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.
Bonino has one-year left at $4.1M AAV and address a major need at centre for the 2020-21 campaign. Bonino is a solid player but his his offensive output is capped. In three years with Nashville, Bonino averaged 18 goals and 18 assists (36 points) per 82 games. He'll likely centre the third line in Minnesota.
Kunin is a pending RFA, who is projected to sign a contract in the range of $3.25M AAV, which would be $850K savings from Nick Bonino's $4.1M AAV cap hit. Kunin is coming off of the best season of his young career, scoring 15 goals with 16 assists (31 points) in 63 games and has even more upside in Nashville, where he'll be surrounded by more top-end talent.
Not to be mistaken with the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Jonathan Gruden was selected in the fourth-round (No.95 overall) in 2018. The 6-foot, 180 lbs. centre moved from Miami (Ohio) University to the London Knights (OHL) for the 2020 season, where he was second on the team in goals (30) and fourth in points (66) in 59 games.
The Penguins made their decision in net when they locked up Tristan Jarry last week. With so many free agent goalies becoming available on Friday it was a priority to get this trade done before then to maximize Murray's value. He is coming off of a down year, having posted a 2.87 GAA and .899 SV% in 38 starts but Murray is a huge upgrade in net for the Senators, who have improved drastically over the last 24 hours.
Stephens was a second-round pick (No.33 overall) in 2015 and graduated to the NHL in 2020. The 23-year-old centre had 10 points (5G / 5A) in 24 AHL games before getting promoted and picking up six points (3G / 3A) in 38 games in Tampa. He appeared in seven playoff games, scoring one goal en route to getting his name on the Stanley Cup.
DeMelo was set to become a UFA on Friday but the Jets have locked him up through the 2024 season at $3.0M. This is a fair price for a defenseman, who is a pretty good offensive play driver who is also rock solid in his own end. DeMelo had 10 assists, 105 hits and 77 blocked shots in 59 games between the Senators and Jets last season.
Kempny had surgery for a torn hamstring in 2019 and struggled through most of 2020 and will now most, if not all of 2021 after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon while training in the Czech Republic. After finding out about Kempny's injury, the Capitals re-signed Brendan Dillon to a four-year extension. Dillon filled in for Kempny next to John Carlson on the top-pair last year.
Dillon, 29, was acquired from the Sharks for second and third round draft picks last February and appeared in 10 regular season and eight playoff games with Washington. He picked up just one assist, 42 hits and 26 blocked shots in a Capitals uniform. With Michal Kempny out for 6-to-8 months, the Capitals were quick to re-sign the 6-foot-4, 225 lbs. defenseman.
MacEwen split his 2020 campaign between the AHL and NHL, recording 11 points (5G / 6A) in 20 games with Utica and six points (5G / 1A) in 17 games with Vancouver. MacEwen is a big winger (6-foot-4, 211 lbs) who posted excellent numbers at lower-levels and should be a bottom-6 player for the Canucks in 2021.
Anderson dealt with shoulder issues all throughout 2020, limiting him to just 26 games and four points (1G / 3A). In 2019, Anderson scored a career-high 27 goals with 20 assists (47 points) in 82 games. He was one of three players who had 20-plus goals and 200-plus hits in 2019--Alex Ovechkin and Blake Coleman were the other two, pretty good company. Anderson's rugged style of play is exactly what the Habs were in search of and he will pair nicely on the second line with Nick Suzuki.
Domi is coming off of a bit of a down year, scoring just 17 goals with 27 assists (44 points) in 71 games. That's down from his 28 goals and 44 assists in his debut season with Montreal but still would have been second on the Blue Jackets in points in 2020. Domi is exactly the type of player the Blue Jackets were in need of and pushes Boone Jenner to a third-line centre role, which is a much better fit for him. The acquisition of Domi, who will likely skate on a line with Gustav Nyquist and Cam Atkinson, signals that the Blue Jackets are likely done with Alexander Wennberg.
Abdelkader had three years left at $4.25M AAV. Buying him out will cost the Red Wings $1.8M AAV in 2021 ($2.4M Savings), $2.3M AAV in 2022 ($1.95M Savings) and $1.06M AAV from 2023 to 2025. Over the last two seasons (Min.120 games played) Abdelkader had the second-fewest points (22) among forwards in the NHL.
