Evaluating the top UFA defensemen in the NHL with Severson, Gavrikov off the board

Damon Severson and Vladislav Gavrikov were paid by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, before they tested their values on the open market. With two of the most sought-after defensemen already unavailable, remaining free agents like Ryan Graves and Carson Soucy could secure handsome pay days from teams in need of help on the blue line. During Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, hosts Frank Seravallia and Mike McKenna broke down the free agent landscape for UFA defensemen.

Frank Seravalli: Let’s talk about the D-man market, Mike. We covered an interesting turn of events on Friday when Damon Severson joined the Columbus Blue Jackets on an 8-year deal worth $50 million in a sign-and-trade with the New Jersey Devils. That will pay him $6.25 AAV, so a significant buy from the Blue Jackets. That contract and the deal that the LA Kings gave Vladislav Gavrikov of $5.875 million per year for 2 seasons has to leave the other guys who are pending UFAs in a very thin class licking their chops.

There are already rumblings that Dmitry Orlov is seeking something in the $8 million AAV range, Mike. No matter what, there is definitely good news in those numbers for Ryan Graves, Scott Mayfield, and Carson Soucy. 

Mike McKenna: Well Orlov is already 31 years of age and I guess he thinks it’s time to cash in; that’s going to have to be a short-term deal if he wants 8 million bucks, man. It’s funny because I think the biggest free agent in the defensive market looking for his next big contract might actually be Vince Dunn in Seattle. Depending on the term of his deal, he’ll easily make $7 million plus or even approach $8 million on a short-term deal. He’s an RFA, though, so that’s a different process.

Ryan Graves’s value just went through the roof with the Gavrikov deal. Graves could make north of $5 million bucks from somebody. He is a mobile player. Even further down the list, Scott Mayfield is on the wrong side of 30 but he has been a top-four player for the Islanders, he plays shutdown, penalty kill minutes; he’s an Alec Martinez type minus the Stanley Cup.

With guys like Graves and Mayfield out there, there’s going to be a lot of $4-5.5 million-dollar contracts given out to defensemen this summer. They aren’t the big tickets, but they’re in the mix at that price range.

Here’s what I want to ask you: what do you think of Matt Dumba? Where does he slot into this class? He’s a big variable for me.

Frank Seravalli: I think he’s someone that will sign a short-term deal for one or two years to prove himself and rebuild his value. Coming off of a year where he really struggled, teams view him as a kamikaze pilot. He can throw an enormous hit in the neutral zone, but he makes a lot of questionable decisions with the puck that I think teams are wary of. Does it make sense to pay Dumba? 

A perfect fit would be a place like Florida; get an opportunity on a cheap deal and try to hit it out of the park. He already had a nice payday with the Wild on that long-term deal. Same thing with John Klingberg. Had these guys hit the market a year ago we would be looking at them in a different light, but they need to rehab their images now.

Very few guys have increased their value in the playoffs the way that Radko Gudas has in our fifth spot. He’s been a beast all postseason. He is exactly the kind of guy you sign to round out your six. On a 3-year, $2 million dollar per year deal, Gudas would be a valuable playoff commodity.

You can watch the entire episode here…