Like the last couple of weeks, this week will be centered around free agents that have signed new contracts, whether they signed with a new team or their previous team they are eligible to be discussed in this miniseries. This has been a very exciting offseason from the fan's perspective, lots of player movement, lots of big new contracts being handed out, and all of this plays into the game of fantasy hockey.

* 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) Matthew Tkachuk – LW – Florida Panthers

Contract: $9.5M – 8 Years remaining

In what may have been the most surprising trade of the year, Matthew Tkachuk was dealt to the Florida Panthers. I guess the surprising part was the return that Calgary received (but that is a conversation for another day). While Tkachuk wanted to be traded out of Calgary for his own reasons, making the move to Florida may have been the most ideal placement for him in a fantasy perspective, at least in my opinion. Being able to be slotted in on the top line with a player like Aleksander Barkov is a positive for any player, let alone for a player of Tkachuk's caliber. Last season we saw Tkachuk eclipse his former career highs (2018-19 – 80 Games, 34 Goals, 43 Assists) with ease as he put up his first 100+ point season. I don't think the move will hurt his long-term fantasy value by any means, going from playing with Johnny Gaudreau to Aleksander Barkov (in a comparison of skill), shouldn't be too drastic. While the $9.5M cap hit is quite enormous, I wouldn't fear paying a player like Tkachuk that kind of money. You need to be at the cap floor and what better way to try and get there by adding a player for just shy of $10M and is top three at his position. While his numbers may see a shift in how they're distributed (that can happen with any player getting a change in scenery), I wouldn't expect to see his overall production take a nose-dive.

#2) Pierre-Luc Dubois – LW – Winnipeg Jets

Contract: $6M – 1 Year remaining

From the outside looking in, it doesn't seem like Dubois wants to play anywhere based on the number of times there's been reports of him wishing to see how green the grass is on the other side. But with that said, at the end of the day Pierre-Luc Dubois is a dang good hockey player. He's a top six forward in the NHL and there is no denying that, at least for me there isn't. I think its only a matter of time for his consistency to start developing more. His points-per-game has fluctuated throughout his career, but he currently can play in the Jets' top six alongside some pretty prolific players like Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, and possibly Cole Perfetti as well. There are lots of players to help Dubois achieve some sense of consistency in his scoring. Realistically I think his floor as a player is about what he did this season, around the 60-point mark, but a potential ceiling of 70-75 isn't out of the question either if he gets the right deployment, which he should this year in Winnipeg given the way their depth is structured. For $6M for a single season, I would rather bank on him than almost anyone given the talent around him, the opportunity to succeed, his own talent level. For a player that should achieve 60+ points this year, I would happily pay $6M for him.

#3) Nino Niederreiter – RW – Nashville Predators

Contract: $4M – 2 Years remaining

Niederreiter has been a player on the outside looking in for years, and he's had a solid middle six complimentary goal scorer's role for what seems like his entire career. When able to play a healthy amount of the season, he can be a 20-goal scorer in this league. That alone is valuable to any fantasy roster in a depth role, especially for his new price point of $4M. Nashville didn't bring in a piece like him and move a player like Luke Kunin for him to get buried in the lineup. I believe Nashville sees Nino as a legitimate top six option for their club in the short term, and as a team that had trouble getting secondary scoring at times last season, bringing in a player with the 11-year experience that Niederreiter has is always valuable. Something to keep in mind is that over the last three seasons, he hasn't played more than 15:45 minutes on average in each of those seasons. If he begins to get consistent deployment (and while that must be earned), he may become a potential sleeper player for this year as a depth piece. I wouldn't have any issues taking Niederreiter with a late round pick or take a gamble on him as a free agent based on his price point, his tenure, the state of the Predators' lineup, and many other factors. Something to note is that he isn't afraid to throw his body around either, so if you play in a league that values hits to any extent, he may not be bad to help bolster that area on the nights where you have holes in the lineup.
#4) Jonas Siegenthaler – D – New Jersey Devils

Contract: $1.125M – 1 Year remaining
Contract Extension: $3.4M – 5 Years remaining (beginning in the 2023-24 season)

A player that never really got to shine in during his tenure with the Capitals, he always played second fiddle to some of the other big names that they rostered. Siegenthaler won't be the player to really produce a 40-point season, he makes his living as a very reliable defensive style defender, very traditional to the position. With the Devils, he seems to be slotted in in their top-four defensive pairings, and as I said, his points will never be elite. The New Jersey Devils have a lot of young and talented firepower on the roster, and some others on the verge of breaking through to the NHL, so that could be something that eventually helps boost his offensive numbers. For now, I wouldn't rely on that being a firm possibility. This is very much a player you'd look to add if your league tracks things like time-on-ice, blocks, and hits. Not many players block more than they shoot, but even across his entire career (while only 175 games, its still more games than I will ever play in the NHL) he has more blocks than hits. Based on those numbers alone, I would feel comfortable paying his salary (either the current one, or the extension) based on the value players like him carry in specific league formats. Very much a niche player in terms of how he can be rostered, but in the right format he isn't a bad depth piece to have, and certainly not a bad player to pick up to cover an injury.

Overall, there has been a lot of huge signings across the NHL over the last few weeks, and then there have been some rock-solid ones to help flesh out team's depth. Some players may not see usage in some formats, like Siegenthaler for example, but in the right format he can be considered a fixture on your team. So, before you go and take any advice whether it's from myself or a friend, or whoever, just make sure that the advice you're taking and using makes sense based on what your league rules and format are.

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