Ranking Free Agent Pickups From Day 1

Yesterday marked the opening of NHL Free Agency. Eight goaltenders signed contracts, seven of which were with new clubs. Here is my ranking of the signings:

1. Michal Neuvirth (Philadelphia): Neuvirth is a good addition to Philadelphia and will provide them a solid backup option for Steve Mason who has battled some injuries the last couple of years. Ray Emery did not have a great season for Philly and will not be returning. Neuvirth has a good amount of NHL experience (168 games) and has been in a starting role for extended periods. In his career he has posted a 2.73 GAA and .912 SV%, making him one of the better free agent options statistically.

2. Jhonas Enroth (Los Angeles): The Kings have Jean-Francois Berube in waiting, but he will spend another year in the AHL with Ontario. Jhonas Enroth signed on to be a King for one year. He has 131 games of NHL experience mostly with the Buffalo Sabres (he was traded to Dallas in February). He has a career 2.88 GAA and .909 SV%. Enroth has been a starting goaltender before and will be able to use that experience to backup Jonathan Quick.

3. Thomas Greiss (New York Islanders): Greiss signed a two-year deal with the New York Islanders to become the backup for Jaroslav Halak. The Islanders were in need of a strong backup option and got the statistically strongest guy on the market as of yesterday. In 89 career games Greiss has posted a 2.47 GAA and .913 SV%.

4. Karri Ramo (Calgary): Karri Ramo will be returning to Calgary after signing a one-year deal. This will most likely be his last year unless he performs extremely well. Jonas Hiller has a couple more years left on his contract and during a short stint with the Flames, Joni Ortio proved he is ready to be an NHL goaltender. In 74 career games Ramo has posted a 2.63 GAA and .911 SV%.

5. Anders Lindback (Arizona): Lindback doesn't have fantastic career numbers (2.83 GAA, .905 SV% in 111 games) but he has a decent amount of experience. Arizona needed someone to backup Mike Smith and Lindback should do a decent job. Mike Smith had a down year last season, so strong play from Lindback could see him get a good number of starts.

6. Richard Bachman (Vancouver): Bachman is another goalie without great numbers (2.93 GAA, .904 SV%) but he has only played in 42 games. He is still young enough to improve to be an NHL goalie. Right now, Vancouver isn't looking for an NHL ready guy. Bachman is the injury insurance with an aging Ryan Miller starting most of the games. With the trade of Eddie Lack, Vancouver is saying they are ready for Jacob Markstrom to fill the backup role, meaning Bachman should see a good amount of playing time in the AHL.

7. Mike McKenna (Florida): Mike McKenna has the poorest numbers of the goaltenders signed yesterday (3.48 GAA, .889 SV% in 22 games) but he has been around for a while. The 32-year-old will most likely be an AHL player, with Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya holding down the fort in the NHL.

8. Matt Hackett (Anaheim): Matt Hacket signed a two-year deal with Anaheim. He will most likely be in a backup AHL role with Frederik Andersen, Anton Khudobin, and John Gibson ahead of him on the depth chart. In 26 career games he has posted a 3.11 GAA and .906 SV%.

Martin Jones to Sharks

Just a couple days after joining the Boston Bruins, Martin Jones has been shipped to the division rival of his former team. The San Jose Sharks acquired Jones from the Bruins in exchange for a 2016 first-round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly. Jones has done well to prove his worth. He was signed by the Kings after going undrafted and is now considered worth a first-round pick plus a player. I was a little skeptical of the trade to Boston. Jones was looking to start and that certaintly wasn't going to happen in Boston. Now he will battle for the starting job in San Jose with Alex Stalock. In his 34-game NHL career, Jones has posted a 1.99 GAA and .923 SV% with 7 shutouts. In 49 career games Stalock has posted a 2.23 GAA and .917 SV%.

Niemi Signs 3-Year Deal with Stars

The Dallas Stars have signed goaltender Antti Niemi to a 3-year, $13.5 million contract. This will give them a great tandem when Niemi is paired with Kari Lehtonen. The Finnish duo took home bronze medals at last year's Olympics, unfortunately Tuukka Rask was the main man in net in Sochi. This has to make the Stars a playoff contender and will put pressure on Lehtonen to perform better than he did last season where he posted a subpar 2.94 GAA and .903 SV%. Niemi wasn't great, but was better at 2.59 GAA and .914 SV%.

Dubnyk, Wild Agree to 6 Years

Coming off a breakout season that included a Vezina Trophy nomination, Devan Dubnyk has signed a 6-year, $26 million contract with the Minnesota Wild. Dubnyk was traded to the Wild in February from the Arizona Coyotes. After the trade he posted a 1.78 GAA and .936 SV%. This is great for Dubnyk who has paid his dues with poor teams over the last few years and is finally in the right situation and can showcase his ability.

Raanta to Rangers, Gibson Not Moving

The New York Rangers have already filled the void left behind by Cam Talbot. They acquired Antti Raanta from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Ryan Haggerty. After the excellent play of Scott Darling, the Blackhawks did not need the extra goaltender on the roster.

According to nhl.com, Ducks GM Bob Murray said, "John Gibson is not getting traded."

Khudobin to Ducks

The Carolina Hurricanes traded goaltender Anton Khudobin to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman James Wisniewski. This is coming a few hours after Carolina acquired Eddie Lack from Vancouver. Khudobin will further crowd the crease in Anaheim, who have two excellent goalies in Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. Could this mean that Gibson is about to be shipped out?

Draft Day 2: Goalie Explosion!

Three moves already on the morning of the second day of the draft.

Eddie Lack sent from Vancouver to Carolina in exchange for a 3rd-round pick this year and a 7th-round pick next year. Carolina has two other goalies under contract for this season in Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin. This should be a pretty interesting battle for the crease. Cam Ward won a Stanley Cup his rookie season and took home the Conn Smythe. Eddie Lack proved he can be a starter in Ryan Miller's injury absence last season.

The Dallas Stars sent a 7th-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for the negotiating rights to Antti Niemi. The Stars are in need for a goaltender after Kari Lehtonen had a massive down year in 2014-15. The signing of Niemi could mean a buyout for Lehtonen who is carrying a huge cap charge. Backup Jhonas Enroth is set to become a free agent on July 1st. The Sharks will probably be in the market for a goaltender as well. No Niemi would mean Alex Stalock is the incumbent starter. He has proven to be a strong goalie, but has limited NHL experience.

The third trade today is Cam Talbot going from the Rangers to the Oilers with a 7th round pick for 2nd, 3rd, and 7th round picks. The Oilers had a decent goalie in Ben Scrivens, but Cam Talbot could be a long-term answer for a club that has made big strides toward a successful rebuild. Viktor Fasth is set to become a free agent for the Oilers. The Talbot move would make Mackenzie Skapski the logical choice for Henrik Lundqvist's backup in New York.

Draft Day 1: Lehner, Jones on the move

Day one of the NHL draft started out with two goaltenders moving to new clubs. As expected, the Ottawa Senators sent Robin Lehner to the Buffalo Sabres along with David Legwand for the 21st overall pick. This is a great move for Buffalo Sabres who had Chad Johnson and Anders Lindback on the roster. Neither of them performed well last season and a change was expected. This is equally great for Lehner who has a ton of upside and should be getting his first job as the unquestioned number one goalie. The second trade involved a big name: Milan Lucic. The Los Angeles Kings sent their first round pick (No. 13) along with Martin Jones and defenseman prospect Colin Miller to the Boston Bruins for Lucic. This will give the Kings a strong, bruising forward who fits the bill as a typical Kings player. The pick gave the Bruins 13, 14, 15 after they made a trade earlier in the day with the Calgary Flames for number 15. There was some talk that Jones was looking to go where he could contend for the starting job, but that unfortunately will not be the case in Boston where 2014 Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask doesn't miss many starts outside of a back to back. Look for more trades on Day 2 of the Draft. The Canucks are reported to be shopping Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom and the Rangers are looking to unload Cam Talbot.