Today, so many free agents signed. So many. More than 600,000,000 was committed to free agents today, and this is an event that happens yearly. It really makes you wish you had played hockey earlier. Maybe that’s just me.

Instead of going through the 100+ free agent signings that have happened today – what would be a 40000 word article – we’re going to do a quick wrap on the biggest deals and what the impact of it is on teams, and who’s still out there, and what could happen between now and August.

The only team that hasn’t made a move today is Anaheim. Thought I’d throw in that little Tim bit.

Milan Lucic to Edmonton

The biggest free agent deal of the year, after Stamkos re-signed in Tampa Bay in an anti-climatic moment, went to the Oilers, citing his primary reason as playing with young and rising Connor McDavid, but as in all free agent deals money had a role to play, and Peter Chiarelli wanted his former skilled goon back.

I think this move gives Edmonton a little bit more grit, but they lost Taylor Hall essentially for this move, and there is nothing that can be done that will convince me Lucic is a better player, especially when the League is moving the direction it is, and when Hall’s contract is 100 times better than Lucic’s. It gives the team help on offense and it gives them a net front presence, the one thing Hall wasn’t doing.

Kyle Okposo to Buffalo

The second biggest signing, a guy with more points, but isn’t as well rounded, is Buffalo’s, signing Okposo to play in their top 6. Okposo brings the Sabres a scoring forward, someone capable of getting the puck on net, getting it in, and someone who will play really well offensively.

The Sabres are a team without a ton of talent outside of their 2 centers, and so bringing in Okposo helps not only make the top 6 stronger, but increases the depth overall on the team. It also gives Eichel someone to play with on his level, who can work with the kid and somewhat mentor him and help him develop that offense. It’s a smart move from Buffalo and it’s somewhat a necessary one if they want to contend any time soon.

Loui Eriksson to Vancouver

Eriksson is another great wing that was available this year, another great scorer, and a fantastic sportsman, one who was nominated for the Lady Byng this year. He’s a top 6 guy, someone who many teams had on their wish list.

Vancouver was the lucky winner, but it feels like they shouldn’t be. Instead of focusing on the rebuild, it feels like they’re putting all their chips in on getting a Cup for the Sedin twins, who past their primes a time ago. Eriksson is the latest move to push for that Cup, and while it’s good on Eriksson to get money while he can and do it in as wonderful a place as Vancouver, it’s bad for the Canucks who will soon face a black hole not seen since the Oilers. Hopefully Vancouver realizes how to turn it around sooner than the Oilers did.

The Eriksson signing for any other team would be a great signing, one that would bring a team a competitive player who could work with most centers. For the Canucks, it brings a few more years of mediocrity. Not fan inspiring stuff.

Dan Hamhuis to Dallas

Another team addressing it’s problems, Dallas signed Dan Hamhuis to a 2 year contract. Dallas had a messy defense this year, and while Hamhuis isn’t the same player he was five years ago, he’s still a massive upgrade from some of the players who made up the Dallas blue line over the past year.

This team works for both parties because Dallas desperately needed an upgrade in their own zone, and Hamhuis is phenomenal there. Unfortunately, Dallas has still to address it’s goal problem, and unless it does so soon, they will face the same problems that bumped them out of the playoffs this year. Teams in the Central (Chicago, Nashville, Winnipeg, Minnesota) have all improved, now it’s up to Dallas to do the same.

Mikkel Boedker to San Jose

Boedker is terrific offensively, and well sized. The San Jose Sharks were the same thing up until the Stanley Cup Finals. With their core aging and with most of them re-signed, with a lot of cap remaining, the Sharks needed a big signing, and Boedker represents it. The Sharks should be able to make another push at the Stanley Cup, at least at the Western Conference Finals (with the lack of competition in the Pacific), and it looks like Doug Wilson is all in.

Boedker will be able to help the Sharks get better offensively, and will help them push the depth that the Penguins threw at them, allowing more than one line to be the line in the future.

Andrew Ladd to Brooklyn

Ladd is a terrific leader, and still has offensive capability, though it was not on display with Chicago. The Islanders need someone to replace Kyle Okposo, and with Ladd still being a competent wing, the move should allow a degree of scoring both in the regular season and in the post-season. When a wing is paired with as good of an offensive center as Tavares, they will get a boost, and Ladd’s boost will help the Islanders continue to be better on both ends of the ice than most teams.

Alexander Radulov to Montreal

Radulov is a guy with character issues in the past, but the move back to the KHL and now having a family seems to have had an effect. Unfortunately, we have not seen Radulov in the League for quite some time, and so we have not seen how his play and his attitude will translate.

The last time Radulov was in the league, he was a skilled forward, something Montreal is very much in the need of. If he can be a good personality and can play on a high level, this is an excellent acquisition for the Canadiens, and one that can be extended. If he still has the character flaws that kicked him out of the league once, this is a high risk (5+ mil) situation, and the second in three days, two moves that Bergevin is staking his reputation on. Both guys – Shea Weber and Radulov – played together in Nashville, and last time didn’t end so well.

David Backes to Boston

Backes to Boston doesn’t make sense because Don Sweeney said the reason the Bruins weren’t going to heavily pursue Loui Eriksson was because of his age – well Backes is two years older and has not played with the team and shown chemistry like Eriksson did.

The move does give Boston more center depth, something becoming increasingly more important in a League where the last two center lineups to win the Cup were Crosby-Bonino-Malkin-Cullen and Toews-Richards-Vermette-Kruger. Boston still needs to address their blue line, but bringing in Backes helps increase blue line presence from the forward position and also helps offensively.

Victor Hedman Re-Signs

Hedman is a top ten defenseman (arguably top 5) in this League, and any amount to bring him back into the fold is a move you make, and with the deal that Yzerman got him to sign (7m+, a little more than Ekblad), and with the deal Yzerman was able to sign Stamkos to, it seems like the Yzerplan is taking over.

Re-signing Hedman was a move the Bolts needed to make, and with the deal they have in place, it was a solid move and one that showcases how signing your own players is done. Yzerman is chasing that Cup armed with a long term solution at both defense and offense.

Brian Campbell to Chicago 

Campbell represents something that Chicago lost when they lost Johnny Oduya – a solid top 4 in their defense, with a consistent bottom pairing, one that can ease the minutes off of the top 4. Having Campbell means that Chicago can pair TVR and Kempny on the bottom pairing, giving them time to develop and learn and time to earn chemistry.

Campbell is still a solid defenseman, one who can make a difference on both ends of the ice. Pairing him with Niklas Hjalmarsson will enable Campbell to skate all over the offensive ice, helping the play develop, knowing that his partner is ready to get back if the need arises. Campbell, as a proven veteran, also knows how to play and how to win, and can teach TVR, Kempny, and Gustafsson. The down side of Campbell is his age, he will be 38. But seeing his play this year should create Q and Bowman’s expectations for Keith and Seabrook at that age.

Eric Staal to Minnesota

Minnesota needs a first line center, someone who can play with Parise and Suter and can help them offensively at all times during the year. They think they got that in Eric Staal.

Unfortunately, it seems Staal’s best days are behind him, and he’s nothing more than a depth center now. While that still helps Minnesota, it doesn’t mean that they were able to get what they truly need, as they are set on depth centers. If, however, Staal needed a new start, somewhere fresh, and Minnesota was able to give him that, they lost nothing and can be richly rewarded.

Frans Nielsen to Detroit

Detroit needed a Center after losing Brad Richards and Pavel Datsyuk, especially with Henrik Zetterberg aging. After losing the Stamkos sweepstakes, Detroit needed to find someone, anyone, to help Dylan Larkin in the future, to be #2 to his #1, and while (again) I don’t believe that’s what they found, Frans Nielsen is a center in the mold of Marcus Kruger, someone who can come in, significantly contribute to the penalty kill, and play well defensively and as a two way forward contribute.

I think that’s something Detroit lost with Datsyuk, and while Nielsen doesn’t have the offensive upside of Datsyuk (not even close) his defense is comparable and it makes a good difference for a Detroit team trying not just to get to the first round but to be a significant player in the future, something they haven’t been since the 2012-2013 playoffs.

Troy Brouwer to Calgary

Calgary signed a forward with size, something they didn’t have before, and it’s something they can work with going forward. I like this move because the Blues lost two of their best, and because Brouwer, who eliminated the Blackhawks in the playoffs (even though he was a dirty player in that series), is now gone from the Central division, and at least for a while, from facing the Chicago Blackhawks. It’ll be a fun year to be a Blackhawks fan again.

The people left to be signed are some big names (Jason Demers, Kris Russell, Jiri Hudler), those who we have not addressed are some big names (Lee Stempniak, JM Liles, James Reimer). But today, when more than 600 million dollars and 119 names were signed to new contracts, we addressed the big names and the big contracts.