NHL Free Agents 2011: Power Ranking the 8 Best Value Signings

With free agency's second week coming to a close, the league has definitely seen its fair share of action and spent more than their fair share of dollars.

Despite the fact that this free-agent class wasn't the most star-studded field we have seen, a lot of teams have made some significant moves in order to make their teams better next season.

One of the common themes of free agency has been overpaying players. Another has been doling out contracts that last as long as 10 years or even more.

With all the money being thrown around and lengths of contracts expanding, it can be hard to find out whether or not a team is getting its money's worth.

Though there are those instances where a team has managed to find that perfect balance, and the value is at its highest.

Here are the teams that appear to have gotten the most value for their signings.

Washington Capitals: Joel Ward

Washington signed Joel Ward on the first day of free agency to a four year contract worth $12 million. This contract will cost the Caps $3 million for their cap hit every year.

That is a big number for a third-line guy, but Ward brings a lot of fantastic things to the table, all of which were showcased during his performance in the playoffs for the Predators.

Ward is a tenacious fore-checker, plays with a great physical edge that doesn't go too far, has great speed, works until the very end of the play, and can put the puck in the net.

Ward can provide some key goals when his team really needs them, and the Capitals need to be able to have more than just Alex Ovechkin to look to for that.

Ward could also log time on the Capitals' second power play unit and stand right in front of the net to put home those ugly goals everybody loves.

At first glance, his contract seems a bit much, but I think the Capitals found a great number for what they are going to get from Joel Ward.

Detroit Red Wings: Mike Commodore

Detroit just has a knack for finding great value in every single player that they get. Other than Curtis Joseph, I can't really remember a time where they greatly overvalued a player they picked up.

Mike Commodore is a Stanley Cup winning defenseman that struggled to stay consistent in Columbus, but that kind of goes for everybody who plays in Columbus up to this point.

Detroit has a way of stabilizing people as they are always one of the most complete teams in the league.

Commodore brings a punishing presence back to Detroit, plus a right-handed shot from the point that is quite hefty.

His one year contract for $1 million seems to hit the nail right on the head. He's a depth guy that has a lot of experience and won't be shaky in any situation that he's used in.

Great pick up by the Wings.

Colorado Avalanche: Jean-Sebastien Giguere

It's hard to determine the value of the guy that is bound to be your backup goalie, but I think the Avalanche found a great deal with J.S. Giguere from free agency.

Giguere will be one of the oldest guys in the locker room, but he has also won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe. The guy knows what it takes to perform at the game's highest levels, and that kind of presence is vital for the Avalanche right now.

He will also make a great mentor to Semyon Varlamov, who is still very young and has a lot to learn.

Giggy's two-year deal worth $1.25 million a year fits about right and was exactly what Peter Budaj made his last couple of seasons in Denver.

I think Giggy is definitely better than Budaj. Good value for the Avalanche.

New York Rangers: Brad Richards

Brad Richards was the cream of the crop in this free-agent class, and the New York Rangers were the big winners of this particular sweepstakes.

At 31 years of age, Richards still has a lot of really good hockey left in him, and the Rangers are counting on him providing that.

Richards will do a ton for them, he'll rack up points, he can win faceoffs, and the biggest thing that he can do for the Rangers is quarterback their power play.

The contract is nine years at $60 million, which seems a bit long, but he could still be very effective at 40 with the way he plays.

While the years might be long, I think that his cap hit is where the value comes in. His cap hit will actually be about $6.67 million a year, which is less than his cap hit was for the last five.

As the top guy available this year, Richards easily could have held out for more money, especially with the number of teams literally lining up outside to try and sign him.

So while the years might be a bit more than you'd expect, the Rangers got good value for Richards, in my opinion.

Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Ladd

Andrew Ladd is only 25 years old but has already shown that he is a great leader in the NHL.

I know Ladd didn't move teams, but he was still a free agent, and he still signed a contract, so I think it still qualifies.

Ladd is now locked up with the Jets for five years for $22 million, giving a cap hit of $4.4 million a year, which is pretty good considering that Ladd led the team in goals and points.

Not to mention that this kid knows how to toss his body around as well and pretty much does everything for this team.

This really isn't overpaying at all to me. This is the Jets new ownership saying that they know that he is the leader of this team and that they want to continue to be that and are willing to pay him for it.

Ladd will be making fans in Winnipeg very happy for quite a while now.

Phoenix Coyotoes: Keith Yandle

Keith Yandle was an absolute beast for the Coyotes this past season and amassed a total of 59 points for the Coyotes this year.

This kind of production could really have commanded a much larger contract than the five year, $26.25 million deal that he got, which is great for Phoenix.

You get a guy who is clearly committed to the team and will go out every single game and produce for them. In fact, in each of the last two seasons, Yandle has played every single game.

Obviously he does well offensively, but the best part is that he's still very solid in his own end as well. This past season, Yandle ended the year with a plus-12 rating, which is great to see for an offensive defenseman.

He's approaching the prime of his career and should just continue to get better.

Coyotes got great value for Yandle, in my opinion.

Los Angeles Kings: Simon Gagne

The Kings have done very well this offseason. They started by acquiring Mike Richards from the Flyers and then continued with their great offseason by signing Simon Gagne to a two-year contract worth $7 million.

He's older and not quite the elite scorer he was, but this guy still provides some great scoring depth for the Kings, which is something that they have desperately needed.

Gagne would play well with either Kopitar or Richards and will help take some more pressure off of Dustin Penner to be the big scorer everybody wanted him to be.

It's a complimentary contract for a complimentary scorer who could help the Kings push for a division title next season.

The Kings did very well with this one.

Washington Capitals: Tomas Vokoun

Once Ilya Bryzgalov signed his monster contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tomas Vokoun became the goalie to get in the free-agent market.

He has played very well for a Panthers team that has never really given him any support, and last season was no different.

The problem was that it seems Vokoun overplayed his cards on day one of free agency, and all of the teams that needed starting goalies looked elsewhere because they didn't want to pay what he was asking.

So day two came around and to everybody's surprise, Vokoun signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals worth $1.5 million.

How Washington pulled this off is incredible. First, they traded Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for a first-round draft pick and a second-round draft pick, something that many people were stunned by.

Then they signed the best goalie on the market to a contract for just $1.5 million? Vokoun literally has to be the steal of the entire free-agent period because he could easily have gotten $4 million to $5 million for several years.

At the same time, it seems Washington may have inadvertently sent a message to Michael Neuvirth, who led the Capitals to the playoffs last year, that they have absolutely no faith in him.

Regardless of what message was sent to whom, the Capitals clearly got amazing value for Vokoun.

Comments, Questions, Concerns...

Kevin Goff is a Featured Columnist for the Colorado Avalanche and is a member of Bleacher Report's 2011 NHL Draft Team.  For more NHL news and discussion,

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