Originally posted on The Score
The NHL's annual free-agent frenzy started a day early this year, with reports of multiple impact signings across the league filtering out Monday afternoon.
The market officially opens Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET.
Follow along for live analysis of every major deal during one of the busiest times of the hockey calendar. You can also find a full list of offseason transactions here.
Oilers reportedly sign D Evan Bouchard to 4-year, $42-million contract extension
Whoa, sticker shock - Bouchard signed for how much over only how many years!? Expect to see more of these short-term, big-AAV deals as the salary cap keeps jumping. It's going from $88 million in 2024-25 to $95.5 million in 2025-26 to $104 million in '26-27, and then, finally, up to $113.5 million in '27-28. Bouchard's cap hit accounts for a lower percentage of the Oilers' total payroll with each passing year. He's using the changing landscape to his advantage; upon expiry of this new deal, the blue-liner will be able to cash in again as a 29-year-old free agent in the summer of 2029. Bouchard's an offensive dynamo with insane playoff numbers (81 points in 75 games) but a habit of turning the puck over at inopportune times.
Panthers reportedly sign F Brad Marchand to 6-year, $31.5-million contract extension
It didn't seem probable, but the Stanley Cup champions are running it back. Zito, the Panthers' shark of a general manager, convinced winger Marchand, defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and center Sam Bennett to all sign below-market extensions before July 1. The key selling point, of course, was term, with Ekblad (who also signed Monday at a $6.1 million AAV) and Bennett (signed last Friday at an $8 million AAV) committing to eight years at 29 years old and Marchand six years at 37. None of these deals will age gracefully, but that's beside the point. Zito and the Panthers are shooting for a fourth straight trip to the Cup Final and third straight Cup victory to seal dynasty status, and these three tunnel-vision transactions bring them closer to achieving that goal.
Maple Leafs reportedly sign F Mitch Marner to 8-year, $96-million contract extension, trade him to Golden Knights for F Nicolas Roy
This is savvy asset management by Brad Treliving.
The Leafs general manager would have lost Marner for nothing if the winger reached free agency Tuesday. Any trade, then, is worthy of a thumbs-up. To receive a legitimate NHLer instead of a mid-round draft pick (the going rate for trading the rights of a pending UFA star) is a massive win. Roy, 28, is a 6-foot-4 two-way center who'd long been buried on Vegas' depth chart. He slots in nicely behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares as the Leafs' 3C. His cap hit of $3 million through 2026-27 leaves plenty of room for upgrades elsewhere.
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, continue to care about one thing and one thing only: challenging for the Stanley Cup every season. Regardless of risk.
Marner, arguably the NHL's most well-rounded winger, is fresh off a 102-point campaign. He joins a forward group that orbits around two other stars acquired via trade in Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Does Marner, 28, find a home on Eichel's wing? William Karlsson's? Either way, he's escaped the Toronto microscope and added $96 million to his career earnings (though he surely could have reeled in a heftier deal on the open market). Time will tell if his checkered playoff production follows him to the Western Conference.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
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Originally posted on The Score
Published: 1 week ago
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