After the clock ticks past 12:00 PM EST on this fine October Saturday, we can officially say that the first day of free agency has come to a close! Of course, this doesn’t mean anything of importance in regards to clubs’ ability to negotiate and sign players, however, it might as well be marked as the end of the big action. Day one is, usually, the day filled with the largest flurry of activity as negotiations can officially be started (though, this doesn’t limit verbal agreements made behind closed doors).
Yesterday, then, was no exception. Though the biggest name on the free agent market, Alex Pietrangelo, is still available, along with other exceptional talents like Taylor Hall and Mike Hoffman, teams decidedly made their moves for the players they had vested interest in, and did so fairly quickly.