The NHL’s free-agent signing interval opened on Tuesday, and whereas there have been some excellent contracts handed out, there have been additionally some very questionable offers. Right here we’re going to try 5 of the worst from Tuesday’s signings.
Ryan Lindgren, Seattle Kraken (4 years, $18 million)
There may be actually not a lot that is smart in regards to the Seattle Kraken’s roster building. They entered the offseason determined for offense, however their first large transfer of the summer time was to signal Lindgren to a long-term contract. There was a time when Lindgren was an excellent defensive participant. These days have since handed, and over the previous yr, each the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche determined he was now not adequate to play for them.
In some way Seattle didn’t get that memo and locked him right into a long-term deal.
This isn’t going to get the Kraken any nearer to a playoff spot.
Cody Ceci, Los Angeles Kings (4 years, $14.5 million)
Ken Holland’s first offseason accountable for working the Kings didn’t get off to a superb begin on Tuesday.
He takes over a workforce that has misplaced to the Edmonton Oilers 4 years in a row within the first spherical, has a necessity for extra ending expertise at ahead and solely made a few smaller, depth ahead signings that aren’t going to maneuver the needle for them offensively. However that wasn’t the worst a part of the day.
The worst a part of the day is what he did to the protection.
The primary head-scratcher was signing Ceci to a long-term deal to assist make up for the departure of free agent Vladislav Gavrikov.
This isn’t going to perform that aim. At his greatest, Ceci might be a succesful third-pairing defenseman. If that’s how the Kings use him, they’re badly overpaying him. In the event that they attempt to play him larger up within the lineup, they’re making a horrible hockey choice. That is only a poorly thought-out signing that doesn’t assist the Kings get higher in any manner.
Brian Dumoulin, Los Angeles Kings (three years, $12 million)
Making issues worse for the Kings is that Ceci wasn’t the one questionable defensive signing of the day.
It was compounded by signing Dumoulin to a separate multiyear deal.
At his peak, Dumoulin was an excellent shutdown defenseman and performed an enormous position on two Stanley Cup profitable groups in Pittsburgh. However his play has declined through the years, and committing over $8 million per season to Ceci and Dumoulin — whereas letting Gavrikov stroll out the door at $7 million per season — simply looks as if horrible asset administration and cap administration by the Kings.
Tanner Jeannot, Boston Bruins (5 years, $17 million)
The Bruins began the day by making a extremely good transfer to amass ahead Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers in a commerce.
Then they adopted it up with a extremely questionable transfer by signing Jeannot to a five-year contract value $17 million.
It must be particularly maddening for Bruins followers as a result of they in all probability may have simply re-signed Brad Marchand and stored him in Boston whereas additionally making the workforce higher.
Jeannot is a fourth-line ahead who merely would not rating sufficient objectives or present sufficient offense to justify a five-year contract. This screams of a workforce desperately attempting to match Florida within the bodily division. It won’t work.
Mikael Granlund, Anaheim Geese (three years, $21 million)
Granlund did an excellent job rejuvenating his profession in San Jose and Dallas over the previous two years, and he parlayed that right into a three-year contract value $7 million per season in Anaheim.
It isn’t a contract that’s prone to pan out.
Loads of Granlund’s manufacturing in San Jose was the results of him getting top-line minutes and prime energy play time. Any individual needed to get the factors on a foul workforce, and he simply occurred to get probably the most minutes. When he obtained to Dallas, his manufacturing dropped together with his ice-time happening, and he’ll flip 34 years previous this season. He is not prone to hold scoring the way in which he did in San Jose, and he would not do sufficient away from the puck to make up for that.
