This was an offseason where we saw one team in particular make several valuable signings and commit to a “win now” mentality, the first signing netting UFA blueliner Brady Skjei to a 7×7 million dollar deal to Nashville. You can read Christian’s article on the Nashville Predators’ offseason here. The last three seasons in particular showcased Skjei’s two-way ability as a second-pairing defenseman, with him visibly impacting the game on both ends. Over the last three seasons, his Goals Above Replacement were 5.6, 1.9, and 8, while also posting positive Wins Above Replacement and SPAR value. Another strength of his has been his durability/availability. Over the last three seasons Skjei has only missed three games, while averaging over twenty-one minutes of ice time per game. In the 2023-2024 campaign, he put up 1.7 points per sixty minutes and finished with an 8.8 point share, being worth almost five wins for the Hurricanes. Using his 6’3 210 lb frame, Skjei was a defensive asset, blocking ninety shots, having eight more takeaways than giveaways, and finishing with a +15. 5-on-5 metrics support his value when he was on the ice with a Corsi and Fenwick percentage of 58.3 and 56.9, respectively. Although Carolina ultimately fell to the New York Rangers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in Game 6, 5-3, Skjei was impressive. In eleven playoff games, he scored a goal and tallied eight assists while also finishing with a crazy 61.9 Fenwick percentage and 59.5 Corsi percentage. The goal, however, tells a bigger story of Brady Skjei’s impact. The Carolina Hurricanes were down 3-0 in the series to the New York Rangers and their powerplay was practically non-existent, going 0 for 15. Going into Game 4, Skjei got promoted to the first power play unit and he capitalized. On the second power play of the game for Carolina, Skjei unleashed an absolute bomb of a shot that beat G Igor Shesterkin through a screen, giving the Hurricanes the lead and ultimately being the game-winning goal. The goal gave the Hurricanes life, where they won games four and five to make it a series before ultimately fallih.

Based off of Evolving-Hockey’s SPAR model, Skjei’s value last season was $10.1 million while his cap hit was $5.3 million. Skjei is going to a defensive-minded team that took the talented Vancouver Canucks to six games in round one with their extremely tight checking game. With his left handed puck passing ability, skating prowess, high hockey IQ, two-way game, and durability, he will bolster a blue line that already has one of the most lethal and dominant defensemen in the seemingly ageless Roman Josi. Along with the other firepower Nashville acquired in the offseason, Skjei will contribute to Nashville’s playoff push in what is the most competitive division in hockey.