NHL Signings & Free Agents

Byfuglien was set to become an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the season and was expected to be traded as we approached the trade deadline, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. Byfuglien is locked up through the 2020-21 season. He has 15 goals and 17 assists (32 points) in 52 games this season.

Sestito, 28, has been with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on an AHL contract, but signed a two-way NHL deal this afternoon. Sestito has two goals and four assists (six points) in 19 games with WBS.

Barkov, 20, was the second overall pick in the 2013 draft. He has collected 30 points (12G / 18A) in 38 games this season. In his first three NHL seasons, Barkov has 90 points (36G / 54A) in 163 career games.

Paille has one goal and three assists in 31 games with Rockford (AHL) this season. Paille has been signed to a two-way deal with the Rangers, but isn’t going to have any fantasy impact.

Kopitar, 28, has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings after the club selected him in the first-round (11th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In 725 regular season games he has 645 points (230G / 415A), a plus-62 rating and 194 penalty minutes, while in 70 postseason games he has 60 points (18G / 42A), a plus-22 rating and 37 penalty minutes en route to two Stanley Cups.

Richards had his contract with the Kings terminated in 2014 after he faced a charge of possession of a controlled substance while entering Canada. The Capitals met with the NHL on Wednesday and he was granted permission to resume his NHL career. Richards won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012 and has 482 career NHL points (179G / 303A) in 710 games.

Zubrus has been with the Sharks on a tryout but finally signed this afternoon. The 37-year-old had four goals and 10 points in 74 games with the Devils last season. He has 584 career points (225G / 359A) in 1243 games, but will likely serve as a depth forward at this point in his career.

Abdelkader, who had a career-high 23 goals and 21 assists last season, opened this year with a hat trick, but since then he has only scored one goal with three assists in 14 games. Abdelkader will be paid $4.5 million until he is 36-years-old.

Clune, 28, signed an AHL contract with the Maple Leafs this summer and registered two goals and three assists in eight games with the Marlies. Signing him to an NHL contract forced the Leafs to make room on the roster for Clune, by placing Mark Arcobello on waivers.

Ekholm has one goal and two assists in eight games this season. He is not usually known for producing offensively, having recorded just 30 points (9G / 21A) in 153 career games.

Plekanec has four goal in five games so far this season and is now locked up for another two years. The most important part of this contract extension, is that it ends the same season as Carey Price’s contract, giving the Habs a lot of flexibility to resign Price.

Boulton, 39, has played with the Islanders for the last three years and his NHL career will extend into a 16th season. The 1994 ninth round pick has 31 career goals, 48 assists (79 points) 1419 PIMS in 648 games.

Despres, 24, who was acquired from the Penguins last season, had six points (1G / 5A) in 16 games with the Ducks and 23 points (3G / 20A) in 75 games between both teams. He is expected to open the season on the Ducks’ second pair with Cam Fowler as his partner and has clearly become a big part of the Ducks’ plans going forward.

Gomez, 35, was in Blues camp on a PTO and made the team after posting one assist and a minus-3 rating in four games during preseason action. Gomez had seven goals and 27 assists (34 points) in 58 games with the Devils last year.

Skille had one goal and one assist in five preseason games on a tryout with the Avalanche. It was enough to earn him a roster spot and he could be in the lineup for their season opener.

Lack, 27, was acquired from the Canucks for a third and seventh round pick this summer and he will challenge Cam Ward for the starting job this season. In his first two seasons in the NHL, Lack has gone 34-30-9 with a 2.43 GAA, .917 SV% and six shutouts. During the preseason he posted a 1-0-0 record, a 2.21 GAA and .932 SV% in three games (136 minutes played). Those number were substantially better then Ward’s preseason stats.

Gustavsson, who was with the Bruins on a PTO, won the Bruins’ backup job by going 1-1-0 with a 2.07 GAA and .923 SV% in two preseason games. In six NHL seasons, Gustavsson is 60-55-21 with a 2.89 GAA and .901 SV% between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings.