The first day of the NHL’s free agency period was much more eventful than the NBA’s and had some major names finding new homes. As soon as the free agency period began teams took the plunge on many of the biggest names, including free agency’s No. 1 target in Paul Stastny.

The first day of free agency saw some teams get much better and some much worse. The St. Louis Blues walked away the big winners of day one for their signing of Stastny as they finally have a center that can compete in a loaded Western Conference.

Among the disappointing teams on day one are the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. The Capitals signed Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen to a combined 12 years and $67.75 million when they could had grabbed much better talent for less money. The Rangers didn't fare much better as the new players coming into New York are downgrades across the board.

Top Signings of Free Agency Day One:

Paul Stastny, C (Signed with St. Louis Blues)
Thomas Vanek, LW (Signed with Minnesota Wild)
Christian Ehrhoff, D (Signed with Pittsburgh Penguins)
Matt Niskanen, D (Signed with Washington Capitals)
Ryan Miller, G (Signed with Vancouver Canucks)
Jarome Iginla, RW (Signed with Colorado Avalanche)
Dan Boyle, D (Signed with New York Rangers)
Mike Cammalleri, LW (Signed with New Jersey Devils)
Anton Stralman, D (Signed with Tampa Bay Lightning)
Ales Hemsky, RW (Signed with Dallas Stars)
Jussi Jokinen, LW (Signed with Florida Panthers)
Matt Moulson, LW (Signed with Buffalo Sabres)
Milan Michalek, LW (Re-Signed with Ottawa Senators)
Brad Richards, C (Signed with Chicago Blackhawks)
Jonas Hiller, G (Signed with Calgary Flames)

Best Remaining Free Agents:
Mikhail Grabovski, C
Daniel Alfredsson, RW
David Legwand, C
Olli Jokinen, C

[Bleacher Report]

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