The NHL’s free agency season kicked in July 1st and we’ll recap all the big signings next week. However, there were plenty of trades before free agency kicked in as teams were anxious to create salary cap room and open up some roster spots.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenceman Nikita Zaitsev requested a trade several weeks ago and the team accommodated him by sending the 27-year-old to the Ottawa Senators along with forwards Connor Brown and Michael Carcone in return for defencemen Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur as well as a third-round draft pick in 2020 and Aaron Luchuk.
Zaitsev spent three seasons in Toronto and posted 63 points but managed just 11 points this season. He was signed to a seven-year contract at $4.5 million a season following his rookie campaign. The 25-year-old Brown scored eight goals and 21 assists this season while scoring 14 goals last year and 20 the season before and has 99 points in 253 career games. Carcone, a 23-year-old, notched 27 points last year while playing for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Ceci spent six seasons with Ottawa and the 25-year-old racked up 118 points including seven goals and 19 assists this year. The 24-year-old Harpur, 24 scored just five five points in 51 contests this season while Luchuk, a 22-year old, posted 22 points in the ECHL this year in 32 games. Both Carcone and Ceci are unsigned restricted free agents. Harpur’s salary-cap hit is $725,000, Luchuk’s is $759,166 and Brown’s is $2.1-million.
Florida Panthers’ netminder Roberto Luongo retired last week with the third-most wins in history after 19 years in the NHL. They also lost James Reimer as the 31-year-old was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in return for fellow goalie Scott Darling and as a sixth-round draft pick in 2020. Reimer spent three seasons with the Panthers and has two years remaining on his contract at $3.4 million a season.
Reimer also played with the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs and has appeared in 338 NHL games with a record of 144-120-39, 21 shutouts, a save percentage of 91.3 and a 2.81 goals-against average. As for Darling, the 31-year-old was placed on waivers by Florida and will have his $4.15 million annual contract contract bought out, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Darling played just eight NHL games this season while spending most of the year in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers. He formerly played with the Chicago Blackhawks where he won a Stanley Cup in 2014/15. He has played 126 career NHL games with a mark of 54-42-18, four shutouts, a GAA of 2.72 and a 90.8 save percentage. Florida is expected to fill their goaltending vacancies by signing unrestricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Montreal Canadiens traded 27-year-old Andrew Shaw and a seventh-rounder in 2021 to Chicago for a second and a seventh-rounder next year and a third-round draft choice in 2021. Shaw previously played five years for the Blackhawks and won Stanley Cups with the squad in 2013 and 2015. he was traded to Montreal three years ago and signed a six-year deal worth $3.9 million a season. Shaw played 63 contests this season and posted 19 goals and 47 points. He has 111 goals and 233 points in 504 career games with 35 points in his 72 playoff games.
Thirty-one-year-old forward Phil Kessel was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Arizona Coyotes for forward Alexander Galchenyuk and defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Arizona also received rearguard Dane Birks in the deal as well as a 2021 fourth-round draft choice. Kessel won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. His salary-cap hit is $8 million a year with the Toronto Maple Leafs paying $1.2 million of it each year. Galchenyuk’s cap hit is $4.9 million and he will become an unrestricted free agent next year.
Kessel posted 27 goals and 82 points this year and has played 996 career contests with Pittsburgh, Toronto and the Boston Bruins with 357 goals and 823 points. He’s also tallied 33 goals and 77 points in his 87 playoff appearances. The 25-year-old Galchenyuk registered 19 goals and 41 points this year and has 127 goals and 296 points in 490 career outings with Arizona and the Montreal Canadiens along with 13 points in his 28 postseason matches.
The New York Rangers cleared up $2.275 million in salary-cap space by trading forward Jimmy Vesey to the Buffalo Sabres for a third-round draft pick in 2021. The 26-year-old spent three years in the Big Apple and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. He played 81 games this season and tallied 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points. He has 50 goals and 90 points in 240 career contests.