Fringe Signings (June 30)

A respectable playoff run for the Tampa Bay Lightning may have opened the eyes of a few people to their team and a guy like defenseman Andrej Sustr might be on their radar for a sleeper defender for next season. In 72 games last year, he picked up 13 assists, ranking 139th in the position in scoring.  On Tuesday, the eve of the opening of free agency, he signed a 2-year deal, worth $2.9 million.  He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent tomorrow, but there is no more worries for the giant blueliner.

Sustr had a decent playoff run, playing in all 26 games for the Bolts, but only picking up 2 points.  Nevertheless, the 24-year old should have gained plenty of confidence and I would imagine that this year's projections should reflect that.

After his signing, Brendan Smith becomes the 114th highest scoring defenseman last season with a deal already in place for the 2016, so he's just deep enough to be a fringe player for next season.  The Red Wings signed the 26-year old defenseman to a 2-year deal, with a cap hit of $2.75 million per season, with the full expectation that he has a full-time job for next year.

In 76 games, he scored 4 goals and 13 points with the Red Wings and there will also be an expectation that he betters those numbers, likely with a few more minutes per game.

He has been floating around for a while now, so this should be his time coming up, as he can sneak into a great roster spot, among a defense corps that may lack that true 2-3 kind of guy.