Robinson spent 2023-24 between Columbus and Buffalo but has signed a one-year deal to join Carolina worth $950,000. The 29-year-old role-player never really settled into Buffalo during his brief tenure as he had two goals and nine points in 40 games after joining the Sabres early in the season.
Edmonton helped their depth on Monday as they signed left-winger James Hamblin to a two-year, two-way contract. The 25-year-old has spent his first two seasons with Edmonton and had two goals and three points in 31 games played in 2023-24.
After trading for his rights earlier in the weekend, Toronto has completed a six-year contract worth $27.0 million ($4.5M AAV) with veteran Chris Tanev. The 34-year-old appeared in 75 games with Calgary and Dallas in 2023-24, picking up two goals, 19 points, 24 PIMs and a +22 plus/minus. In 14 NHL seasons, he has 33 goals and 190 points in 792 games played.
Toronto locked up their goaltender of the future on Monday as it signed Joseph Woll to a three-year contract extension worth $10.98 million ($3.66M AAV). The 25-year-old netminder took a large step forward in 2023-24 despite battling injuries throughout the season, with his 12-11-1 record, 2.94 GAA and .907 SV% in 25 games played.
After helping Hershey successfully win the Calder Cup in 2023-24, Ethen Frank has earned himself a two-year deal worth $1.55 million ($775K AAV). The 26-year-old is entering his third AHL season after joining Hersey straight from Western Michigan University (NCAA) and had 29 goals and 47 points in 64 games with Hersey last season.
At 28-year-old, Priskie has yet to make his NHL debut but has earned himself a one-year, two-way contract with Washington on Monday. The offensively gifted defenseman is coming off a Calder Cup-winning season with Hershey (AHL) and had eight goals and 34 points in 69 games played.
Gibson spent his first professional season playing 42 games with South Carolina (ECHL) in 2023-24 and has earned himself a one-year, two-way contract with the Capitals. The 25-year-old will add some goaltending depth to the Capitals after he produced a 2.56 GAA and .899 SV% in 42 games with South Carolina after graduating from Harvard after three successful seasons.
Fresh off of helping Florida win its first Stanley Cup, 33-year-old Dmitry Kulikov has signed a four-year contract extension worth $4.6 million ($1.15M AAV). The veteran defensemen just completed his 15th NHL season and had a goal, 20 points, 63 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus in 76 games played.
Brown did not do much in his first regular season with the Oilers, posting just four goals and eight assists (12 points) in 71 games. However, he was much more noticeable during their run to the Stanley Cup Final, posting two goals and four assists (six points) in 19 playoff games. Expect him to be used in the bottom-6 and on the PK again in 2024-25.
Guentzel put up outstanding numbers next to Sidney Crosby since 2019 but also excelled following his trade to Carolina last year, posting 25 points (8G / 17A) in 17 games. With Guentzel now in Tampa Bay, he could find himself on one of the most prolific lines in hockey, next to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. He's averaged 39 goals and 46 assists (85 points) per 82 games over the last six seasons.
Carrick is a fourth-line penalty killing centre who will help replace Barclay Goodrow in New York. He won't provide a lot of offence but scored double-digit goals for the second time in his career this past season.
Bertuzzi had a very slow start in Toronto but finished the season with 43 points (21G / 22A) in 80 games. In Chicago, he'll be a candidate to skate with Connor Bedard and comes in with four career 20-plus goal and 20-plus assist seasons ('19, '20, '22, '24).
After not receiving a qualifying offer, the Stars signed Steel to a one-year deal to return to the bottom-6. The 25-year-old forward had a productive season for a fourth liner, scoring nine goals with 15 assists (24 points) in 77 games. Look for him to play a similar depth role and serve as a primary penalty killer in 2024-25.
Reinhart absolutely exploded in his contract year, scoring 57 goals, 24 more than his previous career high. He also added 37 assists, to give him 94 points, 12 more than his previous career high. Reinhart was also very strong during the Panthers run to the Stanley Cup, posting 16 points (10G / 6A) in 24 games and scored the Stanley Cup winning goal. Look for him to remain on a line with Aleksander Barkov for the foreseeable future.
Kane can reportedly earn an additional $2.5M in performance bonuses. After joining the Red Wings in mid-December, Kane posted 47 points (20G / 27A) and the Red Wings were 23-22-5 in 50 games. Kane bounced between the first and second line last year and could do the same in 2024-25, especially if the Red Wings add another winger in Free Agency on Monday.
Asplund spent the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL, where he led the team in assists (35) and was second in points (44) in 67 games. Asplund should once again be a fringe NHLer for the Panthers and one of the first depth call-ups if he doesn't make the team out of training camp.
Kovacevic is a solid two-way defenseman and penalty-killer who appeared in 62 games with the Canadiens last season. With the Devils reportedly interested in signing a couple free agent defensemen, Kovacevic could end up serving as the No.7 entering the season.
Durzi made a strong first impression in his first season in Arizona and has earned a four-year, $24 million ($6,000,000 AAV) contract extension with Utah. The 25-year-old offensive defensemen took a massive step forward in 2023-24, with nine goals, 41 points, 142 SOG, 63 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus in 76 games played.
Lundstrom had five goals and 11 points in 46 games played in 2023-24 and has earned himself a one-year, $1.5 million contract extension with Anaheim. the 24-year-old was the Ducks' 2018 1st-round pick (23rd overall) and had 31 goals and 69 points in 258 games played across six seasons with Anaheim.
Liljegren completed his third full season with the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 and earned himself a two-year, $6 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV) on Monday. The 25-year-old tied his career high in points last season with his three goals, 23 points, 62 SOG and 16 PIMs in 55 games played.
