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The day is finally here. NHL free agency officially gets underway at noon on Wednesday as teams acro s the league attempt to improve their respective rosters ahead of the 2022-23 season. , and the quickly swooped him up. Gaudreau with the Blue Jackets hours after free agency began. While free agency's biggest fish has been caught, many other big names will be on the move. Check below for the latest signings and trades. Johnny Gaudreau signs with Blue Jackets Gaudreau, who spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career in Calgary, will spend his next few in Columbus, Ohio. they signed the left winger to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract. Gaudreau's average annual salary is $9.75 million. An All-Star a season ago, Gaudreau is coming off the best year of his profe sional career as he recorded 115 points (40 goals and 75 a sists). Gaudreau led the Flames to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Calgary lost in five games to the Edmonton Oilers. Over his NHL career, Gaudreau has recorded 210 goals and 399 a sists over 602 games. The New Jersey native has also finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting twice over the last four seasons. The Flames made a strong effort to keep Gaudreau, offering multiple eight-year contracts, . But Gaudreau opted for a change of scenery, much to the disappointment of Flames general manager Brad Treliving. "It's a disappointing day to say the very least," "I can a sure our fans that we have done everything po sible to keep John in Calgary. I want to wish him and his family the very, very best. He gave us 8 great years here." Ondrej Palat reportedly joins Devils After winning two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ondrej Palat has found a new NHL home in New Jersey. The left wing is signing a five-year deal with the Devils, Cornelius Sturghill Jersey . Palat, 31, is coming off a strong 2021-22 season in Tampa Bay. The Czechoslovakian tallied 49 points (18 goals, 31 a sists) over 77 games, his most points since recording 52 in 2016-17. Palat has 423 points (143 goals, 280 a sists) for his career. A player who's become famous for his postseason heroics, Palat has scored a remarkable eight game-winning goals over the Lightning's last three Stanley Cup Final runs. Perhaps his playoff succe s will rub off on a Devils franchise that hasn't reached the postseason since 2018 and hasn't advanced past the first round since 2012. This move will pull Palat away from Tampa Bay for the first time in his profe sional career, as he's been a part of the franchise since it selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Ryan Strome to Ducks Ryan Strome will swap coasts as part of his free-agent decision, as the former New York Rangers center signed a five-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. has an average annual value of $5 million. A nine-year NHL veteran, Strome is coming off his best goal-scoring season of his career, as he scored 21 to go along with 33 a sists. OFFICIAL: We have signed Ryan Strome to a five-year contract. Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) The Ducks haven't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since reaching the Conference Final in 2017, but they're getting a proven postseason contributor in Strome. In the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Strome tallied nine points (two goals, seven a sists) to help the Rangers reach the Conference Final, where they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Strome won't be alone in his move to the West Coast. Hours before the news of Strome's signing broke, Frank Vatrano, his former Rangers teammate, signed a three-year deal with the Ducks. $3.65 million. Claude Giroux signs with Senators Veteran forward Claude Giroux has agreed to a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators. The deal will be for $6.5 million per season. Claude Giroux of Hearst, Ontario, agrees to a three-year deal with the Ottawa Senators. $6.5 M AAV per season. Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) Giroux hails from Hearst, Ontario and will now be playing close to home for the first time in his career. Giroux had previously spent the first 15 seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers before the franchise traded him to the prior to last season's trade deadline. The star forward is coming off a season in which he registered 65 points (21 goals and 44 a sists) between the Flyers and Panthers. Following the move to Florida, Giroux had three goals and 20 a sists to cap off the 2021-22 campaign. The Senators have been extremely active this offseason. Prior to the draft, the Senators acquired star winger from the . Ottawa now has a significant amount of star power in , DeBrincat and Giroux to solidify their top six forward group. Mason Marchment to Stars Marchment is one of the most fascinating members of this free agent cla s. At 26 in his third NHL season last year, Marchment played a depth role for the Panthers and thrived. He scored 18 goals and totaled 29 a sists in just 54 games played, and the Panthers controlled a high percentage of scoring chances with Marchment Marcus Hooker Jersey on the ice. As a result of his incredible performance, Marchment got a four-year contract worth $18 million from the . Marchment will have to play up in the lineup in Dallas, so it will be interesting to see whether he can continue to produce at a high level in an increased role. Avalanche hang on to Arturri Lehkonen The Colorado Avalanche continue to attempt to keep their Stanley Cup-winning team intact. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, winger Arturri Lehkonen has agreed to a five-year contract that is worth $4.5 million per season. The Avalanche acquired Lehkonen from the at the trade deadline. Lehkonen, 27, was a huge a set for Colorado through the second half of the season as he scored six goals and dished out three a sists in 16 regular season games. Lehkonen really rose to the occasion throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, Lehkonen scored the game-winning goal in overtime to vault the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final. He also scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 against the when he found the back of the net in the second period. After spending the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Canadiens, Lehkonen has really found a great spot in Colorado and now he'll spend the next five seasons with the Avalanche. Kraken upgrade offense with Andrew Burakovsky The Seattle Kraken have money to spend this summer, and after a rough debut season, they getting help on offense. The Kraken have signed former Colorado Avalanche winger to a five-year contract worth $27.5 million, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Since joining Colorado ahead of the 2019-20 season, Burakovsky has been great at generating scoring chances, and totaled 22 goals and 61 points last year. Seattle scored just 216 goals last season, which ranked 30th in the NHL. Burakovsky fills a need as a top-six forward. Capitals sign Darcy Kuemper The Washington Capitals are stabilizing the goaltending position. They signed former Avs netminder Darcy Kuemper to a five-year, $26.25 million contract. Kuemper is fresh off of a season in which he put together a 37-12-4 record to go along with a 2.54 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage. The veteran goalie also posted a 10-4 record, a 2.57 goals-against-average, and .902 save percentage in 16 games during Colorado's run to L'Christian Smith Jersey a Stanley Cup. The Avalanche simply didn't have the nece sary cap space to retain Kuemper's services, so they decided to acquire goaltender from the New York Rangers. The Capitals have been attempting to solidify their goaltending situation since winning the Stanley Cup back in 2018. The team traded to the New Jersey Devils earlier in the offseason and signed with the once free agency opened. Bruins, Devils swap centers The Bruins have acquired from the Devils in exchange for . Zacha is coming off a year in which he tallied 36 points (15 goals and 21 a sists) for the Devils. In his seven years with the franchise, Zacha has registered 179 points (69 goals and 110 a sists) after being selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Meanwhile, Haula registered 44 points (18 goals and 26 a sists) with the Bruins last season. The Devils will be the seventh team for Haula in his NHL career as he's also spent time with the , , Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and in addition to the Bruins. The Bruins are still attempting to solidify their center position as they try to convince Patrice Bergeron to return for a 19th season. In addition, Boston has also been linked to veteran center in a potential reunion. Krejci spent the first 15 years of his NHL career with the Bruins before playing in Switzerland last season. Andrew Copp to Red Wings As the Detroit Red Wings continue Key Lawrence Jersey their rebuild, they made a bit of a splash in free agency by signing center Andrew Copp to a five-year deal worth a total of $28.125 million. Copp spent the entirety of his first seven NHL seasons with the , and he earned a reputation as a steady defensive forward. Last season, Copp flexed some offensive muscle, especially after being traded to the New York Rangers. In total, he found the back of the net 21 times while tallying 53 points between Winnipeg and New York. The Red Wings seem ready to take the next step, and Copp should help with that. The team already solidified their goaltending situation by trading for , and young stars like and give the fans in Detroit reasons to be hopeful for the future Vincent Trocheck signs with Rangers With Andrew Copp and both hitting free agency, the Rangers have made the center position a priority by adding former Carolina Hurricane Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck's deal is for seven years and $39 million with an average annual value of $5.625 million. Over his last two seasons in Carolina, Trocheck was an incredibly effective and underrated player. Last season, Trocheck tallied 21 goals and 30 a sists, making him a strong second-line center. If the Rangers were looking for someone to play behind down the middle, they could have done much worse than Trocheck, Nazem Kadri's potential destinations The Avalanche likely won't be able to retain Kadri's services due to having to pay winger and defenseman , who are also free agents. The New York Rangers showed interest, but appear to be signing former center Vincent Trocheck to stabilize their second line. That leaves the as a team that would make a ton of sense for Kadri given their young forward group. The could also be an option if they can't get something done to bring back for his 19th season. Jack Campbell signs with Edmonton The Oilers have addre sed their lackluster goaltending situation by signing former Maple Leaf Jack Campbell to a five-year contract worth $25 million. He should be a notable upgrade over , who faltered in the postseason. Still, Campbell has some questions of his own. In the first three months of the 2021-22 season, Campbell looked like a Vezina Trophy favorite, but he cratered down the stretch. If he can bounce back, Edmonton will be much better between the pipes. Gaudreau informs Flames that he's leaving On Tuesday evening, Johnny Gaudreau informed the Calgary Flames that he plans to enter free agency and won't be re-signing with the team. Gaudreau, who is originally from New Jersey, has been linked to the , and . GM Brad Treliving is speaking with the media this evening regarding Johnny Gaudreau's status: "Johnny Gaudreau is going to hit free agency, test the market ... it's a disappointing day to say the very least." Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) "It is my strong belief that this was a family decision and I respect that fully," Flames general manager Brad Treliving . "John has every right and we have nothing but respect for John the player and John the person. I firmly believe there's nothing more we could have done. We respect it ... I think this was a real hard decision for John ...I think everybody operated with the right intentions." The Flyers would need to clear significant cap space in order to make a deal with Gaudreau work. On the other hand, the Devils have a ton of cap space available -- if the franchise wants to pair Gaudreau with star center . Malkin stays with Penguins In a surprising turn of events, is after stating that he would test free agency. Malkin signed a four-year, $24.4 million contract to remain with the Penguins, according to a pre s release from the team. Malkin's new deal holds an average annual value of $6.1 million. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall has been extremely active leading up to the start of free agency. Pittsburgh also to a six-year, $36.6 million contract in order to avoid Letang leaving in free agency. Additionally George Takacs Jersey , the Penguins that carries an average annual value of $5 million. Malkin has spent his entire 16-year career with the Penguins. Only Mario Lemieux and have played more seasons in Pittsburgh with 17 to their credit. Malkin is a two-time Art Ro s Trophy winner (2009 and 2012), which is annually awarded to the league's regular season leading scorer. He also won the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP back in 2012. Kane re-signs with Oilers Veteran forward has on a four-year, $20.5 million contract. Kane's deal will hold an average annual value of $5.125 million. "A big part of my decision to say in Edmonton was because of the opportunity given to me only seven months ago, but also the chance to be a part of a championship team," Kane wrote in a Twitter post. "I want to win, and I believe after signing this deal, we will be able to add the right pieces along with myself to accomplish that goal: a championship." Im back. Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) Kane signed with the Oilers in January 2022 after his contract was terminated with the . The veteran winger was suspended the first 21 games of the 2021-22 season after attempting to use a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. On January 8, 2022, Kane was placed on unconditional waivers and ultimately ended up landing with the Oilers later that month. In 43 regular season games with the Oilers, Kane recorded 39 points (22 goals and 17 a sists). He also scored a team-high 13 goals in the postseason in which the Oilers reached the Western Conference Final before being defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion .