Vancouver re-signed forward Teddy Blueger to a two-year contract worth a little under $2M per season. He had a very good year in the bottom-6 of the Canucks with 28 points and 98 hits in 68 games. While he is not overly fantasy relevant, he is a key part of the team's typically-good penalty kill, and that's something that can help out Thatcher Demko's goaltending numbers. That makes Blueger fantasy relevant, even if it's not in the way we usually imagine.

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The Entry Draft is tomorrow and my Ramblings on Friday will have have my thoughts on some of the top players and some deeper names that I'm keeping an eye on. For today, though, it's time to look ahead to free agency.

** Be sure to get your copy of the 2024 Dobber Hockey Prospects Report!**

Free Agent Frenzy starts Monday and though there isn't a deep class of stars to pick from, there are still a lot of interesting names that could have significant fantasy value depending on their landing spot. Contract projections will largely be from Evolving Hockey with cap data from CapFriendly and stats from Natural Stat Trick. For today, we will ignore the Big Three of Steven Stamkos, Jake Guentzel, and Sam Reinhart. They will have fantasy value no matter where they land. Same with Brandon Montour.

Jonathan Marchessault

With Marchessault going into his age-34 season, it'll be hard for him to get a long-term deal. It seems likely he takes something short, perhaps in the 3- to 5-year range, and the contract projection for him is nearly $7M if he's on the shorter end of that term. The 2023 Conn Smythe winner has 100 goals over his last three seasons, and that's tied for 31^st in the league in that span. He has managed to produce well whether playing with Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, or Nicolas Roy as his centre, so he's remained productive no matter the type of centre he has. That should be something teams are aware of because it allows lineup flexibility on how they want to use his talents.

Though he's shown his scoring penchant, especially with this 42-goal season he just had, Marchessault is also very good in transition, being able to dig the puck defensively, get it out of the defensive zone, and get it into the offensive zone with efficiency (from AllThreeZones):

All this has led to positive expected goals impacts at both ends of the ice, too. At his age, it's always fair to wonder when the drop-off will come, but any Cup contender that misses out on the Big Three would have a very worthy consolation prize in Marchessault. That could mean the Carolina Hurricanes, but he would also fit well with Los Angeles or Nashville.

Teuvo Teravainen

It will be interesting to see how team value Teräväinen. At his peak, he was a very good playmaker, but those days seem behind him now. Consider that over the last three seasons he has averaged 0.9 assists per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, which is less than teammate Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and tied with names like Victor Olofsson and Marcus Foligno across the league, and that is not nearly good enough. He turns 30 years old in September, so there should still be good years left if he can turn things around, and we saw a similar player in Mikael Granlund do just that once he left Pittsburgh (though that wasn't a multi-year downswing).

It makes me wonder if this era of Hurricanes hockey was just a bad fit for the crafty winger. Carolina is a team that plays through its defencemen and funnels pucks to the net looking for tips, deflections, and rebounds. That is decidedly not his game. All the same, contract projections have him at five years between $6.5M-$7M, and at that price, I'd rather just sign Marchessault. If he commands less than that, a team that could use help with offensive creativity like Los Angeles, Anaheim, Calgary, and St. Louis should be in the mix.

Viktor Arvidsson

On the topic of Los Angeles, which team is going to take the chance on Arvidsson? In 2022-23, he had 26 goals and 59 points while skating 17 minutes a night. He was injured for much of 2023-24 but still managed six goals and nine assists in 18 games. On the topic of stylistic fits, this is a volume shooter who typically doesn't finish at a high rate, but this is a versatile player. As recently as 2022-23, Arvidsson could play both off the rush and off the forecheck, getting to the net for rebounds and also setting up for one-timers. He did all this while being very good on zone entries:

The entire problem is he's shot under 7% at 5-on-5 across the last three seasons. Playing for Los Angeles certainly doesn't help, but that's outside the top-12 defencemen of the league, let alone forwards. At a certain point, so many low-percentage shots hurt, so the team acquiring him needs playmakers in the lineup. If he signs a short 1- or 2-year deal (EH has him with one year at about $3M), he makes a lot of sense for teams like Dallas, Vancouver, and the New York Rangers.

Jake DeBrusk

Across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, DeBrusk averaged 30 goals every 82 games while skating under 16 minutes a night. That is excellent production. He also skated nearly half his 5-on-5 time with Patrice Bergeron in those two seasons and his on-ice goal rate with the Hall of Fame centre was 3.76. That number fell to 2.47 without him, or a decline of 34%. In 2023-24, Boston scored 2.39 goals per 60 minutes when DeBrusk was on the ice at 5-on-5, or about the number from 2021-23 without Bergeron. Individually, DeBrusk's goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 with Bergeron was 1.57, and over the last three seasons when he didn't have Bergeron as his centre, that fell to 0.87. That is good enough for second-line production, and his contract projection is for five years at $5.8M. It seems fine.

All told, I don't think DeBrusk is as good as he's shown in his prime top-line minutes nor is he as bad as he looks when he's demoted to the third line or something. He is a capable second liner, and if he can get consistent top PP minutes somewhere like Utah, he could have a career year, but he also seems a good winger replacement in Carolina.

Matt Duchene

Duchene didn't have a monster season by the boxcar stats with 25 goals and 40 assists, but that's pretty good, and a nice bounce back after being bought out by Nashville. He also had a higher points-per-minute rate at 5-on-5 than teammates Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. Over the last three seasons, his goals for/against differential per minute at even strength is higher than names like Elias Pettersson, Brad Marchand, Mark Stone, and Joel Eriksson Ek. There is a very good player here.

The 2023-24 campaign had Duchene succeed in a number of offensive areas that don't show up in stat lines: assists on teammate chances, high-danger helpers, creating offensively both off the rush and off the forecheck, and all while being a wizard on zone entries:

As an older player like Marchessault, Duchene's contract projection is on the shorter end, and likely a 3-year term. The cap hit is about the same (a little over $7M), and if he signs that kind of deal, contending teams that fail to sign one of the Big Three, or Marchessault, would do well to kick the tires here. He can help any line improve offensively, and perhaps by a lot.

Brady Skjei

Another Carolina Hurricane that may be on the move is Skjei, who had a career year in 2023-24 with 47 points, registering 13 goals, 185 shots, 12 power play points, and 90 blocks. He isn't a multi-cat merchant, but this is another player who will be interesting to see where he lands outside of Carolina. Contract projections have him going for seven years at about $7.5M per season. As a percentage of an $88M cap, that would be just outside the top-30 defencemen. Even if there are a dozen RFA d-men that play as top pair options, that kind of money is money for a number-2 defenceman, or in the range of names like Devon Toews and Noah Hanifin. For a guy that is going into his age-30 season, he's a fringe top-pair guy right now, so he's best suited to be a second-pair option on a contender. Are there contenders with the cap space and desire to give him that kind of money? We will find out soon, but my guess is if he really is going to get that type of contract, that is more of a Chicago Blackhawks/San Jose Sharks/Calgary Flames signing than a Colorado Avalanche/Florida Panthers/New Jersey Devils signing.

Sean Walker

Very recently, I wrote about the heavy lifting that Walker did for the Philadelphia Flyers as it pertains to zone exits and moving the puck up the ice. This is a guy who loves jumping into the rush and becoming a fourth attacker, if not just getting the puck quickly to the forwards. He is coming off a career year with 10 goals, 19 assists, 150 shots, 127 blocks, and 118 hits all tying or surpassing prior career-best marks. He is going into his age-30 season and his contract projection is five years and around $5M a season. That is second-pair money, and a lot more palatable than what Skjei may be asking for.

Wherever he lands, Walker is unlikely to earn top PP minutes so expecting more than 30 points is expecting too much. However, he is a player that can help at both ends of the ice and can help the forwards improve their scoring rates, however marginally, at 5-on-5. He would be a great addition for the Rangers if they can make the money work, but Boston and Winnipeg could also use his services. The Jets, especially, could use another defenceman after Josh Morrissey that can really chip in offensively.