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.