Day 2 of free agency was only a tiny fraction as busy as Day 1 (as you’d expect), but there was still some news to pass along.

The Ottawa Senators might be having the best offseason of any team, and it keeps getting better. Following their recent acquisitions of Alex DeBrincat, Cam Talbot, and Claude Giroux, the Sens and Josh Norris have agreed to an eight-year, $63.6 million contract extension, which works out to a $7.95 million cap hit. That might seem expensive for Norris, but at least they don't have to worry about an unsigned RFA entering training camp like they did with Brady Tkachuk last season. In addition, you might not have noticed the kind of season that Norris had.

Norris finished the season with 35 goals, which might not stand out on its own. However, he scored those goals in just 66 games. That was a similar pace to the likes of Jack Hughes, Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Evgeni Malkin, and Evander Kane. As well, he was on pace for 68 points over a full 82-game season. Norris was especially lethal on the power play, where he finished tied for third in the league with 16 power-play goals. Only Chris Kreider and Leon Draisaitl scored more power-play goals than Norris.

Need another reason to like Norris? Check out the new and improved Senators top 6. Norris played most of his even-strength minutes with Tkachuk last season, but he will have a variety of options at his disposal this coming season.

BRADY TKACHUK	JOSH NORRIS	DRAKE BATHERSON
ALEX DEBRINCAT	TIM STUTZLE	CLAUDE GIROUX

Could the Senators add John Klingberg to their team as well? We'll have to wait to find out.

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For the second consecutive day, a Strome brother has found a new home. A day after Ryan Strome signed with Anaheim, the Washington Capitals have signed Dylan Strome to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million.

The Blackhawks casting Strome aside by not qualifying him might be par for the course given their current fire sale. However, I suspect that he will be on a short leash to catch on as a top-6 forward for the Capitals. In spite of losing Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom for at least the start of the season, the Capitals have also brought in the versatile Connor Brown and brought back veteran Marcus Johansson. Strome has lacked consistency, scoring just three points in his first 12 games while being healthy scratched numerous times before turning it up with 45 points in his last 57 games. Much of that 2^nd-4^th quarter production was with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane as his linemates.  

For more on the signing, check out the Fantasy Take by Mike Clifford.

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It appears that Alexander Radulov's days in the NHL are over. Radulov is returning to Russia, signing a two-year contract with Ak Bars of the KHL. Radulov finished the 2021-22 season with 22 points (including just four goals) in 71 games with Dallas. Even though he is now 36, Radulov has played all or parts of only eight NHL seasons, as he has also spent a considerable portion of his career in the KHL. His most productive NHL season was 2018-19, when he scored 72 points in 70 games with the Stars.

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Rudolfs Balcers, whose contract was recently bought out by the Sharks, signed a one-year contract with the Panthers on Thursday. Mike also took care of the Fantasy Take for Balcers.

While you're at it, check out all of the Fantasy Takes that we've written this offseason on this page.

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The Top 100 Roto Rankings for July will be published later today. Feel free to review and leave feedback, as I've made plenty of updates related to the recent trades and signings.

Something I've noticed as players are finding new teams is that I'm downgrading more star players than I'm upgrading. What's happening is that the salary cap is forcing players to be squeezed off better teams. Remember that the cap was originally designed so that teams with deeper pockets wouldn't constantly outbid small-market teams to create a competitive imbalance, like what exists in MLB between teams like the New York Yankees and the Oakland A's. Star players can't form "superteams" like they do in the NBA. Which other major sport would have a star player such as Johnny Gaudreau pick Columbus?

Speaking of which, Gaudreau in a Blue Jackets uniform hasn't quite sunk in for me yet. Good for Columbus. That jersey looks great on him. And I'm not just saying that because he's leaving a team that is a rival of my favorite team.

The Columbus Blue Jackets = a perfect fit for Johnny G and his family ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/AmRNjuhB5h

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 14, 2022

Hockey fans – especially Flames fans – are still scratching their heads over Gaudreau choosing Columbus. The reality is that Johnny Hockey has earned his right to go to free agency and choose where he wants to play. Just because he has his choice of which car to select doesn't mean he has to pick the shiniest flashiest one. I like this particular explanation from The Hedge, where Gaudreau's wife might have had a say in the matter. As hockey fans, we tend to think of money and hockey-related motivations mattering the most. But in reality, there may be other factors involved that we don't know about.

Today on #TheHedge – Johnny Hockey to #BlueJackets. A shocker. I talked about it w/ @Fan960Steinberg

Presented by @bostonpizza #Flames https://t.co/Ra6LzBHvRF

Listen/ https://t.co/TeKKcfbIBP pic.twitter.com/9EoKrK4Qum

— Andrew Walker (@AWalksOfficial) July 14, 2022

The Gaudreau – Matthew Tkachuk – Elias Lindholm line was the top even-strength line in the league last season according to Frozen Tools, and it wasn't even close. This signing will hurt the scoring totals for both Tkachuk and Lindholm.

Line Combination	Team	POS	GF	GA	+/-
ELIAS LINDHOLM – JOHNNY GAUDREAU – MATTHEW TKACHUK	CGY	F	83	32	51
MITCHELL MARNER – MICHAEL BUNTING – AUSTON MATTHEWS	TOR	F	61	31	30
JOE PAVELSKI – ROOPE HINTZ – JASON ROBERTSON	DAL	F	54	35	19
MATS ZUCCARELLO – RYAN HARTMAN – KIRILL KAPRIZOV	MIN	F	50	25	25

As I mentioned in the Fantasy Take, Andrew Mangiapane seems like a likely replacement for Gaudreau on that top line. Mangiapane is more of a goal scorer than the play driver that Gaudreau was, which means goal opportunities for both Tkachuk and Lindholm won't be as frequent. I'd bet the under on the latter two both reaching 40 goals again. Downgrade both at least a little bit in your 2022-23 pre-draft rankings, as I will be in the Roto Rankings. 

One thing I didn't mention in the Fantasy Take is that Jakob Pelletier's chances of playing in the NHL next season have increased. Pelletier, a late first-round pick in 2019, happens to be a left winger. In his first AHL season, Pelletier scored 62 points (including 27 goals) in 66 games. And who knows, maybe Pelletier even receives a look on the top line as well. For more, see Pelletier's Dobber Prospects profile. Or grab a copy of the Prospects Guide.

Another point I didn't mention (all of my thoughts don't happen at once, you know): The Blue Jackets still need cap space to sign RFA Laine. Gustav Nyquist (one more year at $5.5 million) is one player being discussed as trade bait. That's fine, as he's one player who could be moved down the lineup should he stay. I realize the Erik Gudbranson signing (four years at $4 million) happened before the possibility of Gaudreau might have gained traction, but I wonder if the Blue Jackets would like to take that one back. Gudbranson had a solid season in Calgary as a third-pairing defenseman, but he's not a player I would want to commit four years to, let alone $4 million per. Just my opinion.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.