Speculation: Every NHL Team's Best Free Agent Signing In History

[Reeps]

Hi everyone. For your favorite team, what is the best free agent signing they have ever made? Not including re-signing, only open free agency. Whether it's based on production, value, or team success, share your team, the player you believe, and why...

I'll start with the Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St. Louis in 2000, signed as a UFA after Calgary bought out his contract.

The best answers I believe are ones that would be FRANCHISE ALTERING moves, aka Chara to Boston or MSL to Tampa. Please share deals like that you can remember !!

Click to read more...

 

[WhoTagz]

Oilers - Lucic
Canucks - Erikson

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Suter

 

[rent free]

Oilers - Lucic
Canucks - Erikson

rangers redden

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

Rangers - Adam Graves

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

rangers redden

Rangers - Holik
Rangers - Kasparaitis
Rangers - Gomez
Rangers - Drury

 

[Dr Pepper]

For Dallas, it's gotta be Belfour.

 

[AcerComputer]

David Clarkson.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Oilers - Lucic
Canucks - Erikson

Oh, I get it, you’re a jokester.

 

[PetterssonSimp]

Oilers - Lucic
Canucks - Erikson

You fail so hard when you ignore Canucks signing of Mark Messier. But hey, why get it right when you can just be an ass

 

[HockeyAnalystGenius]

I do not Remember how Oilers got Progner but That Was A Good Move .

 

[Extra Texture]

For the Pens the most significant signing was probably Gonchar. Helped bring a cup to the org, and mentored a young D corps for years. Now him and Jacques Martin appear to have developed some Jedi mind trick on undervalued D men so he’s still paying dividends off the ice.

They also signed Straka and Lang to cheap deals but those were not really “franchise altering”, more just good value signings that paid off.

I do not Remember how Oilers got Progner but That Was A Good Move .

That was a trade, a post lockout one to boot

 

[A91]

Eric Belanger - Oilers

 

[Scott Stevens]

Rangers - Mark Messier. 'Nuff said

It’s funny that one person could be so beneficial to one team and so damaging to another within the same few years.

Messier, best signing in rangers history and worst in Canucks history.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

leafs have a penchant for trading/ signing old timers, here are the "big" signings of the last 2 decades, just something interesting to share.

marleau
hainsey
robidas
blake
nieuwendyk
roberts
lindros
belfour

 

[ponder719]

For the Flyers, probably Tim Kerr. Something more modern would be Danny Briere. Most of our other FA signings haven't been home runs, but those two were far and away the best.

 

[FameFlame069]

Hi everyone. For your favorite team, what is the best free agent signing they have ever made? Not including re-signing, only open free agency. Whether it's based on production, value, or team success, share your team, the player you believe, and why...

I'll start with the Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St. Louis in 2000, signed as a UFA after Calgary bought out his contract.

The best answers I believe are ones that would be FRANCHISE ALTERING moves, aka Chara to Boston or MSL to Tampa. Please share deals like that you can remember !!

Well honestly thinking, I can't remember the last good UFA signing the Flames had, does Giordano count? He was undrafted and signed? Probably the most recent, I can't think of many others off the top of my head

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

For Dallas, it's gotta be Belfour.

Him and Hull

 

[kilowatt]

It’s not the sexy choice, but it’s gotta be Willie Mitchell for the Kings. Signed in 2010-11, he was one of the key pieces of the Kings winning the cup in 2012 and 2014. I don’t think the Kings win either cup without him. So underrated.

 

[Zippy316]

Devils have had some UFA acquisitions look bad at the end of their deals -- Rolston, Volchenkov, Tallinder, Cammalleri.

Zubrus was the lone exception to that with his six year 3.4 AAV he signed. He was a solid player for that entire deal; he didn't really fall off until the next three year extension.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Rangers - Mark Messier. 'Nuff said

We traded for him the first time.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

For the Rangers, it's probably Gomez, honestly.

We turned him into a #1D then traded that #1D for a haul.

 

[FerrisRox]

leafs have a penchant for trading/ signing old timers, here are the "big" signings of the last 2 decades, just something interesting to share.

marleau
hainsey
robidas
blake
nieuwendyk
roberts
lindros
belfour

You include Hainsey, Robidas and Blake but you leave out Curtis Joseph, Alexander Mogilny and Shayne Corson?

 

[Section32]

It’s funny that one person could be so beneficial to one team and so damaging to another within the same few years.

Messier, best signing in rangers history and worst in Canucks history.

He was traded for the first time and set the organization back well over a decade plus the second time.

It can easily be argued that that Rangers would have won more Cups without him.

 

[Section32]

Adam Graves- losing Troy Mallette as compensation for NY.