Between now and the July 1 free-agent deadline, there will be jittery nerves in the executive offices of the 30 NHL clubs, anticipation from players wondering where the market will set in for their talent level, and high-profile agents mimicking the busiest of Bay St. traders.
"This is such an important part of the year because, really, your team is built now, between June 15 and July 15, maybe to Aug. 1," Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill said.
"A big part is building your team through the draft and then adding the necessary pieces on July 1 through free agency. Once you leave Aug. 1, other than a few guys you might sign closer to training camp, your team is pretty well built and ready to go."
That one player signed in early July can often put a team in the rarefied air of Stanley Cup contender. Just consider the past two Stanley Cup championship teams.
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The Anaheim Ducks signed Scott Niedermayer following the lockout and in his second season the state of California had its first NHL titleholder.
Twelve months ago, the Wings found themselves without a top-four defenceman when Mathieu Schneider bolted for Anaheim, so Nill and Co. swiftly signed Michigan native Brian Rafalski to a five-year, $30-million (U.S. currency) contract. In the blink of an eye, optimism was sky-high in Hockeytown USA.
The free-agent playing field has changed since the lockout. In that first year, there was plenty of action, but now, with the NHL is preparing for its fourth year since the entire 2004-05 season was wiped out, a trend has developed. Teams are locking up seven to nine core players to long-term contracts, and then fortifying the lineup with younger talent and one or two free agents. Gone are the days when a team adds more than a pair of high-priced free agents.
The Wings and 29 other teams as well as agents and players will be busy formulating game plans this holiday weekend, exploring and probing the landscape for what will be an action-packed opening to free agency on Tuesday at noon ET.
How restricted free-agency works
Only time will tell whether the Edmonton Oilers' decision to surrender first-, second- and third-round draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks in order to sign restricted free-agent forward Dustin Penner to a five-year, $21.25-million (all currency U.S.) offer sheet last August will prompt more such manoeuvres this summer.
The NHL hopes for a return to a decade-long period that saw zero offer-sheet signings made after the Philadelphia Flyers lured centre Chris Gratton away from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1997. The players and their agents, however, hope the Penner transaction is the start of a trend.
If a team signs a restricted free agent to an offer sheet, it has to surrender a draft pick or picks as compensation — and the price can be steep depending on the size of the player's new annual salary:
$863,156 or less — no picks
$863,157 to $1,307,812 — a third-round pick
$1,307,813 to $2,615,625 — a second-rounder
$2,615,626 to $3,923,437 — a first- and a third-rounder
$3,923,438 to $5,231,249 — a first-, second- and third-rounder
$5,231,250 to $6,539,062 — two first-, second- and third-rounders
More than $6,539,062 — four first-rounders
