Free-agency analysis: Breaking down early signings and trades

Quick-hit analysis of important NHL signings and trades completed July 13.

Signing: Stars sign F Mason Marchment to 4-year deal
Analysis: Of all the players to hit the open market Wednesday, Marchment was up there as far as potential feel-good stories. Now, he's got a medium-term deal with a $4.5M AAV - not too shabby for the 27-year-old power forward. Marchment, a longtime minor leaguer, finally broke through at the highest level last season. He finished with 47 points and a slew of impressive advanced statistics in 54 games for the Florida Panthers. On offense-starved Dallas, Marchment should have a ton of opportunity to prove he isn't some one-year flash in the pan. The sad part: He lost his father, Bryan Marchment, just last week. Bryan, a former NHLer who was working as a scout for the Sharks at the NHL draft, died last Wednesday. He was 53.

Signing: Red Wings sign F David Perron to 2-year deal
Analysis: Perron, whose new contract carries a completely reasonable $4.75M AAV, is one of the NHL's not-so-hidden gems. Simply put: He produces, every single year. And over the past five years, as he's moved through his early 30s, the assassin-like winger has been particularly proficient, contributing between 0.81 and 1.04 points per game per season in second-line minutes for the St. Louis Blues. Now 34, Perron's a fiery competitor, too, which helps as the Wings attempt to turn the page on a painful rebuild. Put another way: I love this addition by Detroit GM Steve Yzerman. It pairs well with the earlier Copp signing, as well as a third new forward in Dominik Kubalik, who signed for two years at $2.5M annually. All of a sudden, the Wings' forward group has some teeth. On the other end, the signing of defenseman Ben Chiarot leaves something to be desired at four years and $4.75M annually. Too much term and too much money for an overrated blue-liner. Can't win them all, I suppose.

Signing: Kraken sign F Andre Burakovsky to 5-year deal
Analysis: Seattle was a bottom-five offensive team in its inaugural season so it's no surprise the club went hunting for UFA forwards with a track record of producing. Bringing in Burakovsky - who scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Final - for five years on an AAV of $5.5M certainly counts as a start for GM Ron Francis. After putting up a career-high 61 points in 82 games, Burakovsky became a cap casualty in Colorado. He's only 27 and, based on the eye test, still has untapped potential. Remember: He was stuck behind some of the best forwards in the league for the past three seasons in Denver.

Signings: Lightning sign F Anthony Cirelli, D Mikhail Sergachev, and D Erik Cernak to 8-year deals
Analysis: The first word that comes to mind: Wow. In an effort to keep the band together, Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois inked three mid-20s skaters to max-term extensions carrying substantial cap hits. Cirelli's AAV is $6.25M, Sergachev's $8.5M, and Cernak's $5.2M. All three of them were RFAs. Again: Wow. Cirelli's hit is immediately a bargain for the Lightning, seeing as he's a Selke Trophy-caliber center, while Sergachev and Cernak will surely grow into their respective AAVs. BriseBois is of course helped by no state income tax in Florida and the lure of chasing a third Cup with the likes of Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Nikita Kucherov. Apparently the juggernaut Lightning aren't being dismantled anytime soon.

Signing: Oilers re-sign D Brett Kulak to 4-year deal
Analysis: Ken Holland may have struck out last offseason, failing to upgrade in net heading into 2021-22, but the Oilers GM has been on point this time around. He not only grabbed Jack Campbell earlier, but also re-signed Evander Kane, and now Kulak at $2.75M annually. Kulak, 28, fit in well with the Oilers after coming over from Montreal at last season's trade deadline. The 6-foot-1, 197-pounder chipped in 13 points in 34 regular season and playoff games and, more crucially, provided stability on the second defense pairing. No Oilers blue-liner had better underlying numbers than Kulak, an Edmonton native.

Signing: Canucks sign F Ilya Mikheyev to 4-year deal
Analysis: If you're asking what 21 goals in 53 games can get you in the flat-cap NHL, this contract is your answer. Mikheyev broke out last season with the Maple Leafs, collecting 32 points, and now he'll earn $4.75M annually on a medium-term deal. Quite the payday for the 27-year-old winger who played in the KHL in 2018-19. The term is fine. The money, though, is GM Patrik Allvin perhaps putting too much trust in Mikheyev's finishing ability staying in the neighborhood of last year's 14.3% shooting mark. To be fair, Mikheyev is super fast and an elite penalty killer, so he has the tools to live up to the deal if he takes another step.

Signings: Blackhawks sign F Andreas Athanasiou, F Max Domi to 1-year deals
Analysis: As Chicago continues its scorched-earth rebuild, GM Kyle Davidson found two veterans to overpay in order to reach the cap floor. Hey, maybe the speedy Athanasiou and crafty Domi - whose deals both carry an AAV of $3M - flourish with additional ice time in a new organization and ultimately become part of the Blackhawks' long-term core. There's a greater possibility, however, that each former first-rounder builds up his value during the first half of the season before being flipped for futures at next year's trade deadline. Teammates in junior, Athanasiou and Domi are reunited at 27.

Trade: Sharks reportedly send D Brent Burns, F Lane Pederson to Hurricanes for F Steven Lorentz, G Eetu Makiniemi, conditional 2023 3rd-rounder
Analysis: This move signals the official start of the Mike Grier era in San Jose. The former Shark's first big move as GM? Trade a franchise icon. And although the return for Burns feels underwhelming, simply moving off the blue-liner's $8M AAV for the next three seasons makes the swap justifiable. Time to rebuild or retool. The Hurricanes' angle to this is straightforward: They're trying to win a championship and needed a puck-moving defenseman after moving on from Tony DeAngelo. Burns being 37 isn't ideal, yet the guy is a fitness freak, so one can assume he'll still be serviceable at 40. Important note: San Jose is retaining 33% of Burns' contract, which means he'll count for only $5.36M against Carolina's cap.

Signing: Oilers sign G Jack Campbell to 5-year deal
Analysis: A no-brainer for both parties and a marriage rumored for days. In Campbell, the Oilers get the second-best goalie to hit the open market. The term could be shorter, given Campbell's up-and-down 2021-22, but it's not terrible. The $5 million AAV is fair. Edmonton simply couldn't chance it with goaltending again, not after going through all of last season with a Mike Smith-Mikko Koskinen tandem. As for Campbell, this was his opportunity to cash in on a long journey to an NHL starter's job. The well-liked No. 11 pick in 2010 is $25 million richer and also on a roster featuring two motivated superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Signing: Red Wings sign F Andrew Copp to 5-year deal
Analysis: The Michigan kid who played at the University of Michigan is going home. Copp is the rare depth guy worthy of a long-term commitment, so the term here is justifiable, but the $5.625M AAV is little rich. Copp, who can play all three forward positions, clearly had leverage in negotiations and the Wings felt they could bend to his demands with their ocean of cap space. The 28-year-old is a versatile, dependable middle-six forward who kills penalties, can pitch in offensively, and rises to the occasion in the playoffs.

Signing: Rangers sign F Vincent Trocheck to 7-year deal
Analysis: I love and hate this deal for New York. Secondary depth was the club's Achilles' heel in the playoffs and Trocheck - who's arriving in the Big Apple with a reasonable $5.625M cap hit - addresses that need directly. What I hate is the term. This contract is bound to age poorly, seeing as the 29-year-old has already endured a fair amount of injuries and plays on the edge. The Rangers presumably don't go seven years if the market doesn't force them, so it's a take-it-or-leave-it scenario, and they understandably took it. Trocheck should slot in as the No. 2 center behind Mika Zibanejad. The former Hurricane is very good in the faceoff circle and more than capable of taking on the net-front role on the second power-play unit. The Pittsburgh native has put up 50-plus points in four NHL seasons.

Signing: Senators sign F Claude Giroux to 3-year deal
Analysis: Take a bow, Pierre Dorion. Ottawa's longtime GM is the talk of the hockey world right now, after acquiring sniper Alex DeBrincat, goalie Cam Talbot, and Giroux over the past week. Giroux, who lives in the Ottawa area in the offseason, is "coming home" on a $6.5-million cap hit. DeBrincat and Giroux join a top six featuring Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, and Drake Batherson - good luck finding many top-two forward lines with as much pure talent. Now, Giroux is 34 and not the superstar he once was, but he still has plenty to give as a two-way player who can skate down the middle and on the wing, as evidenced by his post-trade deadline run with the Florida Panthers last season. Giroux put up 23 points in 18 regular-season games, and eight in 10 playoff games. He wins faceoffs and is a weapon on the power play. This is a nice get by the Sens, who have loads of cap space.

Signing: Capitals sign G Darcy Kuemper to 5-year deal
Analysis: A move of this kind was telegraphed by Brian MacLellan after the Caps GM traded Vitek Vanecek to the Devils and let Ilya Samsonov become a UFA by not issuing a qualifying offer. Kuemper's $5.25M AAV is about what's expected for the top UFA goalie. He owns a .918 save percentage through 299 career games but was ultimately deemed expendable by the Cup-winning Avalanche. That's a minor red flag for Washington, but at the very least, he's still an average NHL starter, and the veteran Caps simply couldn't enter 2022-23 without a decent goalie. Kuemper, 32, has found a late-career home after stops in Minnesota, Los Angeles, Arizona, and Colorado.

Signing: Maple Leafs sign G Ilya Samsonov to 1-year deal
Analysis: Well, Leafs fans, your goalie tandem heading into another make-or-break season will be Samsonov and Matt Murray, who Toronto acquired via trade Monday. Yep, two projects splitting the goalie workload. Samsonov, a first-round pick in 2015, became a UFA after not receiving a qualifying offer from Washington. He'll make $1.8 million against the cap while Murray accounts for roughly $4.7M this coming season and next. That's $6.5M spent on goaltending; props to Kyle Dubas for keeping that number relatively low. But - and this is a big but - the GM's job security rests on two guys who need fresh starts and, aside from Murray's early-career success in Pittsburgh, who haven't exactly asserted themselves as NHL starters. Samsonov has a .902 save percentage in 89 career games and his underlying numbers aren't any better. So, this is a risky bet for the Leafs, who would be better off with the outgoing Jack Campbell and a veteran backup but, thanks to their cap situation, couldn't afford to commit big money and term to Campbell.

Trade: Devils send F Pavel Zacha to Bruins for F Erik Haula
Analysis: In a swap of defensive-minded forwards, Boston acquires the much younger player in 25-year-old Zacha, who is an RFA coming off a $2.25 million AAV. Haula, who's 31 and now on his seventh NHL team, is off to New Jersey with one year left on a contract carrying a $2.375M AAV. Both can play center and wing. This seems like a trade where two teams with relatively similar players are trying to find some extra value. For the Bruins, that's the expected haircut on the cap. For the Devils, that's the expected upgrade in offensive production with Haula recently putting up 55- and 44-point seasons.

Signing: Avalanche re-sign D Josh Manson to 4-year deal
Analysis: This is a classic move for a team that just went the distance. Manson, the rugged right-handed blue-liner acquired from Anaheim before this year's trade deadline, helped Colorado win the Cup and this four-year, $18-million extension is his reward. If it were a one- or two-year deal, no biggie. The fact that it's for four and isn't a low AAV is concerning. But I get it. When you're in win-now mode, have the star power and depth to repeat as champions, and believe in your depth pieces, like the Avs undoubtedly do, you can toss around a little extra term and money.

Signing: Blues re-sign F Robert Thomas to 8-year deal
Analysis: Cross item No. 1 off GM Doug Armstrong's offseason priority list as St. Louis' excellent two-way center is now under contract through the 2029-30 season, at $8.125 million per year. This is a fantastic deal for both sides. Thomas, who was a season away from restricted free agency, gets basically the exact money and term as Jack Hughes in New Jersey. The Blues, meanwhile, are overpaying slightly in the short term but will reap the benefits of this deal when the salary cap inevitably skyrockets and Thomas - only 23 - remains in his prime. Also on the agenda for Armstrong: Finding common ground with Jordan Kyrou, another young star and Thomas' running mate.

Signing: Oilers re-sign F Evander Kane to 4-year deal
Analysis: Kane took himself off the market early Wednesday morning by inking an extension paying him $5.125 million per season. The 6-foot-2 winger was a tremendous fit in Edmonton last year, posting 22 goals and 39 points in 43 games following a season-opening suspension. He potted 13 goals in just 15 playoff games, too. This second contract is all about compromise: The AAV is probably lower than Kane could have gotten elsewhere, while the term is probably longer - at least with a team contending for a Cup. That's the cost of doing business when you've previously worn out your welcome with three NHL franchises and your name is seemingly always in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Off-ice drama aside, I like this deal for Oilers general manager Ken Holland. Losing Kane would have left a huge void in the lineup.

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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