NHL free agency live blog

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12:01 a.m. ET

There was so much activity Monday you’d think free agency started a day early.

Let’s look at Mitch Marner first. He’s reportedly going to the Vegas Golden Knights in a landmark sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Though it was not officially announced as of midnight Tuesday, multiple reports said Marner signed an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million average annual value) with the Maple Leafs. They then were trading him to Vegas. It’s not yet known on the return, so more to come on this.

The sign-and-trade helps both parties. If Marner landed on the market Tuesday, he would have only been eligible to sign a seven-year contract as per the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. And now, Toronto doesn’t lose him for nothing.

The Maple Leafs are also reportedly signing forward Matthew Knies to a six-year, $46.5 million contract ($7.75 million AAV). They already signed center John Tavares to a team-friendly four-year, $17.52 million contract ($4.38 million AAV).

Essentially, they are keeping Knies and Tavares for approximately what Marner got from them to then be traded to Vegas.

Toronto also acquired forward Matias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth for a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Maccelli, 24, had 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) in 82 games with the then-Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24. He dropped to 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 55 games with Utah last season.

In addition, the Maple Leafs signed forward Steven Lorentz to a three-year contract that has a $1.35 million AAV.

But wait, the Florida Panthers might have stolen the thunder from the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights because they accomplished what they set out to do.

They signed defenseman Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year contract. They are also reportedly signing forward Brad Marchand to a six-year contract. They already got forward Sam Bennett under contract for eight more years.

All three could have become unrestricted free agents.

It’s a remarkable piece of business by the Panthers and general manager Bill Zito to get that done. He said they would do it, and he was able to make it happen, proof that culture, a winning environment and a good place to live with a favorable climate go a long way.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion is running it back for the three-peat.

In addition to apparently getting Marner, Vegas traded defenseman Nicolas Hague to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, forward Colton Sissons and a third-round pick in the 2027 draft. But there was bad news on the Golden Knights front, with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo announcing he was stepping away from the game for health reasons. It’s unclear if he will ever play again.

Nashville immediately signed Hague, who could have become a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $22 million contract ($5.5 million AAV).

Hague, 26, gives the Predators a big, physical defenseman that every team needs to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He helped Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2023.

In Sissons, the Golden Knights pick up another likely bottom-six forward at the cost of a shade over $1.4 million. He’s entering the last year of a seven-year, $20 million contract ($2.857 million AAV), but the Predators are retaining 50 percent of the remaining money on his deal.

Lauzon is entering the last of a four-year, $8 million contract ($2 million AAV). The 28-year-old should be a replacement for Hague on the Golden Knights’ back end.

The Columbus Blue Jackets reportedly are reportedly signing defenseman Ivan Provorov to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract ($8.5 million AAV).

The New York Islanders also got some important work done by signing defenseman Alexander Romanov to an eight-year contract (financial terms were not disclosed). The 25-year-old could have been a restricted free agent Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Kings signed forward Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year, $4.3 million contract. The 29-year-old had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 66 games with three teams this season, including 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 22 games with the Kings after he was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7. He had six points (three goals, three assists) in six playoff games. He could have become an unrestricted free agent.

The Minnesota Wild landed forward Vladimir Tarasenko for future considerations in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.

Later on Monday, the Red Wings signed forward Patrick Kane to a one-year, $3 million deal.

The Edmonton Oilers received some cost certainty when they signed defenseman Evan Bouchard to a four-year, $42 million contract ($10.5 million AAV). The 25-year-old could have been a restricted free agent Tuesday. The Oilers also signed forward Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year, $1.3 million contract. He had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 57 games with Edmonton after he was claimed off waivers on Nov. 19 from the St. Louis Blues.

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