First it was Curtis McElhinney's turn. Then it was Ron Hainsey's and Dominic Moore's. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it was Patrick Marleau's turn to join a young, talented Maple Leafs squad brimming with youthful exuberance.
Adding four veteran guys with a combined age of 143 doesn't exactly get you fired up. But maybe it should. Stabilizing veteran voices that will make the Leafs a deeper, more effective club.
First of all, Hainsey is coming off an impressive playoff performance with the Pittsburgh Penguins in which he served as a top-pairing D-man, even if it was by default. In 25 postseason games, he recorded two goals and six assists to go along with 37 hits and 44 blocked shots while playing a crucial role in Pittsburgh's Cup victory.
All three played a ton of minutes last season, and the wear and tear of the 82-game grind was evident on the trio of blue-liners. Hainsey, who has logged a career average of just over 21 minutes of ice time per game, will lighten the load for the core rearguards while also bringing an element of leadership the club is looking for.
McElhinney and Moore continue the Leafs' trend of going with low-risk, high-reward guys that A) know their roles well, and B) have proven track records getting the job done in backup and bottom-six roles, respectively.
In 82 games last season for the Boston Bruins, Moore - a Thornhill, Ontario native - registered 11 goals and 14 assists while also winning nearly 57 percent of his faceoffs.
Meanwhile, McElhinney had a respectable season as well. In 14 games for the Leafs, the 34-year-old veteran put up a record of 6-7 while posting a 2.85 goals-against and .914 save percentage - good enough numbers from your backup, especially for $800,000.
Lastly, the addition of Marleau completes a quartet of veteran signings for Lou Lamoriello and Co. that make Toronto a much more complete team.
Sure, he's 37. And three years at an average annual value of $6.25 million seems like a lot. But when you consider the fact that Marleau is in excellent shape and rarely misses any time due to injury, and the Leafs could have just added a game-changer.
Marleau has played every game for eight seasons and missed just 31 total in his career.
The three-time All-Star leaves San Jose with 508 goals and 574 assists.
But it's his veteran leadership that offers the greatest benefit to the inexperienced Leafs. Don't forget, despite San Jose's playoff struggles, Marleau has also been a clutch postseason performer - another characteristic Toronto sorely lacks.
In 177 career playoff games, Marleau has tallied an impressive 68 goals and 52 assists, and will surely be a factor if Toronto manages to qualify for the playoffs for a second year in a row.
They may not have been the names Leafs fans expected, but if Lamoriello's track record alone isn't enough to have you believing, just remember: sexy doesn't always equal success.
Johansson set career highs with 24 goals and 58 points with the Capitals this past season.
He has two years left on his contract at an annual cap hit of about $4.58 million.
Washington now has about $9.2 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly, but only has 14 players signed to its NHL roster, and still needs to sign restricted free agents Andre Burakovsky and goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
The Capitals found themselves with only about $4.65 million in cap space after signing Evgeny Kuznetsov to an eight-year, $62.4-million contract earlier Sunday, so a move like the Johansson trade was inevitable, and more transactions may still be necessary.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made a big splash on the free-agent market Sunday, signing veteran Patrick Marleau to a three-year deal with an annual average value of $6.25 million.
At 37 years old, the Leafs clearly feel that Marleau has a lot left in the tank. According to head coach Mike Babcock, that has a lot to do with they way the veteran can still move on the ice.
"Even if he doesn't score goals, he can skate," Babcock said, as reported by Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com. "He can play against the best people and do it right every single night." "... Have you seen him skate?"
Regardless of his age, Marleau's numbers indicate one thing: The guy can still put the puck in the back of the net.
Since entering the league in 1997, Marleau has totaled 508 goals and 574 assists in 1,493 career regular-season games - good enough for fifth on the active scoring list.
By the time the puck drops on the 2017-18 season, Marleau will be 38. But according to Babcock, that shouldn't be an issue, per Cotsonika: "I think (Toronto) will be a fountain of youth for him."
Marleau leaves the San Jose Sharks after spending nearly two decades in the Bay Area. He's the franchise's all-time leader in goals, points, and games played.
The Leafs were one of many teams initially pursuing the 37-year-old, who reportedly had an offer to return to the Sharks on a two-year deal.
Marleau has been remarkably durable throughout his career, playing every regular-season game in each of the last eight seasons and missing only 31 games in 19 seasons.
Toronto's young squad has added a wealth of experience in the last 30 hours or so, signing 36-year-old defenseman Ron Hainsey to a two-year pact Saturday.
Carey Price was nonchalant when asked about his mammoth new contract.
"We just kind of banged one out," the star goaltender quipped to reporters Sunday, according to NHL.com's Arpon Basu.
Earlier in the day, the Canadiens signed Price to an eight-year extension worth a reported $84 million, making him the highest-paid goalie in the league and all but ensuring the 2015 Hart and Vezina Trophy winner will finish his career with the only organization he's ever known.
Price didn't deny the notion that he should be among the highest-paid players in the league, and he clearly wasn't ready to put on another team's sweater after spending his first 10 NHL seasons with the Canadiens.
"I thought it would be too weird, I guess," he said, according to Basu, adding that he's "obviously ecstatic" to have the opportunity to close out his career with Montreal, via The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.
The 29-year-old has one more year left on his previous deal and is now under contract until 2025-26.
