Join us as our team analyzes the major free-agent deals and evaluates them for fit with the team and the contract itself. Check out Dom’s Top 50 UFAs here and flow our coverage of the 2022 NHL Free Agency signings, news and analysis.
Filip Forsberg signs eight-year, $68 million deal with the Predators
The Predators and Filip Forsberg took this one to the very brink, but in the end, got a contract done that is perfectly fair for both sides. By GSVA, Forsberg’s value over the next eight years projects to be around $67.6 million – nearly right on the money. An $8.5 million cap hit is extremely manageable for Nashville where the expectation is simply being a top line forward worth roughly 2.2 wins.
Forsberg should be more than that for the first half of the deal before sliding below in the back half – and there’s potential for further upside if his contract year performance can be maintained. If the Predators continue to have an interest in being competitive, keeping Forsberg around was crucial. He’s Nashville’s best forward and obviously fits very well on a team he’s spent his entire career with. Still, it might’ve been nice to see him land somewhere else – maybe somewhere with an elite center to play with.
fit grade: A-
Contract grade:B
–Dom Luszczyszyn
Kris Letang extends in Pittsburgh for six years, $36.6 million
The Penguins recognized they had a franchise icon playing a premium position and tilted a little in his direction because they realized he’d be difficult to replace with a more team-friendly deal. Solid work — and also, it seems, what they opted not to do with Letang’s counterpart Evgeni Malkin. Whoops.
That’s an entirely different argument, though. What the Penguins undoubtedly — and correctly — understood here was that if they had any real shot at contending in the twilight of Sidney Crosby’s prime, they needed to keep their No. 1, right-shot, 23-minute-per-game star defenseman in the fold. There are plenty of reasons to think Letang will, in fact, age better than Malkin; he’s a fitness maniac and the injury-dotted years of his early career are probably further back than you think.
And while he might not be a $6.1 million guy when he’s 41, odds are good that he’ll be close enough to make it irrelevant. The deal is also front-loaded, so if Pittsburgh wants to send him off in one of the last two years to Arizona or, apparently Chicago — teams looking to add cap hits without taking on salary — they’d have the option.
In the meantime, Dom has him providing surplus value for the next three years — and really, that sounds right. He’s as he ever was; a point-producer, offense-driver and capable defender who, in that space, outplays what his worst critics of him like to pretend. And friends, those guys do not cost $6.1 million against the salary cap. Ever. So Pittsburgh realized they had an opportunity to do what was right for the past, present and future, and they struck. Imagine that.
fit grade: A
Contract grade: A
–Sean Gentille
Marc-Andre Fleury extends in Minnesota for two years, $7 million
Goaltending is the most volatile position, and that can be especially true as players age. As much as Marc-Andre Fleury has built himself a reputation around the league, he is 38 years old. And he’s not coming off a fantastic season, either. The bright side is that the Wild aren’t the Blackhawks, a team that gave him very little support. And he trended up a bit in Minnesota post-deadline. The fact that he should be fairly insulated by the Wild’s blue line should put him in a position to succeed. As long as Minnesota manages Fleury’s workload, rotating him with their backup (now Filip Gustavsson since Cam Talbot was traded), his signing him should work out fine.
Another benefit is the structure; it’s a multi-year 35-plus contract that won’t bite the Wild should Fleury retire after this upcoming season. That’s essential for a team with quite a bit of dead space on the books already for 2023-24.
fit grade:B
Contract grade: B+
–Shayna Goldman
Ville Husso signs a three-year, $14.25 million contract with the Red Wings
Quite a few teams are looking for help in net, so Detroit moved quickly to acquire a goaltender. After trading for Ville Husso’s rights, the Red Wings signed him to a three-year contract that carries a $4.75 million cap hit.
Adding a goaltender can be risky, especially because it can be tough to project how they’ll perform behind a very different team — which the Red Wings certainly are from the Blues. But Husso showed he has starter potential after earning that role in St. Louis away from Jordan Binnington. Husso’s lack of NHL experience only adds to the risk; he struggled in his rookie year before breaking out this past season even though he had strong numbers before reaching the NHL.
But it’s a leap that the Red Wings can afford to take since they’re not a contending team. And there must be more confidence than there was a year ago when they were in a somewhat similar situation with Alex Nedeljkovic, seeing as Husso earned more term and salary. Maybe the deal is richer than some expected, but Detroit has the financial flexibility to dedicate that cap space to this signing. The benefit is it’s only a three-year contract that keeps this manageable.
fit grade: B+
Contract grade:B
–Shayna Goldman
(Photo by Filip Forsberg: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today)
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism