NHL Signings & Free Agents

Orpik was acquired from Washington with Philipp Grubauer but the Avalanche were unable to flip him so they’ve bought him out. Orpik had one year left with a $5.5M cap-hit. The veteran defenseman becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

The Red Wings weren’t expected to bring Frk back originally, but he signed on for one more season. Frk has a great shot and is a weapon on the power-play. The 24-year-old scored 11 goals with 14 assists (25 points) in a career-high 68 games with the Red Wings in 2018. He figures to play in the Red Wings’ bottom-6 in 2019 with a lot of PP exposure.

Bertuzzi appeared in a career-high 48 games with the Red Wings in 2018, collecting seven goals and 17 assists (24 points) in 48 games. Including the playoffs, Bertuzzi has scored 28 goals with 42 assists (70 points) in his last 83 AHL games. The 23-year-old will be a full-time NHLer in 2019 and could play in the Red Wings’ top-6.

Carlson had a season to remember, leading all defensemen in points (68) and winning the Stanley Cup in a contract year. Re-signing Carlson looked like it might be difficult for the Capitals, but they traded Philipp Grubauer and Brooks Orpik to the Avalanche on Friday, clearing some cap-space to sign their No.1 blueliner. Carlson ties Brent Burns with the second-highest cap-hit among NHL defensemen at $8.0 million.

Wideman missed the majority of the 2018 season, appearing in just 16 games before suffering a hamstring in mid-November. Wideman recorded eight points (3G / 5A) before missing the rest of the season—he figures to compete for a spot in the Senators’ starting-6 blueliners this year.

Between the Maple Leafs and Blues, Soshnikov appeared in just 15 NHL games last season, scoring just one goal with one assist. Soshnikov figures to be a reserve forward with the Blues this upcoming season.

Grubauer was acquired from the Capitals on Friday and signs with the Avalanche, where he figures to start the season as Semyon Varlamov’s backup. Grubauer has played in more than 20 games in each of the last three seasons and ranks tied for first in GAA (2.25) and tied for third in SV% (.923) among goalies with at least 60 games played over that span.

After five years in the KHL, Kovalchuk will return to the NHL in 2019 with the Kings. Kovalchuk scored 31 goals with 32 assists (63 points) in 53 KHL games last season and carried a 1.1 points-per-game and averaged 50 games played, 23-goals and 32 assists in his six seasons in Russia. The Kings’ first line left-winger ranks 92nd at the position, so Kovalchuk is a huge upgrade, even at 35-years-old. He had 11 goals and 20 assists (31 points) in 37 games during his last NHL season.

Domingue took over as the Lightning’s No.2 netminder after being acquired from the Coyotes, going 7-3-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .914 SV% in 12 games with Tampa Bay. The Lightning traded Peter Budaj to the Kings this summer, clearing the path for Domingue to be Andrei Vasilevskiy’s full-time backup next year.

Johns, 26, has improved in each of his two and a half NHL seasons since being drafted No.60 overall pick in 2010. Johns is a big, bruising defenseman, who led the Stars in hits (2.7 hits per game) last season while scored eight goals with seven assists (15 points).

Granlund had eight goals and four assists (12 points) in 53 games with the Canucks last season. The former second-round pick (No.45 in 2011) fell short of his 32-point (19G / 13A) season from the year before and figures to be a botto-6 or reserve forward with them in 2019.

Bachman, 30, spent all of the 2018 season in Utica (AHL) where he went 13-13-0 with a 2.98 GAA and .902 SV%. Bachman is the fourth goalie on the Canucks’ depth chart behind Jacob Markstrom, Anders Nilsson and Thatcher Demko, so he isn’t expected to see any NHL action in 2019, barring something unforeseen.

Pickard, 26, was acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights in early-October and spent the majority of the season in the AHL. Pickard, who is currently No.4 on the Maple Leafs’ goaltending depth chart, was 21-9-1 with a 2.31 GAA, .918 SV% and one shutout in 33 games with the Marlies. He gave up four goals on 27 shots in his only NHL appearance with the Maple Leafs.

2018 was the most productive season of Carrick’s young career. The 24-year-old right-handed blueliner set career-highs in goals (4), assists (8) and points (12) while appearing in just 47 games for the Maple Leafs. Carrick’s signing suggests that the Maple Leafs won’t bring back Roman Polak and that Carrick will start the season as their third-pairing D-man on the right side.

Boucher has a great shot that helps him continue to post strong numbers in the AHL, but the NHL results still aren’t there. In 2018, the 24-year-old winger had 46 points (25G / 21A) in 45 games with Utica (AHL) but picked up just three goals and two assists in 20 games with Vancouver. He will continue to be a quality depth winger for the Canucks for at least one more season.

Benning is coming off of the best season of his young career, having scored is goals with 15 assists (21 points) in 73 games. The 24-year-old posted one of the best CorsiFor% (51.2) ratings among Oilers’ defensemen and graded out as the No.47 right-handed defenseman in the NHL according to Corsica Player Rankings—not bad for a third-pairing D-man.

Lindberg, who has one of the players acquired in the Derick Brassard trade last season, scored 10 goals with 13 assists (23 points) in 64 games with Chicago (AHL). Lindberg was a fourth-round pick (No.102 overall) in 2013 and has just two assists in six career NHL games (w/ TOR).

Grzelcyk, 24, became an integral part of the Bruins’ blueline in 2017-18 after spending the majority of his first pro season in the AHL. The 2012 third-round pick (No.85 overall) registered three goals and 12 assists (15 points) in 61 games with the Bruins. Grzelcyk will likely be a third-pairing defenseman on the left-side behind Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara next season.

Hayden, 23, was a third-round pick (No.74 overall) in 2013 and turned pro after his senior season at Yale University in 2017. Last year he split his season between the AHL and NHL—picking up 17 points (5G / 12A) in 24 games with Rockford and 13 points (4G / 9A) in 47 games with Chicago. Hayden is a physical winger with some skill who should be in Blackhawks’ bottom-6 this fall.

Hinostroza, 24, is a Chicago native who was drafted in the sixth round in 2012 and set career-highs in games (50), goals (7), assists (18) and points (25) with the Blackhawks last season. He also spent some time in Rockford (AHL) where he was near a point-per-game with 22 points (9G / 13A) in 23 games. Hinostroza projects to be a middle-6 forward to start the 2019 season.