NHL free agency: Penguins, Red Wings among winners on Day 1

Kevin Allen | USA TODAY Sports

Here are the winners on the opening day of free agency.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins: They won the grand prize by acquiring game-breaker Phil Kessel. This is a win for the NHL too because Sidney Crosby now has a speedy finisher playing on his wing. Because the Toronto Maple Leafs will pay 15% of Kessel's salary, the cap hit of $6.8 million is reasonable. After acquiring Kessel to play with Crosby, the Penguins signed Russian forward Sergei Plotnikov of Yaroslavl Lokomotiv to play alongside Evgeni Malkin. He's 25 and generated 15 goals and 36 points in 56 games last season.

2. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings weren't sure they would be able to do anything, and they ended up being one of the free agent signing day winners. They have long coveted a right-shot defenseman to play on the power play, and they finally landed one with the signing of Mike Green. They also signed Brad Richards on a one-year, $3 million deal to help get them over the hump as they transition to a younger team. Richards could get plenty of minutes early because Pavel Datsyuk likely will start the season on the injured reserve. The key was persuading Green to sign a three-year deal. The Red Wings didn't want to go longer because they have key players to sign next summer.

3. Edmonton Oilers: It was clear that the Oilers would turn sharply in a different direction with Peter Chiarelli in charge. The Andrej Sekera signing gives the team the kind of transition defenseman they needed. Did they over-commit and overpay? No more than usual on free agent signing day. Oilers also add Mark Letestu to improve their depth for their bottom two lines.

4. Colorado Avalanche: Francois Beauchemin's signing is a "missing piece" style acquisition. He's a strong all-around defenseman with a hard shot and a tough playing style. He's a savvy one-on-on-one defender. He ties Colorado's defense together. The only negative is that he is 35. Blake Comeau's signing gives the team more depth up front.

5. Calgary Flames: General manager Brad Treliving follows up his flashy acquisition of Dougie Hamilton on Friday with a major signing of Michael Frolik on Wednesday. He also re-upped goalie Karri Ramo. Frolik is a versatile forward who can chip in goals, play a defensive role and kill penalties.

6. Arizona Coyotes: GM Don Maloney did a good job adding reasonably-priced players to help his team's competitiveness. He signed Antoine Vermette to a two-year deal worth $3.75 million per season and defenseman Zbynek Michalek to a two-year deal worth $3.2 million per season. He also added forwards Brad Richardson and Steve Downie and goalie Anders Lindback.

7. Boston Bruins: The Bruins needed goals and they hope they will get them from Matt Beleskey, who scored 22 last season for the Anaheim Ducks. They also added Jimmy Hayes in a trade with Florida for Reilly Smith, who is coming off a disappointing season. The contract of Marc Savard (career-ending concussion) moved to Florida in that deal.

8. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks' defense still needs work, but Paul Martin's signing for four seasons will help. He is a safe, dependable defender who can contribute offensively.

9. Nashville Predators: The re-signing of MIke Ribeiro was important. They would not have been able to replace him in the free agent marketplace. The signing of Barret Jackman was a smart move by GM David Poile. Jackman gives the Predators' quality defense a little more bite. Cody Hodgson is a good roll-of-the-dice acquisition.

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