The offseason is in full swing and while there weren’t as many big headlines as there were a week ago, there were still some notable signings and trades along the way which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.
Thornton Leaves San Jose: After 15 years in San Jose, Joe Thornton is moving on. First, he signed in Switzerland with HC Davos to get some game action in with the Sharks being one of the seven teams that didn’t play during the NHL’s return. Then, he opted to join his hometown team, inking a one-year deal with Toronto worth the league minimum of $700K while also receiving a no-move clause. The 41-year-old had his quietest offensive year since his rookie season back in 1997-98 but still managed to put up 31 points in 70 games while playing over 15 minutes a night. It’s unlikely that the Maple Leafs will use Thornton as much but he should give them a bit more offensive pop in the bottom six and some depth down the middle for a cheap price.
Dadonov To Ottawa: The Senators are not a team that’s known for making a splash on the open market but they did so this past week the addition of Evgeni Dadonov on a three-year, $15MM contract. The 31-year-old made an impressive return to the NHL back in 2017-18 and outperformed the three-year, $12MM deal he had with Florida, picking up 81 goals and 101 assists in 225 games over that span. Dadonov should have a chance to play on Ottawa’s top line next season and gives them a capable veteran offensive threat to allow some of their upcoming prospects to ease their way into the NHL.
Vegas Defensive Dealings: As soon as Torey Krug signed in St. Louis, it felt like it was only a matter of time before Alex Pietrangelo signed with Vegas. That eventually did come to fruition as he signed a seven-year, $61.6MM contract to take over as the top defenseman for the Golden Knights. The 30-year-old is a rare number one blueliner to hit the open market and happened to be coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career with 16 goals and 36 assists in 70 games. While many teams are capped out, Pietrangelo was still able to command top dollar and term while picking up a full no-move clause along the way as Vegas landed the biggest fish on the open market.
Of course, that acquisition didn’t come without its cost. After moving Paul Stastny back to Winnipeg at the beginning of free agency, that still wasn’t enough to bring Pietrangelo in and a high-priced contract had to be cleared out before Vegas could even register the contract with the league. That meant that Nate Schmidt was on the move to Vancouver with the Canucks only needing to part with a 2022 third-round pick to in return. Schmidt had become a legitimate top-four blueliner in his three years with the Golden Knights, picking up at least 30 points in each season while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night. He’ll be a big addition to their back end, especially after they lost Chris Tanev (Calgary) and Troy Stecher (Detroit) in free agency.
Montreal’s Moves: The Canadiens also made a splash in free agency, signing winger Tyler Toffoli to a four-year, $17MM contract. The 28-year-old had 24 goals last season between Los Angeles and Vancouver but still had to take a small pay cut in this limited free agent market. That wasn’t the only move the Canadiens made either. They also put pen to paper on a two-year extension for goaltender Jake Allen before he has even played for the team as they only acquired him from St. Louis last month. On top of that, shortly after word leaked that there was a breakdown in extension talks with winger Brendan Gallagher, they agreed to a six-year, $39MM deal with the 28-year-old. Gallagher had at least 30 goals in each of the two seasons before 2019-20 and scored at a similar pace last year but was limited due to injury and the pandemic.
Toews On The Move: With the Islanders needing to free up some cap room to deal with the rest of their restricted free agents, they traded blueliner Devon Toews to Colorado for a pair of second-round picks. The 26-year-old only played his first full NHL season in 2019-20 but it was a strong one with 28 points in 68 games. He played even better in the playoffs, picking up 10 points in 22 games while logging more than 20 minutes a night in ice time. Toews will replace Nikita Zadorov on the roster as the Avalanche have quietly assembled a deep group of quality young defensemen. The restricted free agent filed for salary arbitration last weekend and has a hearing set for October 31st.
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