The Calgary Flames jumped right back into the thick of things with a commitment to goaltender Jonas Hiller on opening day of the frenzy. The Flames signed the 11th best goalie in 2014 to a 2-year deal worth $9 million and now have a legitimate number one in their crease. Hiller had 29 wins and 70 points for the Ducks last season.
The Flames also added a little bit more scoring depth with the addition of Mason Raymond, who signed a 3-year deal on Tuesday, which will see him with a $3.15 million cap hit each year. Raymond had a bounce back year with Toronto in 2014, scoring 19 goals and 45 points in all 82 games.
The Hurricanes re-signed forward Jiri Tlusty to a new 1-year deal worth $2.95 million, which will mark his last restricted free agent contract as a pro. Next Summer, Tlusty will be able to go unrestricted, if he doesn't get another extension with the Canes. In 2014, Tlusty finished with 16 goals and 30 points in 68 games. Scoring was somewhat problematic for Carolina last season, so they'll have to find some more help to boost the numbers of their scorers.
The Chicago Blackhawks were able to make the most of an opportunity, as they were looking for another centre to be second fiddle to Jonathan Toews, but they were working on a tight budget... voila! Brad Richards. Richards just had his contract bought out by the Rangers, so in already getting paid for the next few years, the Blackhawks were able to pitch him a 1-year deal for $2 million, giving them the centre that they so desperately wanted and for as cheap as they needed. Richards didn't have a bad regular season in the Big Apple, picking up 51 points in 82 games, which ranked him 74th among all forwards in scoring.
The youth movement in Colorado got a veteran boost, as the Avalanche managed to snag one of the big pieces of the free agent frenzy in Jarome Iginla. Iginla was looking for a longer term contract to help him through to retirement and he got a 3-year deal out of the Avs, which carries an annual cap hit of $5.3 million per season. Iginla should be able to teach the young leaders on the Avalanche a thing or two about playing some quality hockey, not to mention continuing on a 30-goal pace again next season.
The Dallas Stars started the day on Tuesday with the acquisition of Jason Spezza and then they spent the rest of the day finding some more depth. If you can call Ales Hemsky more depth. Hemsky signed a 3-year deal with the Stars, worth $12 million and he should be able to make himself right at home with a number of centres, a couple of which he is already familiar with. Between Edmonton and Ottawa last season, Hemsky had 13 goals and 43 points in 75 games.
The Florida Panthers had some wiggle room to move during the free agent frenzy and they shimmied their way into a number of deals. The top prize and their most pool worthy player was forward Jussi Jokinen, who they signed to a 4-year, $16 million deal. Jokinen scored 21 goals and 57 points in 81 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jokinen joins a pretty quick team already, also with some reasonable talent, which could be in line for a bit of a push in the Atlantic Division.
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