In the North American NHL, the free market opened with a bang on Wednesday, when several Finnish hockey players signed contracts or were traded elsewhere.
The NHL free agent market opened on Wednesday evening Finnish time. From the opening moment, we saw several significant Finnish contracts and transfers.
The striker became one of the biggest Finnish news of the evening Sakari Manninen first career NHL contract. According to North American media reports, Manninen is about to sign a contract with the NHL club Vegas Golden Knights.
The 30-year-old Manninen’s transfer to the NHL has been speculated for a long time. For the last three seasons, Manninen represented the KHL club Salavat Julajev Ufa. Manninen has also played a season in the Swedish SHL and a total of four seasons in the SM league.
With the extension contract, the Finnish striker will receive 22.5 million dollars, 4.5 million dollars for the season.
Lehkonen, 27, moved from the Montreal Canadiens to Colorado in the middle of the previous season. He played a crucial role in the Stanley Cup Finals, finishing with the game-winning shot in the sixth game that decided the championship against Tampa Bay.
Lehtonen’s previous season’s contract was 2.4 million dollars, so the forward got himself a big salary increase.
Finnish defender Olli Määttä joins the Detroit Red Wings on a one-year contract. The previous two seasons, Määtta played for the Los Angeles Kings. The new Detroit deal is worth $2.25 million.
The 27-year-old Määtä’s NHL career began with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013. He played for Pittsburgh for six seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 seasons. During the 2019–2020 season, Määtta represented the Chicago Blackhawks.
Finnish forward who played for the Boston Bruins last season Erik Haula traded to the New Jersey Devils. In connection with the transaction, Haula changes the team to the Czech striker By Pavel Zachan with, who moves to the Bruins from the New Jersey Devils.
Haula has one more season left on his $2.3 million contract. The New Jersey Devils is the seventh NHL club for the 31-year-old Haula.
Haula has had time to represent Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers in his career. Haula has played in the NHL since 2013 and scored 240 points in 534 games.
A goalkeeper who was part of the Carolina Hurriganes organization Eetu Mäkiniemi will move to the San Jose Sharks in connection with a larger player trade.
Carolina Hurriganes signed a defender from San Jose by Brent Burns and the attacker Lane Pederson. San Jose Sharks get in exchange by Steven LorentzMäkiniemi and Carolina’s 2023 draft pick in the 3rd round.
Last season Mäkiniemi, 23, represented the AHL farm club Chicago Wolves. Mäkiniemi played 14 AHL games with a save percentage of 92.2.
Mäkiniemi signed an NHL rookie contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in May 2021. The Hurricanes acquired Mäkiniemi’s player rights in the fourth round of the 2017 draft.