Aside from defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner attracting $20 million-plus contracts, NHL free agency isn't what it used to be. Not in a stagnant salary-cap era.
Though plenty of players switched teams once the signing period opened Saturday, missing were the high-priced, long-term contracts that were once the norm.
Shattenkirk, considered the top free agent available, signed a four-year, $26.6 million contract with the New York Rangers. And after nine seasons in Washington, Alzner signed a five-year, $23.1 million deal with Montreal.
Alzner acknowledged he had few options beyond Montreal, which was the only city he visited this past week.
The most lucrative deals inked were a pair of contracts to retain young stars. The San Jose Sharks locked up defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic with an eight-year, $56 million contract, and Anaheim signed defenseman Cam Fowler to an eight-year, $52 million deal. The Sharks also extended the contract of goalie Martin Jones by signing him to a six-year, $34.5 million deal.
That's a drastic change from a year ago, when three free agents signed seven-year contracts, including aging veteran Milan Lucic's $42 million deal with Edmonton.
"There's a whole lot of factors," Detroit Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland said, noting players' age was one and so were the moves by teams to sign their players to extensions well before they might have hit the market.
As for a primary factor, Holland said: "The cap used to go up $4-5 million a year."
