Somppi was a seventh-round pick in 2016 and has spent the last three seasons in the AHL and ECHL. In 2021, Somppi had 12 goals and 14 assists (24 points) in 32 games with Syracuse (AHL). Look for him to start 2021-22 in the AHL.
Hirose spent almost all of 2021 in the AHL, where he was second on the Griffins with 28 points (5G / 23A) in 29 games. He played in six games with the Red Wings, giving him 16 points (3G / 13A) in 42 career NHL games. Hirose could fight for a spot with the Red Wings next season but he's likely headed for the AHL to start the season.
Ovechkin's cap-hit doesn't change much, going from $9.539M AAV to $9.5M for the next five seasons. Ovechkin currently sits sixth on the all-time goal-scoring list, 164 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for first. A five-year contract will take Ovechkin to 40-years-old and he will need to average 32.8 goals per season to reach Gretzky's mark. He has averaged 52 goals per 82 games over the last three seasons.
Buchnevich was acquired from the Rangers last week and the RFA quickly signed a four-year extension with his new team. In St. Louis, Buchnevich will play with either Ryan O'Reilly or Brayden Schenn and has averaged 25 goals and 33 assists (57 points) per 82 games over the last three seasons.
Garland was acquired from the Coyotes last week and the RFA quickly signed a five-year extension with his new team. In Vancouver, Garland will play with either Elias Pettersson or Bo Horvat and has averaged 24 goals and 31 assists (55 points) per 82 games over the last two seasons.
After three years outside of the Red Wings organization, Criscuolo returned in 2021 and scored 11 goals and eight assists (19 points) in 29 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). He's be back for another two years with the Griffins.
Stastny is still an effective veteran and will stick around with the Jets for another year. He had 29 points (13G / 16A) in 56 games last year and is still capable of filling a top-6 role in 2021-22.
Hammond spent the entire 2021 season in the AHL, going 16-12-3 with a 2.53 GAA and .908 SV% with the Rochester Americans. Hammond has not played in the NHL since 2018, so expect him to remain in the Wild's farm system during the 2021-22 campaign.
Wolf was an undrafted free agent, who turned pro in 2020-21 after four years at the University off Minnesota-Duluth. He started the year in Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic before coming to the AHL, where he had just two assists in 24 games with the Providence Bruins. He'll be in Providence to start the 2021-22 season.
Lindstrom appeared to have a track to being a full-time NHL player in 2021-22, until Marc Staal signed a one-year extension on Sunday. Still, Lindstrom appeared din 13 NHL games a season ago and should be a factor with both the Red Wings and Griffins (AHL) next season.
Gaudette was acquired from the Canucks for Matthew Highmore in April and contributed one goal and three assists in seven games with the Blackhawks. Gaudette will be battling with the likes of Henrik Borgstrom, Brett Connolly and Alex Nylander for playing time in 2021-22.
Morin was supposed to make the move from defence to forward in 2021 but didn't make much of an impact at any level. Morin is an imposing figure (6-foot-6, 202 lbs.) and a former top-15 pick (No.11 overall in 2013) but has just one goal in 29 career NHL games to this point.
Jaros immediately signed a two-way contract with the Devils after being dealt from San Jose. Jaros has spent most of his time in the AHL over the last two seasons, so expect that to be the case again in 2021-22.
Walker has put up strong AHL numbers over the years but hasn't been much of a factor at the NHL level. Over the last three years, he has scored two goals with two assists (four points) in 16 games with the Capitals and Blues. Look for him to remain in the AHL for most of 2021-22.
Bennett's career with the Flames did not go as planned but he paid immediate dividends once arriving in Florida. The 25-year-old had 15 points (6G / 9A) in 10 regular seasons games and five points (1G / 4A) in five playoff games. Bennett seems to have solidified the Panthers' 2C role behind Aleksander Barkov and signed for a very affordable $4.4M AAV. Pairing up with Jonathan Huberdeau on the second line should help Bennett have his best season to date in 2021-22.
Carlsson was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks and was traded to the Panthers as part of the deal that sent Henrik Borgstrom and Brett Connolly to Chicago. Carlssson had one assist in 12 games with the Blackhawks last year, as well as 12 points (3G / 9A) in 18 games between his two AHL homes. The Panthers don't have the strongest blueline at the moment, so he could factor into their top-6 at some point in 2021-22.
Allard spent most of the season in the AHL but made his season debut with the Predators in 2021. The 23-year-old, former third-round pick had 18 points (3G / 15A) in 25 games with Chicago (AHL) and will likely be a fringe roster player for the Predators in 2021-22.
Juulsen was claimed off of waivers in January but didn't play a lot of hockey afterwards. He went pointless in four games with the Panthers and had just one assist in five games with Syracuse (AHL). Headaches derailed his career in Montreal but he'll be looking to get back on track with the Panthers in 2021-22.
Smallman was a fifth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2015 but has bounced around between the AHL and ECHL since. In 2021, he had two assists in six AHL games and 12 points (6G / 6A) in eight ECHL games. He will not be a factor in the NHL in 2021-22.
Staal struggled mightily in 2019 and 2020 but had a nice bounce-back campaign with the Red Wings in 2021. He found some comfort on a pairing with Troy Stecher and the duo performed well as veteran minute-eaters for Detroit. In 2021-22, he should see slightly less playing time following the additions of Nick Leddy and the potential arrival of Moritz Seider but should still play with Stecher most nights.
