Fansided

NHL Free Agency: Winners and losers from day one

By Dave Stevenson

Mar 21, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo (21) skates to the bench after scoring during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo (21) skates to the bench after scoring during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Winner: Top forwards

If you were one of the top free agent forwards today, congratulations you got paid big-time. Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson, David Backes, and Troy Brouwer each got huge contracts from their respective teams.

Lucic signed a seven-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. He gets the privilege of playing alongside Calder Trophy finalist Connor McDavid. Lucic will be making an average of $6 million a season to help replace Taylor Hall. As expected, he signed the most expensive contract.

Ladd got a shocking seven-year deal worth a total of $38.5 million, falling just short of Lucic. He will most likely be asked to replace Kyle Okposo as John Tavares’ line mate. That’s a job that a lot of players would love to have.

Speaking of Okposo, he got a huge deal from the Buffalo Sabres that matched the seven-year $42 million deal that Lucic got from the Oilers. He’ll likely get to play with a budding superstar in Jack Eichel and he’s in a terrific hockey town.

Nielsen gets the lofty role of helping to replace Pavel Datsyuk. As compensation for filling his huge shoes, he received a six-year $31.5 million contract. Nielsen played the Robin to Tavares’ Batman for a long time. Now he gets rewarded for his patience.

Backes signed the most shocking deal of day one, getting a five-year deal from the Boston Bruins. It came from out of nowhere, but Backes should be a perfect fit for the Bruins. Brouwer, Backes’ teammate with the Blues, cashed in, as he got a four-year deal worth $18 million from the Calgary Flames.

Next: Loser: Detroit Red Wings

Home/Buffalo Sabres