Free Agency Day was one to remember as we saw some high-profile players relocate, we saw some seasoned veterans sign with their hometown teams, and others who opted to chase a cup. Along with seeing valuable depth pieces move around, some players got more money than I had expected but that's also to be expected with free agents as teams generally overpay to acquire 'their guy'.

It’s always hard to predict where free agents will sign and for how much. Teams will overpay to an extent to lock-up their asset. Last second trades may need to happen to create the salary space needed to make a signing work and that could indirectly change how other teams continue to operate during these times. It was a buyers' market when it came to acquiring any of the free agents this summer.

* The contracts being displayed will be the ones that were announced today, if a contract doesn't kick in until the 2023-2024 season, I will specify that in the player profile. *

* Most recent season stats are displayed, followed by the career stats underneath. *

#1) Claude Giroux – RW – Ottawa Senators

Contract: $6.5M – 3 Years remaining

I don't really know what else to say other than Giroux will probably have the most impact on his new team out of any other player that signed on July 13^th. He's going to a team that has a very young core, he's been around the block, he knows how to compete, and he has a high work ethic. He will be walking into a young locker room and while he won't wear the 'C' while he is there, he will be the best player on that team during his tenure there. At this point, when you compare the Senators and the Flyers, I would prefer to roster Giroux as a member of the Senators (as sad as that is for a Flyers fan to say). He's in a more dynamic system in Ottawa, he's going to be playing with some combination of Batherson, Tkachuk, DeBrincat, Stutzle, and Norris. Whenever Giroux is on the ice, anything is realistically possible. You're getting a player who can still produce points (was doing it on a more than subpar Flyers team for years), play in all situations, is one of the best faceoff guys in the league, and can drive the play. Overall, this is a contract that shouldn't really age poorly for the Senators or for your fantasy team. To me, this is very much a high-end asset to have for under $7M AAV.

#2) Andre Burakovsky – LW – Seattle Kraken

Contract: $5.5M – 5 Years remaining

I'm not sure how I feel about this signing. I knew he was about to get paid; this is about the amount that I expected. But the team is a little bit of a question mark to me, I'm not sure if he has the assets around him in the present to fully showcase that $5.5M AAV. Let's assume Wright isn't playing this year based on the limited amount of junior games he's played in the last three years. His linemate options are then: Eberle, Schwartz, Gourde, McCann, Wennberg, Donskoi, and Beniers. I don't really see a line being formed in Seattle under their current head coach, Dave Hakstol that will fully be able to showcase some of their more skilled guys' ability in the present. It's unfair to have guys like Beniers try and carry the load when he's still only 19 (turning 20), so I'm not sure how well this Seattle roster is going to perform. I think I may be avoiding Burakovsky this year, at least to begin the year because this doesn't seem like a contract that will carry tremendous value to start out. I still do believe in Burakovsky as a player, it's rather hard to predict how Seattle will do, but I'd say Burakovsky will still be around that 50-point mark. Proceed with caution on this one.

#3) Ben Chiarot – D – Detroit Red Wings

Contract: $4.75M – 4 Years remaining

Chiarot is very much league format dependent on if you'll roster him or not. I'm in a few different leagues and there's a few I won't touch him in because of how the format works. He doesn't make sense if you're in a league that doesn't value the peripheral areas like hits and blocks, that is where he makes his living to when it comes to fantasy. Chiarot just signed with the Red Wings. He was able to cash in on some points randomly while on Montreal (due to their lack of depth) and on Florida (once Ekblad got hurt) and I don't believe he will get that offensive burst in Detroit given their lineup isn't on the level of what Florida's was. He may get a lot of ice time on a young team, he has leadership qualities, and his playstyle could compliment Moritz Seider's well if they were played on a pairing together. So, there is the opportunity to play higher in the lineup on a consistent basis, but his overall offense shouldn't really jump much. He is a peripheral specialist in my mind, and now that he makes just shy of $5M per year, I'm not sure if his hits and blocks are worth it. That is a lot of salary to eat for a guy who is elite in those few areas, but his numbers in the areas that he provides in are within the top percentile. Again, proceed with caution on this one, the salary amount isn't ideal, but his production in key areas shouldn't be impacted based on a change of scenery.


#4) Evander Kane – LW – Edmonton Oilers

Contract: $5.125M – 4 Years remaining

This was realistically a contract that could have been as low as $5M, and up to anything as high as $8M per season. It really depended on how many years were being offered, the state of the market, and other factors as well. Overall, this is a very team friendly contract for how he was able to perform this year on McDavid's left side. In terms of fantasy value, Kane just had his value quadruple. Playing with the best player in the game in McDavid, making less than $6M, is a potential threat for 75 points on any given year now (based on his 82-game pace through this season), and has term on his contract. All of that and more have made Evander Kane a very hot asset to own in fantasy these days. When you look at his offensive stats, he's clearly dynamic. But he also logs close to 20 minutes of ice time each night, averaged over three shots per game this year, and had over three hits per game as well. He really is one of the best fantasy assets to own currently. I know I will be trying to acquire him in some of my leagues.


There are a lot of free agents who signed massive contracts today and in the last couple of days, I will be discussing them next week as well and how I think their contracts, and new team situations will affect their overall value in salary leagues.

If you're looking to discuss anything hockey with me, check out my Twitter account (@JamieMolloy_DH), as well as on the articles themselves!