NHL teams have splurged in free agency this offseason, and several former University of Michigan players have cashed in.
After the free agent mark opened Wednesday, NHL clubs signed 163 players to contracts worth $785 million, according to Capfriendly.com. On the second day, they spent another $133 million.
Zach Hyman, a 29-year-old forward who spent the first six years of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed the biggest free agent deal among ex-Wolverines, inking a seven-year, $38.5 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
Hyman, a 2010 fifth-round pick, scored just 13 goals in 114 games over his first three seasons in Ann Arbor before a breakout season as a senior in 2014-15, when he tallied 22 goals and 32 assists in 37 games.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound winger’s offensive numbers also have improved since entering the NHL. He has scored at a 30-goal pace in the past two shortened NHL seasons, totaling 36 goals and 70 points in 94 games. The Toronto native has 86 goals and 99 assists in 345 career games.
“Going to Michigan, it changed my career,” Hyman told media after signing. “When you’re a kid, all you care about is scoring points and trying to get to the next level. A lot of times, how you get noticed is through your statistics. There aren’t many scouts who are watching you at lower levels. I always thought in order to make the NHL, you have to have great statistics. When I went to Michigan, that was kind of what my focus was on. I played on the fourth line my first two years and I really learned how to play on the defensive side of the puck, how to penalty kill. I remember (former Michigan coach) Red Berenson calling me in his office and telling me, ‘You aren’t going to make the NHL scoring goals and putting up points. You are going to make it to the NHL with this kind of foundation that I am going to help you build.”
Hyman could have the opportunity to play with star centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
“He’s a guy that can play up and down the lineup; play right wing and left wing,” Oilers general manager Ken Holland said. “He had 33 points in 43 games, so he can play with skill players but he can also play a grinding game. I think one of his greatest traits is his compete and work ethic.”
Other notable free agent deals include forward Luke Glendening, forward Andrew Cogliano, forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, defenseman Jon Merrill and defenseman Greg Pateryn.
Glendening, who graduated from Michigan in 2012, inked a two-year, $3 million deal with the Dallas Stars after the first eight years of his career was spent with the Detroit Red Wings. The 32-year-old checking-line center has just 126 points in 554 career games but brings strong defense, penalty-killing, shot-blocking and physicality to the lineup.
Cogliano, 34, will spend his 15th NHL season with the San Jose Sharks after signing a one-year, $1 million contract. The 29-year-old Merrill is joining his fifth NHL team after inking a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Minnesota Wild.
Meanwhile, Di Giuseppe and Pateryn each signed one-year, two-way deals with the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, respectively.
The 32-year-old Pateryn has appeared in 280 career NHL games, while 27-yeard-old Di Giuseppe has played in 201.
However, the biggest new contract for a former Wolverines wasn’t even a free agent. Zach Werenski inked a seven-year, $57.5 million extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. His $9.583 million salary cap hit is the third largest among NHL defenseman behind Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty.
Werenski, the eighth overall pick in 2015, has one year left on his current deal with a cap hit of $5 million. The 24-year-old has been one of the top offensive defenseman in the game since entering the NHL in 2016. He has 65 goals and 189 points in 335 career games.
Werenski isn’t the only Michigan defenseman likely to sign a monster deal this offseason. Quinn Hughes is a restricted free agent with the Vancouver Canucks and is in line for a big payday.
The seventh overall pick in 2018 finished second in the rookie of the year voting in 2019-20 after registering 53 points in 68 games and followed with a 41-point season in 56 games last year.
