Dahlstrom served as the Jets' No.7 defenseman in 2020, picking up just one assist in 15 games. Dahlstrom won't be a regular on a deep Vegas blueline but could serve as a No.7 defenseman with them as well.
Instead of overpaying a centre for four or five years in free agency, the Jets go back to a player they're familiar with via trade. Stastny was acquired at the trade deadline in 2018 and he had 28 points (10G / 18A) in 36 games between the regular season and playoffs combined. At 34-years-old, Stastny isn't the player he once was but he is a good short-term solution as the Jets' second line centre.
Duke has spent the first three years of his professional career with Chicago (AHL) and has just 31 points (15G / 16A) in 97 games with them over that span. Duke likely won't reach the NHL anytime soon.
Schuldt signed with the Golden Knights after four years at St. Cloud State and spent his first professional season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), where he had six goals and 15 assists (21 points) in 52 games. Schuldt will likely start 2021 in the AHL but will be one of the first blueliners to get called-up by Vegas.
Girgensons scored 12 goals with seven assists (19 points) in 69 games in 2020. Girgensons is locked into a fourth-line role for the Sabres. He led all Buffalo forwards in hits (110) and PK TOI/GM (2:08) last season. Offensively, he hasn't topped 20 points since 2015.
Murray has one-year left with a $4.6M cap-hit and is a cheap, low-risk addition for the Devils. The Blue Jackets were dumping salary left and right and the oft-injured Murray was a logical choice. The 27-year-old was the No.2 overall pick in 2012 but has not played more than 60 games in the last four years. He's averaged 46.8 games played with 1.5 goals and 13.8 assists (15.3 points) over that stretch.
After acquiring Anderson from the Blue Jackets, GM Marc Bergevin inked the rugged winger through the 2027 season. The deal leaves the Canadiens with ≈$5.37M in cap space heading into free agency. Anderson, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Carey Price are the only four skaters in Montreal currently signed through the 2024 season.
Bartowski is a veteran defenseman that has been around for nearly a decade. He had a decent run in the NHL five years ago but has been an AHLer in recent years. In 2020, he had 18 points (2G / 16A) in 55 games with Iowa and will be on the shortlist to fill a spot in Minnesota if they get hit hard by injuries.
Rau appeared in six games with the Wild in 2020, spending most of the year in Iowa (AHL), where he was fourth on the team with 43 points (14G / 29A) in 51 games. Rau has had a couple of very brief stints in the NHL, totalling five points (2G / 3A) in 42 games and looks like a player that will spend most of 2021 in the AHL again.
After spending four years at Brown University and one full season in the AHL, Lafferty spent most of 2020 with the Penguins, scoring six goals with seven assists (13 points) in 50 games. There were a lot of moving parts in Pittsburgh in the offseason but Lafferty should still have a spot in their bottom-6 come January.
Entering Friday, Kivlenieks sits firmly as the No.3 goalie in the Blue Jackets' system but rumours of a potential deal for Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo have been floating around, so that could change. If it doesn't Kivlenieks will return to the AHL to start the 2020-21 season, where he was 9-8-3 with a 2.96 GAA and .904 SV% in 20 games last season.
Gudbranson is entering the final-year of his deal that carries a $4.0M cap-hit. After nine years with the Panthers, Canucks, Penguins and Ducks, Gudbranson gets a chance to play in his hometown. Gudbranson has been much maligned in recent years but brings physicality to a Senators blueline that lost that edge when they let Mark Borowiecki walk in free agency.
Williams had a lengthy 19-year career with the Flyers, Hurricanes, Kings and Capitals. He is three-time Stanley Cup Champion, the 2013-14 Conn Smythe Winner and earned the nickname "Mr. Game 7" for his ability to come through in the clutch. He retires with 320 goals and 477 assists (797 points) in 1264 career regular season games.
Pu was originally drafted in the third-round back in 2016 and has been traded three times since. Pu split his 2020 season between the AHL and ECHL, posting just two assists in 10 AHL games. Once again, this is more of a cap-dump for the Blue Jackets, who appear to be clearing space to re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois and make a splash in free agency on Friday.
Nutivaara has two years left at $2.7M AAV and should immediately slide into the Panthers' top-4. Nutivaara will likely replace Josh Brown, who was traded to Ottawa Keith Yandle's partner. He was in-and-out of the lineup in 2020, playing just 37games. Over the last three seasons, he's averaged seven goals and 18 assists (25 points) per 82 games, so there is some offence there.
Schneider had two years left on his seven-year, $42.0M deal that he signed back in 2014. The buyout will cost the Devils $2.0M in cap space for each of the next four seasons but provides them with $4.0M in savings in 2021 and 2022. Over the last three seasons, Schneider ranked 45th in GAA (3.07) and 47th in SV% (.903) among the 50 qualified netminders (Min.75 starts).
Wennberg had three years left on a six-year deal that carried a $4.9M AAV cap hit. The former No.14 overall pick (2013) had struggled since posting 59 points in 2017, averaging just five goals and 22 assists (27 points) over the last three seasons. Still, he has enough skill to be a No.2 centre for a team in need and a good enough two-way game to be a third line centre for a team with better depth.
Hirose split his time between the AHL and NHL in 2020. He had seven points (2G / 5A) in 26 games with the Red Wings, to give him 14 points (3G / 11A) in 36 career NHL games. With Grand Rapids (AHL), he had 27 points (5G / 22A) in 35 games and will likely start the 2021 campaign in the minors.
