UFA Day: Who Signed Where? Instant Analysis — Rangers Sign Gavrikov, Canucks Keep Boeser, Granlund Gets Paid

Free agency is underway and the signings are already starting to trickle in. You can get my instant reactions here for any non-Avalanche related signings. I’ll be updating it every time a notable signing or trade trickles in.

I won’t have the time to do it under each signing, but contract terms and signings are credited to the NHL Insiders and the teams that disclose numbers when they announce a new signing.

Happy free agency day!

Brock Boeser — Vancouver Canucks — 7 years x $7.25 million

Solid piece of business for the Canucks. Not only are they keeping a key piece of their core, and someone who felt like was on the way out, but they do it for somewhat of a bargain. This, along with the Conor Garland (6 years x $6 million) and Thatcher Demko (3 years x $8.5 million) extensions will keep the Canucks in their competitive window (assuming Elias Pettersson figures it out again).

Vladislav Gavrikov — New York Rangers — 7 years x $7 million

This was always an expectation. The Rangers had Gavrikov on their wishlist from the moment their season ended. It also means K’Andre Miller is on his way out, as a deal to Carolina is being worked on.

Tanner Jeannot — Boston Bruins — 5 years x $3.4 million

When you sell off as many pieces as Boston did last year, you can overpay for depth talent. Jeannot for that number is a little bit too high for my liking, but he’s an ideal replacement for Trent Frederic.

Dan Vladar — Philadelphia Flyers — 2 years x $3.35 million

The goaltending market was already bare, and became even more so when Jake Allen took a sweetheart to remain with the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers are in desperate need of goaltending and have a lot of cap space to spare.

Is Vladar being paid too much? Maybe. But he’ll help split duties with Samuel Ersson.

Connor Brown — New Jersey Devils — 4 years x $3 million

After two years in Edmonton, Brown gets a much-deserves payday from the Devils and will help shore up their depth. Brown at $3 million is a good deal on the UFA market for a guy that will give you at least 30 points and can kill penalties.

Joel Armia — Los Angeles Kings — 2 years x $2.5 million

I love this deal for the Kings. They also picked up Corey Perry, which I will get to once the salary is confirmed. But Armia is an excellent bottom six player who never takes a shift off. Having him for the same $2.5 million Logan O’Connor makes in Colorado is a great get.

That’s one player I thought would make a ton of sense for the Avs.

Brandon Tanev — Utah Mammoth — 3 years x $2.5 million

Another Avs UFA wishlist forward, Tanev signs a good deal with Utah for a touch less than I thought he’d get. He’s a great depth forward and will do well on a team that has a lot of smallish forwards at the top of the lineup.

I’m honestly excited to see the Mammoth develop into a true rival of the Avs,

Nick Perbix — Nashville Predators — 2 years x $2.75 million

I’m impressed at how low a cost it was for Perbix to sign. Maybe the no-state tax thing played a part in this, but right-shot defensemen are usually worth a lot more than that, especially given some of the other defensemen deals that were handed out. I’ll get to those below.

Nate Schmidt — Utah Mammoth – 3 years x $3.5 million

At 33 years old, the AAV is too high for my liking, especially for that many years. But you can’t argue he was excellent in the postseason with the Panthers. Can he replicate that with a team on the rise? We’ll have to wait and see.

Cody Ceci — Los Angeles Kings — 4 years x $4.5 million
Brian Dumoulin — Los Angeles Kings — 4 years x 4 million

Ken Holland is remaking the team and this might be the most puzzling part of it all. These contracts might be the next Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba bad contracts.

Ceci is one of the more controversial players in the NHL. He’s better than most people say, but he’s nowhere near this good. $4.5 million for him is an overpay and probably won’t age well. Dumoulin is a solid depth piece but that’s also a lot of years for a 33-year-old.

Corey Perry — Los Angeles Kings — 1 year x $2 million (and $2 million in potential bonuses)

Happy to see Perry finally making reasonable money again. He’s 40 years old but hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Holland is adding all of his former Edmonton Oilers guys in LA, with hopes of finally getting past the Oilers.

Anton Forsberg — Los Angeles Kings — 2 years x $2.25 million 

Darcy Kuemper has a new backup goalie that can be relied on a lot more than Pheonix Copley. Anton Forsberg is a solid tandem goalie that can give you a respectable 30 starts.

Mikael Granlund — Anaheim Ducks — 3 years x $7 million

He got how much?! At 33 years old, Granlund gets a three-year deal for just a half million less than what Colorado signed Brock Nelson for. Two years ago, he was a throw-in by the Penguins in the deal that landed Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh. But in almost two full seasons in San Jose, his career was rejuvenated, and a solid stint with the Dallas Stars following the trade deadline earned him the biggest AAV of his career.

Granlund joins a Ducks team looking to take a big step this season. Among the notable moves they’ve made this summer, they hired Joel Quenneville behind the bench, added Chris Kreider, traded Trevor Zegras and John Gibson, before landing Granlund.

This story will be updated regularly.