Much like last week, I plan on discussing some of the free agent/trade targets and the contracts that they have recently signed. Since the free agent commenced, there has been sizable movement across the league, and that ranges from the top-flight players down to the depth players. This has been one of the more hectic free agent periods that I have witnessed in recent years that's for sure.

* 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. Cap data from Cap Friendly.*

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

#1) Johnny Gaudreau – LW – Columbus Blue Jackets

Contract: $9.75M – 7 Years remaining

A lot of people, including myself, predicted that Gaudreau was going to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers and as we all know, that did not happen. In a surprising turn of events, Gaudreau shocked the world and signed with the Blue Jackets. The 'big wigs' as I'll call them are bashing this signing and criticizing Gaudreau for this one, but something that people fail to remember is that this team has a lot of solid players to play around 'Johnny Hockey'. Players like Voracek, Bjorkstrand, Roslovic (has proved to be able to play with talented players in the past at times), and Laine. They also have a bunch of talented prospects on the way as well. Headlining that pipeline would be players like; Sillinger, Chinakhov, Johnson. We all know what type of player Gaudreau is, he is a world-class playmaker with elusive hands and the ability to put the puck in the back of the net. His price shouldn't concern you fantasy owners out there, $9.75M for a guy who put up 90 even strength points this year (led the league in that area this year) is totally acceptable. He may not hit or block much, but he honestly provides immense value in so many other areas, the other players that you own can cover his deficiencies.

#2) Ondrej Palat – LW – New Jersey Devils

Contract: $6M – 5 Years remaining

Palat's numbers may have seen a dip from last season to this one, but he also played in less games (smaller sample size), and his overall ice-time dropped by nearly a minute on average per game. This is a player who does better when he is receiving higher ice-time for the most part. While the Devils may not have the same level of players around Palat that Tampa was able to provide him, so there is a concern there in the sense of having the supporting cast. In the grand scheme of things, I believe he was brought in to be a veteran voice in the locker room, a guy who has won championships before. For a team like the Devils who is on the younger side, they need a proven player in the locker room. Given, the term that this deal carries, the Devils believe that bringing in a guy with Palat's skillset is beneficial for the future of the core of this team. I would imagine that he was brought in to play with Jack Hughes because at the end of the day, he is the franchise cornerstone of that team (or so they hope that is the case) and they want him to succeed immensely as a former first overall draft pick. Realistically, I wouldn't be super concerned about rostering Palat, the five-year term is a little scary, but he should be getting the deployment to where that term shouldn't matter too much. This is a contract that if it ages poorly, it shouldn't happen until the last year or two given that he just turned 31 back in March of this year.

#3) Dylan Strome – LW – Washington Capitals

Contract: $3.5M – 1 Year remaining

I was a little bit caught off guard when it came to Strome not being brought back by the Blackhawks, I knew they were looking to change up their roster but I figured Strome would have had at least one more chance there given that he has actually put up fairly respectable numbers for a guy who has played more than 17 minutes a night on average in two of the four seasons he was rostered there. When it comes to Strome, he was deployed in a role that wasn't suited towards him, he was played in a two-way forward's role when he is not that at all. I am a little surprised that Washington was the team that brought him in, it makes me wonder how Backstrom's health is and what his timeline is for a return. Assuming Backstrom isn't back to begin the season, I would pencil Strome in on the second line for the Capitals behind Kuznetsov. Washington is deep in the way of wingers, their four best wingers are currently: Ovechkin, Oshie, Mantha, and newly acquired Connor Brown. I don't think they brought Strome in to play behind Lars Eller either, if anything if Backstrom comes back Strome may get pushed down the line with Eller and be on his wing. Overall, for the cap hit that Strome carries, mixed with his own individual skillset he isn't a bad player to look at rostering as a depth piece currently.

#4) Andrew Copp – C – Detroit Red Wings

Contract: $5.625M – 5 Years remaining

Personally, this may be one of the best signings in free agency so fa. He has term on his contract, a controllable cap hit (currently), while he has a modified no trade clause (M-NTC, meaning he submits a 10-team no-trade list), he is going to be 33 years old when the contract expires. Some people have said the amount is a little too high, if anything I think it is around fair value in today's market. He plays the middle of the ice well, above average in the faceoff dot, in the last couple of seasons he has played with some talented players in Winnipeg and while a member of the Rangers as well. His point production has seen improvements spanning from the 2020-2021 season, and with this seasoning in Detroit it seems he should be the second line center behind Larkin for the next little while. This signing gives recently drafted, Marco Kasper time to develop, along with a player that most people forget about, Joe Veleno. Detroit has a solid cast of players to play alongside of Copp in the meantime, and overall, his value shouldn't be seen in a negative light when it comes to him as a real-life NHL asset. In the fantasy realm though, I'm not sure if I like the cap-hit versus the little amount of time he has shown an offensive flair. But it's one that I believe can age well given the upcoming cast that Detroit has in the pipeline, along with their young roster players, and the other players that Yzerman brought in.


Free agency has never been this fun for myself, and I'm sure many of you can say the same. There is still so much summer left, and there are a few high-profile names left out there. At some point I will get to them, but in the meantime, I plan on giving my views and beliefs on the data that is currently available.

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