Day 2 of the NHL's free-agent signing period is winding down and, predictably, deals today have been a lot less frequent. And lucrative.
By Day 3, with a handful of exceptions, the pool of available players will have been reduced to guys whose primary career options are the ECHL, Europe or the drive-thru window at the fast-food joint in their hometown.
Free agency is, of course, just one element in the construction of a roster, and often not a major one, at that. The idea for most teams is to address a specific need or two, not to overhaul the entire depth chart, because signing free agents can get awfully expensive, awfully fast.
Indeed, some of the finest moves clubs in the Metropolitan Division, which the Penguins share with seven other clubs, have made during the past day or so involve re-signing guys who were on expiring contracts. That list includes the likes of left winger Anders Lee (New York Islanders), goalie Petr Mrazek (Carolina) and defenseman Ryan Murray (Columbus).
Still, Metro clubs have made some noteworthy additions -- and, in at least one case, suffered some terrible losses -- during free agency.
Here's a team-by-team look at the major roster changes each has made over the past two days:
PENGUINS
Key arrival: RW Brandon Tanev.
Key departures: C Matt Cullen (unsigned). RW Garrett Wilson (unsigned).
Bottom line: Jim Rutherford had limited salary-cap space and a specific shopping list, and believes Tanev fills the void he was trying to plug in the Penguins' lineup.
CAROLINA
Key arrival: None.
Key departures: G Curtis McElhinney, LW Michael Ferland (unsigned).
Bottom line: Confirming that they will match the offer sheet Sebastien Aho accepted is the most important free-agent move the Hurricanes could have made.
COLUMBUS
Key arrival: RW Gustav Nyqvist.
Key departures: LW Artemi Panarin (New York Rangers), G Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida), C Matt Duchene (Nashville), LW Ryan Dzingel (unsigned).
Bottom line: No team had its roster gutted by free agency the way the Blue Jackets did. They went all in on loading up for a playoff run in the spring and were rewarded with a sweep of top-seeded Tampa Bay in Round 1, but they're paying for it now.
NEW JERSEY
Key arrival: RW Wayne Simmonds.
Key departure: None.
Bottom line: Simmonds looks to be in the twilight of his career, but could be a good mentor for the young talent the Devils have been collecting over the past few years.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Key arrival: G Semyon Varlamov.
Key departures: G Robin Lehner, C Valtteri Filppula.
Bottom line: Losing out on Panarin, the headliner in this year's class of free agents, had to sting, but being able to retain Lee was a decent consolation prize.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Key arrival: LW Artemi Panarin.
Key departure: None.
Bottom line: Panarin's arrival turbo-charged a rebuilding program that already was moving along quite nicely.
PHILADELPHIA
Key arrival: D Nate Prosser.
Key departure: G Cam Talbot.
Bottom line: GM Chuck Fletcher can only hope that the Flyers have a more significant presence in the playoff race than they did in the free-agent market.
WASHINGTON
Key arrival: RW Richard Panik, RW Garnet Hathaway.
Key departures: RW Brett Connolly.
Bottom line: Much like the Penguins, among other teams, the Capitals had neither the cap space nor the inclination to be major players in free agency.
