Rau appeared in six games with the Wild in 2020, spending most of the year in Iowa (AHL), where he was fourth on the team with 43 points (14G / 29A) in 51 games. Rau has had a couple of very brief stints in the NHL, totalling five points (2G / 3A) in 42 games and looks like a player that will spend most of 2021 in the AHL again.
After spending four years at Brown University and one full season in the AHL, Lafferty spent most of 2020 with the Penguins, scoring six goals with seven assists (13 points) in 50 games. There were a lot of moving parts in Pittsburgh in the offseason but Lafferty should still have a spot in their bottom-6 come January.
Entering Friday, Kivlenieks sits firmly as the No.3 goalie in the Blue Jackets' system but rumours of a potential deal for Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo have been floating around, so that could change. If it doesn't Kivlenieks will return to the AHL to start the 2020-21 season, where he was 9-8-3 with a 2.96 GAA and .904 SV% in 20 games last season.
Gudbranson is entering the final-year of his deal that carries a $4.0M cap-hit. After nine years with the Panthers, Canucks, Penguins and Ducks, Gudbranson gets a chance to play in his hometown. Gudbranson has been much maligned in recent years but brings physicality to a Senators blueline that lost that edge when they let Mark Borowiecki walk in free agency.
Williams had a lengthy 19-year career with the Flyers, Hurricanes, Kings and Capitals. He is three-time Stanley Cup Champion, the 2013-14 Conn Smythe Winner and earned the nickname "Mr. Game 7" for his ability to come through in the clutch. He retires with 320 goals and 477 assists (797 points) in 1264 career regular season games.
Pu was originally drafted in the third-round back in 2016 and has been traded three times since. Pu split his 2020 season between the AHL and ECHL, posting just two assists in 10 AHL games. Once again, this is more of a cap-dump for the Blue Jackets, who appear to be clearing space to re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois and make a splash in free agency on Friday.
Nutivaara has two years left at $2.7M AAV and should immediately slide into the Panthers' top-4. Nutivaara will likely replace Josh Brown, who was traded to Ottawa Keith Yandle's partner. He was in-and-out of the lineup in 2020, playing just 37games. Over the last three seasons, he's averaged seven goals and 18 assists (25 points) per 82 games, so there is some offence there.
Schneider had two years left on his seven-year, $42.0M deal that he signed back in 2014. The buyout will cost the Devils $2.0M in cap space for each of the next four seasons but provides them with $4.0M in savings in 2021 and 2022. Over the last three seasons, Schneider ranked 45th in GAA (3.07) and 47th in SV% (.903) among the 50 qualified netminders (Min.75 starts).
Wennberg had three years left on a six-year deal that carried a $4.9M AAV cap hit. The former No.14 overall pick (2013) had struggled since posting 59 points in 2017, averaging just five goals and 22 assists (27 points) over the last three seasons. Still, he has enough skill to be a No.2 centre for a team in need and a good enough two-way game to be a third line centre for a team with better depth.
Hirose split his time between the AHL and NHL in 2020. He had seven points (2G / 5A) in 26 games with the Red Wings, to give him 14 points (3G / 11A) in 36 career NHL games. With Grand Rapids (AHL), he had 27 points (5G / 22A) in 35 games and will likely start the 2021 campaign in the minors.
Steve Yzerman brought Erne in from Tampa Bay in the summer of 2019, trading a fourth-round pick in 2020. In his first season with the Red Wings, Erne had just two goals and three assists (five points) in 56 games . Erne is a thick, gritty forward who produced high-end offensive numbers in juniors but it has not translated to the pro-level. He has just 32 points (15G / 17A) in 170 career NHL games.
Juulsen missed most of the 2019-20 season with concussion-like symptoms that stemmed from a facial fracture that he suffered after being hit in the face with the pick in September. He had three assists in 13 AHL games and will likely start 2021 with Laval (AHL) after the promotion of Alexander Romanov and the addition of Joel Edmundson.
Johansson was a third-round pick in 2014 and made his NHL debut during the 2019-20 season. After going 14-4-3 with a 2.28 GAA and .921 SV% in 22 AHL games, Johansson was 1-3-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .894 SV% during his brief time with Buffalo.
The Blue Jackets acquired Domi from the Canadiens on Tuesday and signed him to a two-year deal on Wednesday. Domi immediately becomes the Blue Jackets' second line centre and will likely play with Gustav Nyquist and Cam Atkinson and will see PP2 time. Through the first five years of his career, Domi has averaged 18 goals and 37 assists (55 points) per 82-games.
After three seasons with the Oilers organization in North America, Puljujarvi returned to Finland for the 2020 campaign. He led Karpat (Liiga) in goals (24) and points (53) in 56 games. He'll return to the NHL for the start of the 2021 season looking for some redemption. He had 17 goals and 20 assists (37 points) in 139 NHL games beforehand.
The RFA got a $2.0M raise after posting a career-high 22 points (8G / 14A) while appearing in just 41 games. The 26-year-old forward was a Swiss Army Knife for the Golden Knights in 2020, playing up and down the lineup, on the wing or at centre, depending on what Vegas needed. Stephenson is best suited in a bottom-6 role and if he's their fourth line centre, they're in great shape.
Andersson was the No.7 overall pick in 2017 but was a headache for the Rangers in 2020. Andersson struggled in a fourth line role, posting just one assist in 17 games before being sent to Hartford (AHL). He appeared in 13 AHL games before being suspended by the Rangers and ultimately loaned to HV71 in the SHL. He performed better in his home country, scoring seven goals with five assists (12 points) in 15 games. His dad is a scout for the Kings, so they are taking a low-risk chance on him bouncing back.
Santini had one-year left on his three-year deal that paid him $1.416 million AAV. The buyout will cost Nashville just $41,667 against the cap in 2021 and $275K in 2022. Santini appeared in just two games with the Predators last season, playing the majority of the year in Milwaukee (AHL).
Turris had four years remaining at $6.0M AAV, so this is one of the largest buyouts in NHL history. The buyout will cost the Predators $2.0M against the cap for the next eight years, so it's actually saving them $4.0M AAV for the next four seasons. The Predators now have ≈$17.6M in cap space with newly acquired RFA Luke Kunin still to be signed.
