Honestly, both of those deals seem like very good signings compared to what we are used to seeing on the first day of Silly Season, as I like to call July 1st. It is hard to believe that Dave Bolland got a five year deal last year for $5.5M per season. Now that's silly.
2013-2014
80
16
31
47
0.59
-13
52
110
0.15
72
4
15
0
18
03:18
60.3
2.9
18:00
29.4
2012-2013
48
13
35
48
1.00
-4
53
63
0.21
55
6
26
0
29
03:25
63.4
3.2
17:50
29.4
Patrick Eaves (Dallas Stars – $1.15M / one year)
Coming off a solid season last year that saw Eaves lead the Stars in plus/minus rating of plus-12, the Stars had no issues re-signing Eaves to a new one-year deal with a modest raise.
Eaves had 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 47 games last season, his first with the Dallas Stars, playing up and down the Stars lineup. He also had a career-high six power-play goals.
Stars GM, Jim Nill, had this to say about the signing of Eaves:
"Patrick was a valuable part of our team last season," said Nill. "We're happy to have him back in the fold as he plays a number of different roles throughout the year and is a tremendous teammate."
At only $1.15M, Eaves offers solid value for the dollar. As long as he can stay healthy, he is worth every penny.
Here's a look at his last three seasons, thanks to Frozen Pool:
SEASON |
GP |
G |
A |
P |
PntPG |
+/- |
PIM |
Shots |
SH% |
HITS |
PPG |
PPP |
SHG |
BLKS |
PPTOI |
%PP |
%SH |
TOI/G |
%TOI |
2014-2015 |
47 |
14 |
13 |
27 |
0.57 |
11 |
8 |
91 |
0.15 |
69 |
6 |
9 |
0 |
27 |
01:54 |
31.7 |
5.0 |
13:43 |
22.5 |
2013-2014 |
30 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0.17 |
-7 |
2 |
53 |
0.04 |
43 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
01:00 |
16.5 |
20.3 |
11:16 |
18.3 |
2012-2013 |
34 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
0.24 |
-1 |
4 |
42 |
0.05 |
40 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
00:16 |
4.3 |
16.9 |
10:35 |
17.3 |
Antoine Vermette (Arizona Coyotes – $3.75M / two years)
Back in February, the Arizona Coyotes traded Vermette to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Klas Dahlback and a 2015 first round pick. That first round pick, the last in the first round ended up being an excellent young player in Nick Merkley, which many would say was a "steal" for the Coyotes at that point of the draft.
Fast-forward to July 1st, and with a Stanley Cup on his resume, Vermette returns to the Desert for another two years with the Coyotes. His new contract is the exact same dollar value as the one that just expired.
Vermette will undoubtedly find himself back in the top six of the Coyotes and quite possibly putting up similar numbers to what we have to come to expect from him, somewhere in the 40 – 50 point range. He will also continue to be one of the league leaders in regards to face-off wins.
The 32-year-old will be one of the leaders in Arizona for the next couple seasons as the Coyotes continue to rebuild their franchise.
Thanks to Frozen Pool, here's a look at his last three year's numbers:
SEASON |
GP |
G |
A |
P |
PntPG |
+/- |
PIM |
Shots |
SH% |
HITS |
PPG |
PPP |
SHG |
BLKS |
PPTOI |
%PP |
%SH |
TOI/G |
%TOI |
2014-2015 |
82 |
13 |
25 |
38 |
0.46 |
-26 |
40 |
109 |
0.12 |
80 |
6 |
14 |
0 |
50 |
02:16 |
47.7 |
28.1 |
17:50 |
29.3 |
2013-2014 |
82 |
24 |
21 |
45 |
0.55 |
-1 |
44 |
160 |
0.15 |
90 |
7 |
13 |
3 |
71 |
02:26 |
44.3 |
42.2 |
19:13 |
31.4 |
2012-2013 |
48 |
13 |
8 |
21 |
0.44 |
-3 |
36 |
91 |
0.14 |
63 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
35 |
02:30 |
43.2 |
31.3 |
18:15 |
29.7 |
****
Next week we will take a look at the Free Agent Winners for the defence. There are some good ones in there too.
Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on twitter @chrispudsey. As always, comments are welcome!