Ryan Suter (20) and Shea Weber will stay on the Oslo defense after signing for $5.87m and $7.5m on Thursday.
Among the highlights of the first round of free agent signings:
- Oslo convinces Shea Weber and Ryan Suter to stay in Norway for the next three years;
- Belfast locks up its two goalies – Cory Schneider and Devan Dubnyk for three years;
- Geneva convinces five pieces of the Cup-winning team to stay long-term
- Zach Parise won’t be leaving Prague any time soon; and
- Both Kostitsyn brothers signed, Andrei in Edinburgh for 3 years at $3.5m; and Sergei in Minsk for $1 million less per year, but with a player option.
There are some big name Type 2 players still unsigned, however. Carey Price is still waiting for a satisfactory deal in Minsk, as are Ondrej Pavelec in Frankfurt, Matthew Carle and Nikolai Kulemin in Berlin. And Paris has yet to lure goalie Tuuka Rask and RW Alexander Semin back into the fold.
Here is a list of who signed deals Thursday:
Athens – Oshie 2 years at $3.5m
Belfast – Campoli 2 years at $1.5m
Dubnyk 3 years player option at $2.5 m
Hudler 2 years $1.75m
Schneider 3 years player option at $4 m
Ryan Whitney 1 year $1.5m
Berlin –Diaz 1 year $900,000
Versteeg 3 years $2.75m
Bern – Barker 1 year $500,000
Bratislava – Hanzal 3 years $3m
Kaleta 2 years 575,000
Stempniak 3 years $2.25 m
Dublin – Franson 3 years player option $1.45 m
Nikitin 3 years player option $1.45 m
Edinburgh – A Kostitsyn 3 years $3.5m
C Stewart 3 years $3.25m
Geneva – Foligno 3 years player option $1.9 m
Gervais 3 years player option $1 m
Helm 3 years player option $1.8 m
Wideman 3 years player option $3.2 m
Woywitka 3 years player option $900,000
London – Raymond 2 years $1.8m
Minsk – S Kostitsyn 3 years player option $2.5 m
Moscow – Garrison 1 year player option $2.35m
Pouliot 3 years player option $1.25 m
Munich – Downie 3 years player option $2.35 m
Mitchell 2 years $1.5m
Picard 2 years $1m
Oslo – Dowell 1 year team option $1m
Suter 3 years player option $5.87 m
Weber 3 years player option $7.5 m
Prague – Parenteau 2 years team option $2.75m
Parise 3 years player option $7.5 m
St. Petersburg – Petry 3 years player option $2 m
Zurich – Brule 3 years $1.375 m
Comeau, 2 years $2.5m
Hillen 2 years $975,000
Here are a couple of friendly reminders about free agency:
The player’s previous salary doesn’t weigh into his decision to accept your offer. In the Websim world, players don’t get insulted by getting offered less than they did the year before.
The city’s climate and prestige plays into it. All else being equal, players will lean more toward Athens and Madrid than they will Russia and Scandinavia.
Players like to be with winners and star players, so Geneva, Bern, Copenhagen and St. Petersburg will get a little extra traction during negotiations, as will Frankfurt because Stamkos is on the team.
