We’re now several days into the free agency period for 2019 and things have slowed to a turtle’s pace. After a flurry of moves in the first few hours including Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene finding new homes, there’s been almost no movement at all on the UFA market. Ben Chiarot came off the board this morning when the Montreal Canadiens gave him a three-year deal, but otherwise there have only been depth moves. That’s what teams seem to be focused on at the moment, as there are still more minor league signings coming in:
- The Toronto Marlies have signed Marcus Power, Sergei Sapego and Maksim Zhukov to minor league contracts, adding three more names to fill out the organizational depth charts. Zhukov is a name some Vegas Golden Knights may remember, as he was originally drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2017. Vegas decided not to sign Zhukov this year and had his exclusive draft rights expire.
- Garet Hunt, a veteran of a decade in the ECHL and one of the toughest 5’8″ players in the world, has signed on with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. Hunt has amassed 2,666 penalty minutes across his ECHL career, fighting as many as 29 times in a single season. The former Vancouver Giants enforcer will join former NHL players like Adam Cracknell, Spencer Foo and Gilbert Brule on the KHL club this season.