July 1 is not going to be a bigger day Ray Allen Jersey for the NHL than June 30; odds aren't good that one player of the P.K. Subban/Shea Weber/Taylor Hall ilk changes teams, .Still, the first day of free agency is important. There are good players available and a whole lot of money to go around, and teams are free to start spending (and wasting) at noon ET. We'll be here.MORE: 3:45 Matt Martin is a Maple Leaf. He's a good player, but .1:50 Dan Hamhuis was one of the better d-men on the market, and he's signed one of the better deals: Two years with Dallas at $3.75 annually, according to multiple reports.He's not the player he was at his peak, but he was a legitimate top-four defenseman for the Canucks acro s the board, playing against top competition, positively impacting po se sion (mainly by preventing opposing shot attempts)and helping to produce points.Hamhuis would've been a nice fit next to Rielly for a few years. Good shot suppre sor, makes partners better. Alec Brownscombe (@MapleLeafsHS) The Stars, good as they were in the regular season, needed a guy like that. GM Jim Nill, in fact, tried to reel him in at the trade deadline.1:45 Victor Hedman signed an extension with the Lightning. Read about .12:52 Milan Lucic's seven-year, $42 million deal with the Oilers is basically buyout proof. It's structured similarly toDavid Clarkson's deal with Toronto. Lucic is better than Clarkson, obviously, but the Oilers are going to have trouble moving him, ever.Almost half of Lucic contract is in the form of signing bonus money; full NMC all 7 years and limited NTC (list of teams) last 2 years Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) 12:47 Defenseman Ben Lovejoy (three years, $2.66 per) and center Vern Fiddler (one-year, $1.25 million)signed with the Devils. That's too much for Fiddler, thoughhecan win faceoffs and do half-decent work in brutal minutes. Lovejoy was reliable last season on the right side for Pittsburgh and can replace some of what New Jersey lost when they sent Adam Lar son to Edmonton.12:42 Chris Stewart has scored 22 goals over the last two seasons. He signed with the Wild.Chris Stewart to MIN. Two-year deal, $2.3M AAV. Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) Also catching up: Troy Brouwer signed with the Flames for four years and $4.45 million per. Scoring a couple playoff goals can do wonders. The Flames also signed Mirza Teletovic Jersey backup goalie Chad Johnson. He's good in that role at that price and backs up Brian Elliott($2.5 million per year). That's good work.12:30 This is the best deal of the day so far.Eric Staal to MIN. 3 years. $3.5M AAV. Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) Staal was a bust with the Rangers, but players his age with le s track record are getting literally double, in both money and term. He's 31 and one year removed from a 23-goal, 31- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey a sist season with the Hurricanes.The Wild desperately needed a center with offensive ability beyond Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu, and it's worth seeing how much Staal has left. He'll be fun to watch in Bruce Boudreau's system, and the Wild are coming off a decent playoff run.`Still, it's crazy that anyone can look at a team giving $10.5 million to a guy who was a total non-factor for half of the last season and think "yeah, this is fine."12:22 Something to keep in mind today re: Andrew Ladd, Loui Erik son, Milan Lucic and David Backes in particular.NHLers tend to begin severe declines offensively past 30. 34 is often the cliff. Stephen Burtch (@SteveBurtch) 12:20 There is a ton of term flying around, includingin Boston, where they signed David Backes for five years and $6 million per, according to Elliotte Friedman. Backes is still a good player, but he's 31. He can play up and down the lineup at any position, but this isn't a deal you do if you don't think you can win within a couple years. Boston mi sed the playoffs last season.Also, Kyle Okposo is officially off the board. He signed with the Sabres. There's more on him and his fit in Buffaloearlier.$6 million AAV on Okposo deal to Sabres. Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) 12:10 Frans Nielsen is a Red WIng (reported six years at $5.25 million per). Loui Erik son is a Canuck (six years, $6 million per). David Perron is back with the Blues (two seasons, reported $3.875 per).12:07 Lucic officially signed with the Oilers. There's more on him below, but this is a decent thing to consider.One aspect of Lucic joining : Warning to opponents - cheap shot McDavid at your own risk. Lucic will have the kid's back. Always Mike Zeisberger (@Zeisberger) 12:00 The first two decent names off the board: forward Andrew Ladd to the Isles and goalie James Reimer to the Panther.First, Ladd: It's a lot of years, yes, but the Islanders need to make the most of John Tavares. Ladd is a legitimate top-six winger and fits well. The deal Michael Beasley Jersey is long, and Ladd won't be worth it when he's, say 37,but the cap hit is right. Not bad at all, given how much money the Isles had to spend and the whole Tavares thing. He'll score 25 for the next few years.Seven years for Andrew Ladd and Islanders. AAV under $6 million. Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) Second, Reimer (five years, $3.4 million):He's solid and now is in position to replace Roberto Spencer Hawes Jersey Luongo at some point, but the Panthers also have nearly $10 million tied up in goaltenders. That's a luxury. Reimer deserves it, though; he got a raw deal in Toronto and earned stability somewhere.11:40 Couple updates on David Backes and Andrew Ladd ahead of noon:Looks like David Backes going to market. STL took a run at re-signing him this morning. BOS significant interest in Backes. Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) Some speculation Andrew Ladd getting 7 years from Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) Ladd with the Isles would beparticularly interesting; they're going to have a lot of money to spend, given that Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo are both about to split. John Tavares needs someone to play with.11:25 We talked more about Kyle Okposo and the Sabres a little farther down. It continues to seem like a fit.Top six could be Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo, Vesey-Eichel-Reinhart, if this morning's indications come true. John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) Not bad.11:15 The Blackhawks will sign defenseman Brian Campbell for one year and $2 million, according to multiple reports. That's a fantastic deal for Chicago; Campbell isn't quite the player they saw earlier in his career, but he's close enough. It takes a special situation to get adefenseman of his caliber for that price.Campbell can play on Chicago's third pair. Chicago is le s than $1 million under the cap, so it's tough to