The Nashville Predators made a big splash when free agency opened on Monday by signing the Stanley Cup-winning forwards. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault in a series of moves that topped $100 million and put Smashville front and center on a record-breaking billion-dollar day across the NHL.
Stamkos left Tampa Bay after 16 seasons, two Cup titles and two more trips to the final to sign a four-year, $32 million contract with Nashville.
“I never imagined it would happen on a day like today, but it did,” Stamkos said. “It was definitely a bitter pill to swallow when it really started to materialize that it wasn’t going to work out in Tampa.”
Stamkos went to the Predators, made his decision and got a call from Marchessault asking if he would sign with them as well, worried about one thing or another. “He said, ‘No, Stammer, I’m going too,’” Stamkos recalled.
Marchessault received $27.5 million over the next five seasons less than 13 months later. Winning the playoffs MVP award The honors of leading Las Vegas to its first championship. The two will have company: defenseman Brady Skjei signed with Nashville for seven years and $49 million, and Scott Wedgewood arrived for $3 million for two years to back up Franchise goalkeeper Juuse Saros.
General Manager Barry Trotz He called it “a huge day for the future of our organization.” The Predators, with $111.5 million, became the first team to surpass $100 million in commitments to new players in free agency since the Florida Panthers began building their future five years ago. The championship they won last week.
“It’s very important because I think it’s a statement to the rest of the league,” Trotz said. “These players see what we’re doing with our franchise. We have a lot to offer and we’re very determined to win. We’re committed to that.”
Marchessault was an original member of the expansion Golden Knights in 2017 and helped them reach the finals twice and win the Stanley Cup last year. He is coming off a career-high 42 goals and, like Stamkos, was one of the most recognizable faces on his team.
Large money transactions
On the first day of free agency, teams committed a record $1.12 billion in contracts as more than 100 players changed teams. The total — the most ever spent on a single day of free agency, according to CapFriendly — is a direct result of the salary cap being raised to $88 million per team, the first major increase since before the pandemic.
“A lot of money,” Toronto general manager Brad Treliving said. “There were some really good players available. You saw aggressive teams and a lot of players changing teams.”
Jake Guentzel signed a seven-year, $63 million contract with Tampa Bay after acquired their rights from Carolina over the weekend, opting to pay him big money at 30 rather than Stamkos at 34.
“Things just didn’t work out in Carolina, and then I heard Tampa might be able to negotiate for my rights, so I obviously got really excited because everyone hears how good this team is and what a good spot it’s in,” said Guentzel, who will count $9 million against the salary cap through 2031. “The pedigree behind Tampa Bay, the winning culture, just a lot of high-level players that really make it intriguing to come to Tampa.”
— After helping Florida win the Stanley Cup, defenseman Brandon Montour signed a seven-year, $50 million contract with Seattle, and the Kraken added former Golden Knights center and 2023 champion Chandler Stephenson for $43.75 million over the same period. The Panthers’ exodus included Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz to Toronto, Ryan Lomberg to Calgary and Kevin Stenlund to Utah.
— Vancouver has signed former Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract.
— Boston signed center Elias Lindholm to a seven-year, $54.25 million contract and gave defenseman Nikita Zadorov $30 million over the next six seasons.
— New Jersey continued to build a playoff-worthy roster, signing a pair of defensemen, Brett Pesce to a six-year, $33 million deal and Brenden Dillon to a three-year, $12 million deal, and forward Stefan Noesen to a three-year, $8.25 million deal.
— San Jose signed forwards Tyler Toffoli for $24 million over four years and Alexander Wennberg for two years and $10 million.
— Toronto signed defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year, $27 million contract after acquiring his rights from Dallas.
— The Stars retained Matt Duchene for another season for $3 million and also signed defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin for $9.75 million over three years and Matt Dumba for $7.5 million over two years.
— Los Angeles signed former Oilers winger Warren Foegele to a three-year, $10.5 million deal and gave rugged defenseman Joel Edmundson four years and $15.4 million.
— Columbus signed center Sean Monahan to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.
Running it again
— Hours after a rainy rally to celebrate their Stanley Cup title, the Panthers beat the midnight bell to re-sign Sam Reinhart. Eight-year contract for 69 million dollarsan annual salary cap of $8.625 million for a player coming off a 57-goal regular season.
— Jordan Martinook re-signed with the Hurricanes on a three-year contract worth $9.15 million.
— Edmonton, which lost to the Panthers in seven games in the Cup final, re-signed safety forwards Corey Perry and Connor Brown for next season. Perry, the only player in NHL history to reach the final with five different organizations, received $1.4 million including incentives, while Brown, who He had a goal and an assist In the seven-game series against Florida, he was signed for $1 million. The Oilers replaced Foegele with Viktor Arvidsson, giving him $8 million over two years, and also added Jeff Skinner on a one-year deal for $3 million.
Busy teams
Chicago and Washington were among the most active teams.
The Blackhawks signed Forwards Tyler Bertuzzi (four years, $22 million), Teuvo Teravainen (three years, $16.2 million), Craig Smith (one year, $1 million), defenseman Alec Martinez (one year, $4 million) and goaltender Laurent Brossoit (two years, $6.6 million).
The Capitals, beyond Trade by Jakob ChychrunThe team continued its roster revamp by signing defender Matt Roy to a six-year contract worth $34.5 million and forwards Brandon Duhaime (two years, $3.7 million) and Taylor Raddysh (one year, $1 million).
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AP freelance writers Jim Diamond and Denis Gorman contributed.
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