NHL Free Agent and Trade Catch-Up: Makar Makes History and Buium Gets Paid

Hey folks. We're back with another offseason catch-up as we continue to work our way toward the start of the 2026-27 NHL season. We are just a couple weeks away from the regular season start. Remember, it's an early start this year and an extended season being 84 games instead of 82 with the new collective agreement signing.

There have been a few more notable moves since our last catch-up, including one of the biggest contracts in NHL history, some interesting depth additions, and a major long-term commitment to one of the league's young defensemen.

With training camps getting closer and fantasy drafts starting to come into focus, now is a good time to take another look at some of these moves and what they could mean for fantasy hockey. Let's dive in.

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Cale Makar - Colorado Avalanche - $20.4M AAV - Eight Years

I absolutely love this signing for Colorado. Makar is a clear franchise player, and if you're the Avalanche, this is a player you simply have to keep around for the long haul. He's the best defensemen in the league by miles, and locking him up for the next eight years ensures that one of the biggest pieces of this franchise stays exactly where he belongs.

Yes, $20.4M AAV is a ridiculous amount of money. Makar is also a ridiculous player. He's already a two-time Norris Trophy winner, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, a Stanley Cup champion, and has 507 points in 470 career games. Colorado is still very much in a win-now window, and keeping Makar alongside Nathan MacKinnon gives them two franchise players to build around as they continue chasing another Stanley Cup.

Fantasy outlook: Makar is one of the most valuable players in fantasy hockey, period. Defensemen are one of the most coveted positions because there simply aren't many players who can give you the kind of production Makar provides from the blueline. He's not just a first-round pick for me. Makar is a top-five pick. If you're drafting and Makar is sitting there, I don't care what position you're drafting from or what your roster looks like. He's one of the best players in the league and one of the safest elite fantasy assets you can build around.

In keeper leagues, he's a keeper in every format. There's no situation where I'm looking to move on from Makar because he's getting older, his situation is changing, or his production is about to fall off. He's still only 27, he's locked into Colorado for the foreseeable future, and he's playing on a team that is built to win now. This is exactly the kind of player you want anchoring your fantasy roster for years to come.

Eeli Tolvanen - New York Rangers - $1.5M AAV - One Year

This is a decent signing for the Rangers. They need help up front after seeing their forward core get depleted, and Tolvanen gives them another experienced winger who can come in and provide some secondary scoring. He's not going to be a huge difference maker on his own, but he should be a solid middle-six guy who can help round out the forward group.

Tolvanen is coming off a 36-point season with Seattle, including 12 goals and 24 assists in 78 games. He also had a career-high 14 powerplay points, so there is some offensive ability here, and he has now reached at least 30 points in four straight seasons.

The Rangers don't need him to become a superstar. They need him to come in, fill a middle-six role and provide some secondary offense behind their top players. At just $1.5M AAV, that's a pretty reasonable gamble.

Fantasy outlook: Tolvanen is more of a depth fantasy option than someone I'm targeting in a standard draft. He's a solid middle-six scorer, but I don't expect this move to suddenly turn him into a significantly better fantasy player. There could be some value in deeper leagues, especially if he gets powerplay opportunities, but for the most part, I'm viewing him as a player to keep an eye on rather than someone I need to draft.

Zeev Buium - Vancouver Canucks - $9.38M AAV - Eight Years

I like this move for the term, but I'm not so sure about the number. Buium is still an unproven NHL defenseman, but he's also a highly-touted young player, and the Canucks are clearly putting their money where their mouth is, and ink too. They traded for him last season as one of the key pieces coming back in the Quinn Hughes deal, and now they've committed to him for the next eight years. That's a pretty strong vote of confidence.

Buium only has 76 NHL games under his belt, and he put up three goals and nine assists in 45 games with Vancouver last season. He is still developing his game and has plenty to prove, but the offensive potential is obvious. The Canucks aren't paying him $9.38M AAV for what he is today. They're betting on what he can become.

He's supposed to be the replacement for Hughes, and while he certainly isn't there yet, Vancouver is giving him the opportunity to grow into that role. He should continue to quarterback their top powerplay unit, and I expect his deployment to increase this season as the Canucks put more responsibility on his shoulders. Now we get to see how he actually develops as an NHL defenseman.

Fantasy outlook: I'm not close to putting Buium among the top-rated fantasy defensemen yet. The upside is certainly there, especially with his powerplay role and expected increase in deployment, but we need to see more actual NHL production before we start treating him like an elite fantasy asset. He's a player I'm interested in, but I'm not reaching for him based on potential alone. If his defensive game improves and the offensive production starts to follow, however, his fantasy value could climb quickly.

Devils and Predators Trade

To the New Jersey Devils: Luke Evangelista

To the Nashville Predators: 2028 first-round draft pick, 2028 second-round draft pick

Fantasy Breakdown

I really like this move for Evangelista. He's going to play in the Devils' top six all season and should get good offensive deployment, including time on the second powerplay unit. That's a pretty significant opportunity for a 24-year-old coming off a career-high 56-point season. The Devils clearly see something in him, too, because they were willing to give up significant future assets to get him.

I also think Evangelista was underutilized in Smashville. He showed last season that he can produce, but now he's moving into a much better offensive situation with more talent around him. If Jack Hughes misses time, which unfortunately has to be considered given his injury history, Evangelista could see an even bigger role and more minutes.

New Jersey isn't making this trade because they think Evangelista is simply a nice middle-six addition. They're betting that he can become a legitimate offensive contributor for them, and I think there's a good chance we see the fantasy upside of that bet this season.

Evangelista is one of my favorite sneaky pickups from the summer break trades to target. The combination of a top-six role, second-unit powerplay time and better offensive talent around him gives him a legitimate chance to improve on last year's 56 points. I wouldn't be surprised if he pushes toward 65 points this season, and there's even more upside if injuries force him into a larger role.

Let's not forget that Hughes will inevitably injure himself somehow leaving a hole in the top six. Evangelista is someone I would actively target in the late rounds of drafts rather than waiting to see if he becomes a waiver wire player because I do think there is more upside than risk with this player.