11th year veteran defenseman Mark Fraser(5) signs a one-year deal with Edmonton Oilers, a team he’d spent 23 games with after a trade from Toronto Maple Leafs late in 2013/2014.
The big, rock solid blue liner will likely be a nice addition to the big club if he can scrub out a roster spot.
He spent the entire 2015/2016 in the minors skating for Binghamton Senators, while under contract with Ottawa Senators.
The 30-year old has 217 NHL games to his credit scoring 4 goals and 22 assists with a surprisingly nice +7 rating.
He also has 302 penalty minutes, including 35 fighting majors and could quite handily help protect the parent club’s shining young stars.
Boston Bruins‘ “new” $6+ million dollar man is 5’9″ 181 lbs. left wing Brad Marchand(63), who led the team in scoring last season with 37 goals, blowing the lid of his previous high mark from 2011/2012 of 28.
He’s been mostly a bit of a streaky player, always rising to the challenge when called out for slumping on the stats sheet but has continuously responded to be a 20+ goal scorer 5 of 8 pro years.
The small, agitating forward also reached a new best in points through 2015/2016 with 61.
There’s little doubt his recent performance as leading goal scorer with 5 in the 2016 World Cup Of Hockey, helping Canada capture the gold, sealed the deal to get the future free agent into a lucrative, new deal.
The 28-year old has managed some incredible heights as a player, including the 2011 Stanley Cup, 4 gold medals and the 2006 QMJHL Championship with Moncton Wildcats but his +138 rating is possibly one of his greatest accomplishments as a fully accountable on ice presence.
He also has a +19 plus/minus in postseason action.
Worth every nickel.
Boston Bruins‘ 7th year center Riley Nash(20) was signed on the opening day of free agency to a 2-year deal with his first new team since spending the first 6 years of his career in Carolina Hurricanes‘ organization.
A veteran of 242 NHL games, he’s spent all of the last three seasons in the big league exclusively after a rookie season playing only with affiliate Charlotte Checkers, then his first 5 appearances as a sophomore skater and finally splitting almost equal time between the two leagues as a third year player before graduating full-time.
The 6’1″ 201 lbs. forward has basically been worth at least 20+ points per campaign in the show but in a new system it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the 27-year old, former Edmonton Oilers‘ 1st round pick do much better.
Rogle BK 8th year center Sebastian Wannstrom(22) is finally having the breakout season that was anticipated by his 2010 St. Louis Blues‘ high draft selection.
In his return to the SHL after 3 below average campaigns in the AHL and even on reassignment further down to the ECHL, the 25-year old seems to be finally taking flight.
After another so-so performance in his first season he netted 14 goals and 7 assists for 21 points, which marked new career scoring highs but was still far below what he achieved in his best showing in Swedish junior hockey and far below expectation.
2016/2017 looks to be a completely different story though, as he’s off to a blistering hot start scoring 4 goals and 3 assists in only 4 games.
The big-ish forward may just be coming to life a little later in his career than expected and with the current breakout could net another look from an NHL team.
San Jose Sharks‘ 4th year defenseman Dylan DeMelo(74) enjoyed more time with the big club than he spent with the farm team for the first time in his pro career last season.
He skated 45 games scoring his first pair of NHL tallies (both on the man-advantage) and 2 helpers (also on the PP) with a 0 rating, while only adding another 15 contests (6 assists) with new affiliate San Jose Barracuda.
The 6th round pick in the 2011 draft (#179 overall) spent his first pair of campaigns in the AHL with Worcester Sharks scoring a career high 5 goals in 2014/2015 and had a best 22 assists and 24 points as a rookie.
The generously listed 6’1″ 194 lbs. blue liner showed great strength head-manning the puck in four years of juniors with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the OHL averaging over 30 assists a season in his final three years, and also connected for 15 goals in his final run.
The 23-year old signed a nice two year deal, the second being one-way to continue to develop with the only team he’s known.
He very well could become a full-time fixture on the parent club’s roster sooner than later.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 5th year center Andrew Crescenzi(21) has been extended by the club he was traded to late in a contract season twice (on the same date 7/16).
He posted new, modest AHL career highs in scoring in 2014/2015 with 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points with then affiliate Manchester Monarchs adding 3 more helpers in 18 playoff contests on the way to a first Calder Cup Championship.
With a new deal in hand, the big pivot must have breathed quite a sigh of relief that he was staying put, albeit moving west with new farm club Ontario Reign to play minor league hockey closer to the parent club.
He responded by taking two of his offensive categories to new bests, doubling his assists to 16 and 21 points in a most 67 games.
The 24-year old, who is set to become a restricted free agent once again at the end of the current campaign will have to continue to take it up a notch to stay on the radar but if he can break out might have a shot at his first NHL recall.
13th year veteran center Dominic Moore(28) joins his 10th team signing a one-year deal with Boston Bruins as sort of a homecoming for the former Harvard University standout from Sarnia, Ontario.
The former New York Rangers‘ 3th round pick in the 2000 draft (#93 overall) has played a pair of 10 year mark, 3-year bookends with the Blueshirts, where he last skated from 2003 – 2006 2013-2016.
Never really the most prolific scorer, he’s had one 40+ point season in 2008/2009 with Toronto Maple Leafs but has mostly hovered around the 15 point mark.
If the 36-year old, who has skated 765 NHL games, can give the spoked B’s 10+ minutes a night of 4th line grinding hard work that may add up to some points then it’s going to be very cheap money well spent bringing his leadership into the fold.
4th year right wing Zach O’Brien(92) decided it was time to find a new hockey home heading into the 2016/2017 and signed a one-year deal to join Ravensburg Towerstars of DEL2.
In his German debut he notched a first assist in what should be a high scoring campaign for the former leading scorer in juniors.
Under contract with Manchester Monarchs for his sophomore campaign, he would be an integral part of the team that won the 2015 Calder Cup Championship.
He recorded career bests putting up 14 goals and 32 points in 62 AHL games, then grabbed another 9 points (3-6) in 19 playoff contests to help seal the title.
For his third pro year the unrestricted free agent decided to explore quickly agreeing to a contract with Chicago Wolves.
His point totals fell to only 19, which was probably why the still fairly young 24-year old decided to split for another land.
If he can do well in this second tier level look for him to jump up where he is or continue exploring better leagues either in the same country or elsewhere.
4th year right wing Zach O’Brien(92) decided it was time to find a new hockey home heading into the 2016/2017 and signed a one-year deal to join Ravensburg Towerstars of DEL2.
In his German debut he notched a first assist in what should be a high scoring campaign for the former leading scorer in juniors.
Under contract with Manchester Monarchs for his sophomore campaign, he would be an integral part of the team that won the 2015 Calder Cup Championship.
He recorded career bests putting up 14 goals and 32 points in 62 AHL games, then grabbed another 9 points (3-6) in 19 playoff contests to help seal the title.
For his third pro year the unrestricted free agent decided to explore quickly agreeing to a contract with Chicago Wolves.
His point totals fell to only 19, which was probably why the still fairly young 24-year old decided to split for another land.
If he can do well in this second tier level look for him to jump up where he is or continue exploring better leagues either in the same country or elsewhere.
8th year veteran center Carson McMillan(29) leaves after his first full season in the ECHL as captain with Idaho Steelheads for Esbjerg Energy of Denmark’s Metal Ligaen.
He posted career high marks scoring 19 goals and 15 assists in 70 games, then added another 7 points (1-6) in 7 2016 Kelly Cup Playoff match-ups.
It’s a bit of a wonder why he has only skated 16 big league games getting his first NHL goal and an assist as a sophomore player with draft squad Minnesota Wild, then putting in another and two more tallies through a new best 11 contests in his follow-up campaign, but failed to crack the roster as a regular.
He was signed to a pair of one-year extensions upon the expiration of his entry level deal but was mostly relegated to the farm clubs, then signed his first AHL contract in 2014/2015, when he could find any suitors at the higher level.
The recently turned 28-year old should find a renewed spirit overseas and could even find himself among the top scorers.
