from Jonathan Willis of Sportsnet,

Whether it was due to a weak crop of free agents or unexpectedly low growth in the NHL salary cap, there hasn’t been much ridiculous spending in NHL free agency in 2017. Most teams that were active did well for themselves, securing quality players at reasonable cap hits.

After digging into the numbers, the following 10 deals are our favourites.

C Martin Hanzal, Dallas Stars: Three years, $4.75 million cap hit
Hanzal is a capable scorer at 5-on-5, with a point production rate better than the average second-liner over each of the past four seasons. What makes him special, though, is he can play tough matchups and be his team’s primary defensive zone centre while still contributing offence. In each of the past 10 years, his team has done a better job of out-shooting its opponents when he’s on the ice as opposed to being on the bench.

C Sam Gagner, Vancouver Canucks: Three years, $3.15 million cap hit
The first of three Canucks on this list isn’t the same kind of two-way threat Hanzal is, but brings value in a specific role. Gagner hit 50 points this past season despite limited minutes, in large part thanks to his work as the right-shot finisher on the Blue Jackets power play. He’s only 27 years old and is capable of anchoring a secondary scoring line and playing a large role on the man advantage.

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