Nearly 40 players signed free agent deals in the first day of the NHL?s free agency period. While the big fish (Ilya Kovalchuk) has yet to sign, there were a ton of players packing their bags and heading for new destinations. Below are grades for the signings that held some importance. Senators sign Sergei Gonchar ? 3 years/$16.5M Pittsburgh tried very hard to retain their star defenseman, but were unwilling to budge from offering a 2-year deal. Why? Because Gonchar is 36-years-old, and according to the CBA, teams are on the hook for the entire contract if a player is 35-years-old or older when he signs, even if that player retires before the contract is up. But Gonchar doesn?t appear to be slowing down, posting 50 points for the 9th time in his career. He should drastically improve Ottawa?s quiet power play, and perhaps give Jason Spezza reason to want to stay. Also, Gonchar will be 39-years-old when the contract is up, which is younger than Nicklas Lidstrom is now and he is still playing. The contract is fair value for a top-2 defenseman who produces points like Gonchar does. Grade for Sens: A Grade for Gonchar: A+ Penguins sign Paul Martin ? 5 years/$25M & Zybnek Michalek ? 5 years/$20M Pittsburgh entered free agency with the rights to two of the top five free agent defenseman, and they ended up signing two of the top five free agent defenseman; except they were a different pair (Martin and Michalek) than they started with (Gonchar and Hamhuis). The Pens get two very solid defensive defensemen who are under the age of 30 (Martin is 29-years-old, Michalek is 27), so five year terms are no problem here. But what these two lack is any offensive firepower whatsoever. Martin only gets 30-40 points a season, but perhaps a new offensive system in Pittsburgh benefits him. Michalek, meanwhile, produces 20 points. When your team struggles, fans and media want to pin the blame on high priced players, and if you have a big price tag while not putting up numbers, you are an easy target. $4M might be too much for Michalek, but not by a lot ($3.25M would be more appropriate perhaps), and Martin was sure to fetch $5M no matter where he went. Pittsburgh upgraded their defense significantly, while downgrading their offence. Grade for Pens: A-. Grade for Martin: A+. Grade for Michalek: A+ Canucks sign Dan Hamhuis ? 6 yuears/$27M and Manny Malhotra ? 3 years/$7.5M Hamhuis joined his fourth team in a week (Nashville traded him to Philadelphia, who couldn?t reach a contract agreement with him, so they sent him to Pittsburgh, who also failed to sign him), and this time he is staying put. The 27-year-old defenseman has been penciled in to the Vancouver lineup since the trade deadline when GM Mike Gillis said he wouldn?t trade for him because he could just sign him. Sign him he did, and for a very good rate ($4.5M per season) and term. Many thought that once Vancouver traded for Keith Ballard at the draft, that would end their courtship of Hamhuis; but that didn?t stop them from improving their now-very-deep blue line. Away from the restrictions of a defensive Predators club, Hamhuis should see his point production increase into the 40s with extended power play minutes and high end forwards like Kesler and the Sedins. Gillis is going to have to trade one or two defenseman now (they appear to have nine signed to NHL contracts), but will be dealing from a position of strength. For Hamhuis, he lands with a team close to his hometown, and one that he had wanted to play for from the start (hence him not signing with the two Eastern teams that traded for his rights). With Manny, he is one of the top faceoff men and penalty killers in the league, but he is a third or fourth line center, and more than $2M per season is overpayment. Grade for Canucks: A (A+ for Hamhuis, B for Malhotra) Grade for Hamhuis: A+ Grade for Malhotra: A+ Coyotes sign Ray Whitney ? 2 years/$6M This one was a huge surprise, as it was widely speculated that Phoenix was on a strict budget due to the team?s highly uncertain ownership situation; the NHL currently owns them, and it was believed that Phoenix was on a tight leash. With a number of top-end forwards signing before free agency began, Whitney became one of the top point producers to hit the market, and at 38-years-old, he looked to be a prime target for a Cup contender. Instead, he signed with the young, up and coming Coyotes, who severely lacked scoring last season, and will benefit from Whitney?s offensive ability and leadership. Whitney got the two year deal he was seeking, though for less money than I imagined he would get. Perhaps he went with the years rather than dollar amount. Grade for Coyotoes: A+ Grade for Whitney: A- Devils sign Anton Volchenkov ? 6 years/$25.5M, Henrik Tallinder ? 4 years/$13.5M and Johan Hedberg 1 year/$1.5M New Jersey may have lost Martin to Pittsburgh, but they gained one of the league?s top shot blockers and body checkers in Volchenkov. He fits the Devils? style of play better than anyone else on the market, and his $4.25M annual cap hit is right in line with all of the other defenseman in the free agent pool. In Hedberg, the Devils have perhaps their most reliable backup of the Brodeur-era. Marty needs to scale back from 72 games per season to 60 if New Jersey wants to make it past the first round, and Hedberg is capable of providing 20 solid games. And as you will see below, Hedberg lucked out greatly with his pay. Tallinder is a solid depth defenseman, but I think they overpaid for his services. Grade for Devils: A- Grade for Volchenkov: A+ Grade for Tallinder: A+ Grade for Hedberg: A+ Sabres sign Jordan Leopold ? 3 years/$9M; Ducks sign Toni Lydman for the same Leopold is a nice defensive player, but he?s more like a 4-6 defenseman on the depth chart, and is simply too much money to spend on someone in that range. He made less than $2M last year but clearly benefited from the run on defenseman and the increased cap. Buffalo needed to replace a couple of guys they lost, but clearly jumped the gun here. I feel the exact same for Lydman, and the 31-year-old could start the downslide of his career in Anaheim and be a cap-pain. Grade for Buffalo/Anaheim: B- Grade for Leopold/Lydman: A+ Wild sign Matt Cullen ? 3 years/$10.5M Cullen is the perfect fit and move for Minnesota. They struggle on offense, but don?t have a big budget to fill those holes. Cullen is a versatile scorer, capable of 25-30 goals and can play the point on the power play. He looks to assume the 2nd line center role behind Mikko Koivu, and plays extremely well when under the radar. Grade for Minnesota: A+ Grade for Cullen: A Lightning sign Dan Ellis ? 2 years/$3M Ellis had his rights traded to Montreal, and looked to be a perfect fit to pair with Carey Price. However, seeing Montreal sign a backup for $1M when Ellis signed elsewhere for $1.5M, it is clear that they want to force Price into the #1 role. In Tampa, Ellis will challenge Mike Smith for the #1 job (and should win it), making him an inexpensive find for Steve Yzerman. Too bad for Ellis that the goalie market is so flush with talent, the price tags have come way down. But at least he found a job early. Grade for Tampa Bay: A+ Grade for Ellis: A- Thrashers sign Chris Mason ? 2 years/$3.7M Much like Ellis above, Mason signed on the cheap because of the large number of goalies available, deciding to choose a team that gives him a chance at the #1 job. He played very well for St. Louis the past couple years, but reportedly turned down an extension in the $3M per season range, and that looks to be a big mistake now. Atlanta replaces Hedberg with a much better goalie capable of being a #1 goalie on a playoff team. Grade for Atlanta: A+ Grade for Mason: B Sharks sign Antero Niittymaki ? 2 years/$4M This could classify as a bit of a shocker. After letting Evgeni Nabokov walk, there were a couple of bonafide #1 goalies on the market for San Jose to look at, including Ellis, Mason, Marty Turco and Jose Theodore. And they chose to go with Antero, and at a higher price than any of the others yet. Oddly, Antero has the highest goals against average, and lowest save percentage out of any of the goalies listed. The Sharks are going to regret this decision. Grade for San Jose: F Grade for Niittymaki: A+ Leafs sign Colby Armstrong ? 3 years/$9M On the same day they acquired young sniper Kris Versteeg from Chicago, Toronto added another forward in Armstrong. Their lack on offense is widely known, so it was no surprise that forwards were their target this offseason. While Burke may maintain that Armstrong is a top-6 forward, his skill set doesn?t justify that. He is a banger and a grinder, solid defensively, and will only contribute around 15 goals because of Toronto?s lack in top centremen. On skills alone, the price Burke paid for Armstrong is about $1M too high per season. But ex-teammates, coaches and management will all agree that Armstrong is much more than just his stats. His presence on the ice, timing, leadership on and off the ice, and high character are what seem to increase his dollar value. With all of their leadership on defense, Toronto needed some on offense. Grade for Toronto: B+ Grade for Armstrong: A+ Flames sign Olli Jokinen ? 2 years/$6M and Alex Tanguay ? 1 year/$1.75M Darryl Sutter has been under fire since the Dion Phaneuf trade, and he continues to fan the flame instead of put it out. Jokinen was an absolute bust in Calgary after they acquired him for Matthew Lombardi (a free agent centre who is better than Jokinen now) and a 1st round pick In 75 games over two seasons, he had 19 goals and 31 assists as the player who was supposed to be Iginla?s first top linemate. Wrong. So after dumping him on the Rangers, Sutter decides it was a good idea to bring him back, and at $3M per year? Crazy. Jokinen had fallen so far out of favor around the league that it?s hard to imagine anyone bidding against Sutter for his services. And with Tanguay, the price isn?t terrible, but the no-trade clause is. Sadly, the former sniper has lost his ability to snipe, and that doesn?t leave him with much in the way of value so I don?t quite understand how this helps. His goal total has dropped every season sine 2005-06. Grade for Calgary: F Grade for Jokinen: A+ Grade for Tanguay: A- Ducks sign Saku Koivu ? 2 years/$5M With Neidermayer retiring, and Selanne possibly doing the same, Anaheim looks to be thin on veteran leadership so this was a solid move. For Koivu, he is going to be paid for more than what he contributes. Grade for Anaheim: B+ Grade for Koivu: A+ Oilers sign Kurtis Foster - 2 years/$3.6M The little-known defenseman from the Lightning was a great bargain pickup for Edmonton. Foster had the second-highest point total out of all free agent defensemen behind Gonchar and seems like a perfect replacement for Sheldon Souray, who still hopes to be dealt. Foster is just as productive defensively, as the 6'5" blue liner is very tough to play against. On a day where lesser defensemen were getting $3M per season, the Oilers got a steal. Grade for Edmonton: A+. Grade for Foster: B+ Nick can be reached via email nickobergan@hotmail.com or @NickObergan