|
Rating the Offseason Signings
As part of the recent two-part series on best and worst signings of this past offseason, we asked a panel of statistical analysts around the league about every single unrestricted free agent signing that carried a cap hit of at least $1.5 million, and whether they basically liked, disliked, or were neutral on each deal.
As you're about to see in our complete list of results, our panel absolutely loved short-term contracts of one or two seasons. Since a team takes on a lot of risk when signing a player to a longer deal, only those that were either for proven and highly consistent players, and/or those that offered some kind of substantial discount were looked upon favorably.
The complete list, with the approval "record" in a Like-Dislike-Neutral format akin to Wins-Losses-Ties, is below.
Player Team Term CapHit Like? Approval
Dustin Penner Los Angeles 1 $3.25 19-0-4 91.3%
Tomas Vokoun Pittsburgh 2 $2.00 19-0-4 91.3%
Teemu Selanne Anaheim 1 $4.50 17-0-6 87.0%
Peter Mueller Florida 1 $1.73 17-0-6 87.0%
Alexander Semin Carolina 1 $7.00 18-2-3 84.8%
Michal Rozsival Chicago 1 $2.00 16-0-7 84.8%
Kyle Wellwood Winnipeg 1 $1.60 16-1-6 82.6%
Jaromir Jagr Dallas 1 $4.55 15-2-6 81.8%
Mikael Samuelsson Detroit 2 $3.00 14-1-8 78.3%
Ryan Smyth Edmonton 2 $2.25 13-0-10 78.3%
Steve Sullivan Phoenix 1 $1.85 13-0-10 78.3%
Barret Jackman St. Louis 3 $3.17 12-0-11 76.1%
Josh Harding Minnesota 3 $1.90 12-0-11 76.1%
Daniel Winnik Anaheim 2 $1.80 14-2-7 76.1%
Alexei Ponikarovsky Winnipeg 1 $1.80 11-1-11 71.7%
Jarret Stoll Los Angeles 3 $3.25 10-2-11 67.4%
Lee Stempniak Calgary 2 $2.50 10-2-11 67.4%
David Moss Phoenix 2 $2.10 10-2-11 67.4%
Benoit Pouliot Tampa Bay 1 $1.80 8-0-15 67.4%
Ruslan Fedotenko Philadelphia 1 $1.75 9-1-13 67.4%
Adrian Aucoin Columbus 1 $2.00 9-2-12 65.2%
Joe Corvo Carolina 1 $2.00 9-2-12 65.2%
Hal Gill Nashville 2 $2.00 9-2-12 65.2%
Jay McClement Toronto 2 $1.50 10-3-10 65.2%
Jason Garrison Vancouver 6 $4.60 13-7-3 63.0%
Olli Jokinen Winnipeg 2 $4.50 11-5-7 63.0%
Greg Zanon Colorado 2 $2.25 9-3-11 63.0%
Taylor Pyatt NY Rangers 2 $1.55 8-3-12 60.9%
Ray Whitney Dallas 2 $4.50 9-5-9 58.7%
Bryan Allen Anaheim 3 $3.50 7-3-13 58.7%
Matt Carle Tampa Bay 6 $5.50 12-9-2 56.5%
P.A. Parenteau Colorado 4 $4.00 10-7-6 56.5%
Torrey Mitchell Minnesota 3 $1.90 6-1-16 56.5%
Aaron Rome Dallas 3 $1.50 6-3-14 56.5%
Francis Bouillon Montreal 1 $1.50 5-2-16 56.5%
Brad Stuart San Jose 3 $3.60 7-5-11 54.3%
Travis Moen Montreal 4 $1.85 6-5-12 52.2%
Jim Slater Winnipeg 3 $1.60 4-3-16 52.2%
Shane O'Brien Colorado 3 $2.00 4-4-15 50.0%
Ryan Suter Minnesota 13 $7.50 8-10-5 45.7%
Bryce Salvador New Jersey 3 $3.17 4-6-13 45.7%
Gregory Campbell Boston 3 $1.60 4-6-13 45.7%
Johnny Oduya Chicago 3 $3.38 4-7-12 43.5%
Jordin Tootoo Detroit 3 $1.90 3-6-14 43.5%
Adam Burish San Jose 4 $1.80 3-6-14 43.5%
Filip Kuba Florida 2 $4.00 3-7-13 41.3%
Zach Parise Minnesota 13 $7.50 8-13-2 39.1%
Sami Salo Tampa Bay 2 $3.75 3-8-12 39.1%
Chris Kelly Boston 4 $3.00 2-8-13 37.0%
Matt Carkner NY Islanders 3 $1.50 2-8-13 37.0%
Jonas Gustavsson Detroit 2 $1.50 3-9-12 37.0%
Martin Brodeur New Jersey 2 $4.50 4-11-8 34.8%
Jiri Hudler Calgary 4 $4.00 3-10-10 34.8%
David Jones Colorado 4 $4.00 2-9-12 34.8%
Sheldon Souray Anaheim 3 $3.67 3-10-10 34.8%
Brandon Prust Montreal 4 $2.50 4-11-8 34.8%
Cory Sarich Calgary 2 $2.00 1-8-14 34.8%
Paul Gaustad Nashville 4 $3.25 3-13-7 28.3%
Dennis Wideman Calgary 5 $5.25 1-21-1 6.5%
The panel was especially tough on Calgary, who found three of their four deals in bottom seven, and with an almost incomprehensibly low 6.5% approval for Dennis Wideman's deal. Kudos to Lee Stempniak for a hearty 67.4% approval despite that handicap.
Calgary's Cory Sarich found himself with the third-worst ranking (ties were broken by the size of the contract) despite a short-term contract. Only four other two-year contracts received an approval rating below 50%, two of his fellow seventh defensemen and two goalies: Filip Kuba in Florida, Sami Salo in Tampa Bay, Jonas Gustvasson in Detroit, and Martin Brodeur in New Jersey.
On the flip side, there were a few long-term deals that were seen favorably, including 63.0% for Jason Garrison's six-year deal in Florida, and 56.5% for Matt Carle's in Tampa Bay. Among four-year deals, the panel approved P.A. Parenteau's deal with Colorado (56.5%) and Travis Moen's in Montreal (52.2%). The popular three-year deals included Barret Jackman in St. Louis (76.1%), Josh Harding in Minnesota (76.1%), Jarret Stoll in Los Angeles (67.4%), Bryan Allen in Anaheim (58.7%), Torrey Mitchell in Minnesota (56.5%), Aaron Rome in Dallas (56.5%), Brad Stuart in San Jose (54.3%), and Jim Slater in Winnipeg (52.2%). In most cases, the common theme is that these players can play tough minutes in the defensive zone and against top lines while still recording decent possession-based numbers.
Finally, the big news this offseason was in Minnesota, who signed exceptional second-generation superstars Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to identical 13-year, $7.5 million dollar contracts. While the dollars were agreeable, the long terms of those contracts involved too much risk for the majority of our panel, who gave Suter a 45.7% approval and Parise 39.1%.
Special thanks to the members of our panel, which included Jeff Angus, George Ays, Alex Calloway, Cam Charron, Marty Clarke, Matt Coller, John Fischer, Neil Greenberg, Dirk Hoag, Derek Jedamski, Josh Lile, Rob Luker, Brian MacDonald, Aaron Nichols, Jon "J.P." Press, Andrew Rothstein, Alan Ryder, Corey Sznajder, Eric T, Matt Wagner, Ben Wendorf, Jonathan Willis, and Kent Wilson.
Robert Vollman is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Robert by clicking here or click here to see Robert's other articles.
|
0 comments have been left for this article. 
NHL Preview: Impact Of The 48-Game Schedule