Free Agency Gives NHL GMs Another Chance

While Canadians celebrate Canada Day on July 1 and Americans celebrate their independence on July 4, it is hockey general managers on both sides of the border that work hard this time of year—not only do they infuse their systems with some young blood through the NHL draft, but also bolster their rosters with a free agent or two.
 
What constitutes a free agent (FA) has changed through the years but according to the NHL, starting this season (2008–09), “a player age 27 with four accrued seasons or with seven accrued seasons will be an unrestricted free agent,” meaning they have the right to sign with whichever team they desire.
 
In days gone by, teams in big markets could break open the bank account and scoop up all the big-name FAs, but with the salary cap in place since the end of the 2005 lockout, wild shopping sprees happen with less frequency.
 
When the NHL FA market opened for business this past July 1, most of the prize catches were reeled in within the first 24 hours by a number of different teams.
 
Both Henrik and Daniel Sedin re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks for $30.5 million over five years.
 
Scott Niedermayer will remain with Anaheim for at least another year at $6 million.
 
Ex-Detroit Red Wing Marian Hossa moved to Chicago and will receive $62.8 million over the span of 12 years.
 
After acquiring his negotiation rights from Florida, the Calgary Flames sealed the deal with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, signing him to a 5-year pact that will pay him a total of $33.4 million.
 
Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was one of the few players who decided to sign with Edmonton. He signed for four years at $3.75 million a year.
 
The free agent market has caused player salaries to rise with unrestricted FAs seeking “market value.” That, of course, is to be expected, however, there are still some questionable deals that were tendered.
 
You can make cases about whether the Sedins, Hossa, Bouwmeester et al. are worth their new deals or not but was New York Rangers GM Glen Sather wise to sign former Minnesota Wild winger Marian Gaborik to a five-year $37.5 million deal?
 
While no one will doubt Gaborik’s talent, he has been plagued by back, groin, and hip injuries throughout his career. Last season, he only appeared in 17 games.
 
This isn’t the first time Sather has signed free agents to big contracts either.
 
Two year’s ago at the start of the FA period, the Rangers GM signed C Scott Gomez to a seven-year $51.5 million deal and C Chris Drury to a five-year $35.25 million deal.
 
Gomez averaged 64 points in two seasons with the Rangers and was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens while Drury has averaged 57 points—not exactly good returns on the Rangers’ investment.
 
General managers have to be careful about which free agents to sign, the wrong player for the wrong amount of money can hamper a team for years to come—drafting still remains the best way to build a team. At least Sather used the free agent window to ship off the Gomez contract.
 
The Chicago Blackhawks have drafted well over the past few years with the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Brent Seabrook. This bodes well for Marian Hossa.
 
He won’t be asked to lead the Blackhawks to the Promised Land. He’ll just be asked to chip in along the way.