Five best signings from the first day of NHL free agency

The NHL's free-agent signing period officially opened on Tuesday, and a lot of teams did well to make themselves better. Not only by adding good players, but in some cases with good bargains. 

Here are the five best signings and values from Tuesday's roster movement (and we are only looking at transactions that happened on Tuesday). 

Jonathan Drouin, New York Islanders (two years, $8 million)

On a day where overpayments seemed to be the norm, the Islanders sneaked in with one of the better value signings in the league. Drouin completely turned his career around over the past two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, recording 93 points (30 goals, 63 assists) in 122 total games. He's an elite passer and gives the Islanders another outstanding playmaker to go along with center Mathew Barzal. 

Drouin isn't going to turn the Islanders into a Stanley Cup contender on his own, but he's a highly productive player and a great middle-six forward option. 

There were not many better bargains on the UFA market on Tuesday. 

Logan Stankoven, Carolina Hurricanes (eight years, $48 million)

Technically speaking, this was not a UFA signing, but a re-signing. And it might end up being the best contract handed out the entire day across the NHL. 

The Hurricanes acquired the 22-year-old Stankoven at the trade deadline as part of the Mikko Rantanen to Dallas trade, and he is a perfect fit for the style of play. He is aggressive on the forecheck, an absolute puck-hound that always wins the battles for them and has top-line potential offensively.

Getting him signed through his prime years, and also taking away some free-agency years, at a salary-cap hit of just $6 million per season is the type of contract that can be a long-term steal. 

Vladislav Gavrikov, New York Rangers (seven years, $49 million)

This is a tricky one, because there's a lot not to like about it. A seven-year contract for a 30-year-old defenseman is risky, and it probably won't age well on the back end of the contract. It's also likely to come at the expense of restricted free-agent defenseman K'Andre Miller, who is set to be traded. 

Having said that, this contract came in a little lower in terms of salary than was expected, and he is also a legitimately good defensive player. He also gives the Rangers something they desperately needed in a top-pairing partner for Adam Fox. 

Fox and Gavrikov should be an outstanding pairing at the top of the lineup, but the depth remains a huge concern. There is some good, there is some bad. But the pros outweigh the cons here. 

Andrew Mangiapane, Edmonton Oilers (two years, $7.2 million)

Mangiapane isn't the flashiest signing of the day — or the most expensive — but it's a really good depth move for a team that needs some help in the middle of its lineup. 

He has not scored more than 17 goals in each of the past three seasons, but he is a solid defensive player and two-way forward and signed for a fairly cheap price under the salary cap. It's one of the better short-term bargains of the day.

Jeff Petry, Florida Panthers (one year, $775,000)

This right here is a great example of why the Florida Panthers are the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and have been the best team in the NHL over the past four years.

They don't overpay the bottom of their lineup.

They don't saddle themselves with bad contracts.

The Panthers' third-defense pairing and fourth line during the 2024-25 season were all players signed to bargain contracts, making $1 million or less. When somebody like defenseman Nate Schmidt played his way into a new price range, they replaced him with a solid veteran like Petry on a cheaper deal. 

Petry isn't going to be an impact player. But he's great value for the bottom of the lineup.