The free-agency frenzy brings out the big bucks. We saw that again this year with the long-rumored addition of Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers. Or with Karl Alzner, who was given more than 23-million reasons to call Montreal home.

But that doesn't mean there aren't bargains to be had in the summer silly season. Here are five players who all signed for $2 million or less, who will prove provide their new teams with plenty of bang for their buck:

Alexander Burmistrov

The Deal: 1 year, $900,000 with Vancouver Canucks

The former eighth overall pick flashed his offensive brilliance in a short stint with the Arizona Coyotes last season, as he tallied 14 points in 26 games. It was a major uptick from the two points he secured in 23 games with the Winnipeg Jets before landing in the desert.

The Canucks are betting on Burmistrov to offer that sort of scoring consistency over the long term, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Russian forward that will see him earn under $1 million next season. Burmistrov was one of four signings the Canucks made Saturday, as the team also inked forward Sam Gagner, defenseman Michael Del Zotto, and netminder Anders Nilsson.

Mike Cammalleri

The Deal: 1 year, $1 million with Los Angeles Kings

Cammalleri is headed back for his second tour of duty with the Kings, agreeing to a one-year deal with Los Angeles for a cool million bucks. While he battled the injury bug last season, limiting him to just 61 games, he still put up 31 points, coming in at just over a half-point-per-game pace on an awful New Jersey squad.

While Cammalleri likely won't be a major offensive force for the Kings like he was when he scored 80 points during the 2006-07 campaign with Los Angeles, the salary and term of his pact makes his signing a low-risk move for the Kings, particularly for a club that was short on offense last season.

Scott Hartnell

The Deal: 1 year, $1 million with Nashville Predators

Hartnell is going back to where it all began, accepting a one-year deal with the Predators. In Nashville, he can fill a need for the club and also aim for his first Stanley Cup. The Predators, of course, lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in last year's Finals, while the addition of Hartnell should help recoup some offense lost in the departure of James Neal, who was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights.

It's a fresh start for Hartnell, who earlier this week had the final two years of his contract bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hartnell's production dipped last season, falling to 37 points on the campaign, but he could enjoy a bounce-back year in familiar surroundings in Nashville.

Ryan Miller

The Deal: 2 years, $4 million with Anaheim Ducks

Goaltending depth - or lack thereof - roasted the Ducks in the playoffs. But adding Miller better prepares Anaheim for next spring, as the veteran 'keeper offers some reliable insurance behind starter John Gibson. Gibson saw just 52 games last season, so Miller could get more than spot duty in Orange County.

Miller, who will be 37 when the season kicks off in October, is seen as more of a secondary option at this point in career, making him a perfect fit in Anaheim. With the Canucks last season, he appeared in 54 games, posting a respectable .914 save rate on a Vancouver club that finished ahead of only the lowly Colorado Avalanche.

Patrick Sharp

The Deal: 1 year, $1 million with Chicago Blackhawks

Yet another player returned to his old stomping grounds Saturday, as Sharp found his way back to Chicago, inking a one-year agreement with the Blackhawks. Sharp was part of three Stanley Cup champion squads in the Windy City, winning it all in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

While Sharp's low-money deal reflects a willingness to fit into the Blackhawks' tight salary cap structure, it's also fair payment for a veteran forward who struggled through last season. Sharp skated in just 48 games last year with Dallas as he battled a concussion and ended the campaign early by undergoing hip surgery, wrapping the campaign with just 18 points.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

(Contract information: CapFriendly.com)

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The Nashville Predators have acquired defenseman Alexei Emelin in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, according to TSN's Darren Dreger, with a 2018 third-round pick going Vegas' way.

Emelin's Golden Knights career ends before it starts, as the rearguard spent less than two weeks in the Vegas organization.

In six seasons with the Habs, Emelin totalled 14 goals and 58 assists to go along with an impressive 1,235 hits, and will add an element of depth to already stacked blue line in Nashville.

Emelin becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

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The frenzy never gets old.

More than 70 contracts were consummated in the first four hours after the NHL's annual summer signing window opened, according to CapFriendly, though some of the biggest names remained unsigned.

A deluge of deals came down before the biggest fish on the market was scooped up, and some of them were better conceived than others.

Here are some winners and losers from the first afternoon of this summer's free-agency period:

Winners

New York Rangers

It took about two-and-a-half hours, but the Rangers made the most significant splash, landing the No. 1 target, Kevin Shattenkirk.

Getting the offensively skilled blue-liner signed was a big enough win on its own, but landing him on a four-year deal rather than a five or six-year pact was the real victory for the Blueshirts.

He gives New York a productive power-play quarterback and bona fide top-pairing defenseman on a contract that could have been much worse.

Nashville Predators

The Predators made a couple of solid depth signings Saturday, turning back the clock by adding versatile veteran Scott Hartnell on an extremely team-friendly one-year, $1-million deal and picking up former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino on a four-year, $16.4-million agreement.

The Hartnell deal was particularly savvy despite the 35-year-old's decreased production this past season, considering the Columbus Blue Jackets still owe him $5 million over the next four years after buying out his previous deal earlier this week.

Carolina Hurricanes

Reunited and it feels so good.

Justin Williams was one of a handful of players who rejoined former teams Saturday, and the Hurricanes did well by getting him to return to Raleigh on a two-year, $9-million deal.

Yes, he's 35, but he scored more than 20 goals in each of the last two seasons with the Washington Capitals, and his playoff prowess is well documented.

The up-and-coming Hurricanes should benefit from his experience, his nose for the net, and of course, his knack for timely scoring.

NHL general managers as a whole

If there was one major takeaway from the initial hours of free agency, it was that NHL GMs clearly learned from the blunders of years past.

Only a few of the contracts signed Saturday were unreasonable, cap hit-wise, and most of the deals were of the relatively short-term variety.

No free agent signed a contract of more than five years in length in the opening hours of the frenzy, as the majority of the agreements came with one, two, or three-year terms.

Whether it was due to the newly flat salary cap or the less-than-elite free-agent crop, or both, the trend toward shorter, more affordable contracts was clearly evident.

Losers

Winnipeg Jets

Yes, the Jets went out and got a defenseman and a goaltender, but both players come with big-time question marks.

Dmitry Kulikov was limited to 47 games this past season with a back injury that made him feel like an old man, as he told the Olean Times Herald's Bill Hoppe back in February.

He's 26 years old.

The Jets also addressed their goaltending Saturday, but Steve Mason hardly inspires confidence.

The former Philadelphia Flyers netminder posted a .908 save percentage and a 2.66 GAA while losing more games (29) than he won (26) in 2016-17. He's definitely capable of playing well for stretches, but it's been a few years since he's been reliable over a full season.

Montreal Canadiens

Marc Bergevin just loves making questionable moves.

This one certainly wasn't on the level of the P.K. Subban trade as far as controversial transactions go, but the Canadiens GM pulled off another head-scratcher Saturday, giving bottom-pairing defenseman Karl Alzner a five-year deal worth a reported $23.125 million.

Alzner is incredibly durable, and plays a stay-at-home style, but if the Canadiens are counting on the rearguard to consistently log top-pairing minutes, it could be a long season in Montreal.

Bergevin failed to address the Canadiens' biggest need, that being down the middle, coming away with journeyman Peter Holland rather than landing a much better center like Martin Hanzal.

The Canadiens GM could redeem himself in the coming days if he's able to sign Carey Price to an extension and get Alexander Radulov back on a reasonable new deal, but Saturday's moves left something to be desired.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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One of George McPhee's most intriguing moves of the past few weeks was acquiring the rights to Russian winger Nikita Gusev from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The move raised questions due to the fact that Gusev still has a year remaining on his current contract with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg. On Saturday, McPhee provided some clarity on the situation.

"That's at least a year away," McPhee said when asked about the young sniper, according to NHL.com. "We knew that when we traded for him, it might be a year away. But he came in for a little bit here and hope that he liked what he saw. We'll talk to him next spring."

Gusev, 24, is coming off an impressive season for SKA in which he buried 24 goals while adding 47 assists in 57 regular-season games - good enough for fourth in league scoring.

While Gusev would have clearly added offensive punch to McPhee's lineup, he would have, perhaps more importantly, also formed a nice tandem with former St. Petersburg teammate Vadim Shipachyov. The duo played the past two seasons together in Russia, helping SKA to the 2016-17 league championship.

The reunion, however, will have to wait at least one more year.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Justin Schultz to a three-year contract worth $16.5 million, with an annual average value of $5.5 million, the team announced.

Schultz was in the odd situation of possessing RFA status at the beginning of the 2017 offseason. The defenseman was an unrestricted free agent last summer after not being given a qualifying offer by the Penguins. He eventually re-signed with the team and enjoyed a breakout 2016-17 campaign.

He scored 12 goals and added 39 assists in 78 regular-season games. He replaced the injured Kris Letang as the team's No. 1 defenseman in the second half of the season and through the playoffs. He scored four goals and totaled 13 points through 21 postseason games en route to the Stanley Cup, despite missing part of the Penguins' third-round series against the Ottawa Senators due to an upper-body injury.

Schultz will enter his sixth NHL season with 160 points in 344 regular-season games. He has added 17 points in 36 postseason games while helping the Penguins win consecutive Stanley Cups.

Criticized for poor defensive play during his three-plus seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Schultz operated at a Corsi For percentage of 51.2 last season, his second consecutive year with a positive possession rate.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed veteran forward Chris Kunitz to a one-year, $2-million contract Saturday, the club announced.

The four-time Stanley Cup champion spent the past eight-plus seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning three Cups and a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He won his first Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

Kunitz has totaled 250 goals and 580 points over 884 regular-season games in his career, adding 92 points in 161 playoff games. He is coming off his least productive season at the offensive end of the ice, scoring just nine goals and 29 points in 71 games. He rebounded with 11 points in 20 games during the Penguins' playofrun.

Kunitz rose to prominence while playing left wing on the Penguins' top line beside center Sidney Crosby, but he played the 2016-17 season mostly on the second line with forwards Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.

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Like a summer blockbuster, the signings came in fast and furious on Day 1 of NHL free agency.

Now that we've all had some time to catch our breath, let's assess eight of the more significant deals and assign a corresponding grade.

Kevin Shattenkirk, Rangers

The New York Rangers signed the best-available defenseman to a four-year deal worth $26.6 million, making him the team's highest-paid blue-liner and second-highest paid player behind only Rick Nash.

The $6.65-million cap hit may be lower than what he could have reeled in elsewhere, but all signs point to Shattenkirk wanting to play close to his New York-area home.

Not a massive force in his own end, Shattenkirk is a positive possession player at even strength and is averaging 0.61 points per game over his career. His right-hand shot will nicely complement the team's more defensive-minded lefties.

Grade: A

Sam Gagner, Canucks

The Columbus Blue Jackets received tremendous value from the one-year, $650,000 deal signed by Sam Gagner last summer, getting 18 goals and 50 points out of that small investment.

Gagner parlayed that success into a three-year, $9.45-million deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

Adding a 27-year-old to a seemingly rebuilding roster is a curious move, but Gagner should add some much-needed depth down the middle while taking some of the pressure off the club's up-and-coming forwards.

Grade: B

Karl Alzner, Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens made a splash by signing Karl Alzner to a five-year deal worth $23 million.

His career high in points is 21 and he's not a particularly effective possession player, but he does help in the shot suppression department.

All things considered, it's not a great signing in a league that's trending younger and faster.

Grade: C-

Nick Bonino, Predators

The Nashville Predators are stacked on the blue line, but their lack of center depth was all too evident during a Stanley Cup Final loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Enter Bonino from the winning side, as the Predators locked him up to a four-year, $16.4-million deal.

Bonino can contribute offensively, is responsible in his own end, and should slot in nicely behind Ryan Johansen.

Grade: B+

Justin Williams, Hurricanes

Williams returns to a team with whom he won a Cup in 2006, signing a two-year, $9-million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The $4.5-million cap hit may be steep for a player who will turn 36 prior to the start of next season, and the Hurricanes don't seem in position to make good on Williams' desire to play for a Cup winner.

Still, his experience will be valuable to the team's young core and Carolina could make the playoffs if all goes well.

Grade: C

Dmitry Kulikov, Jets

Kulikov's brief tenure in Buffalo was a bit of a disaster. He was limited to 47 games, in which he registered two goals, three assists, a minus-26 rating, and a Corsi For rating of 45.2 at even strength.

Yet somehow, the Winnipeg Jets saw fit to award him a three-year deal worth $12.99 million.

Let's check the reaction from Buffalo.

Grade: D-

Ryan Miller, Ducks

Miller has long wanted to play in California to be closer to his wife, actress Noureen DeWulf. The Anaheim Ducks granted that wish thanks to a two-year deal for the 37-year-old goalie.

Miller posted a .914 save percentage last season for a bad Vancouver team, and will presumably back up and mentor John Gibson while being able to carry starts for longer stretches if needed.

Grade: B

Evgeny Dadonov, Panthers

The Panthers looked to Russia for this signing, luring 28-year-old forward Evgeny Dadonov to North America on a three-year, $12-million pact.

It's a reunion of sorts, as Dadonov was drafted 71st overall by Florida in 2007, but appeared in only 55 games over three seasons before heading home for the majority of his career to date.

He's a bit of an X-factor, but could provide the Panthers with some offensive pop. In the end, we'll downgrade this move a bit based on the relative unknowns.

Grade: C+

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed veteran center Dominic Moore to a one-year, $1-million contract, the club announced Saturday afternoon.

Moore will occupy a depth role for Toronto, likely as the fourth line pivot, replacing Brian Boyle, who joined the New Jersey Devils earlier in the free agent frenzy.

The 36-year-old previously spent two seasons with the Maple Leafs, recording a career-high 41 points in 2008-09.

In 2016-17, Moore suited up in all 82 games for the Boston Bruins, notching 11 goals and 14 assists.

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It hasn't exactly been a wild first day of free agency for Minnesota, but the team did add to its back end, announcing the signing of Kyle Quincey to a one-year contract worth $1.25 million.

With Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Matt Dumba already in place, Quincey will look to fill a third-pairing role with his new club.

Quincey, who will turn 32 in August, totaled 15 points in 73 games split between the Devils and Blue Jackets last season, averaging 17:54 minutes of ice time per night with a 46.9 Corsi For percentage.

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The Montreal Canadiens continued to overhaul their blue line by signing defenseman Joe Morrow to a one-year, one-way contract, the team announced Saturday. Morrow previously played for the rival Boston Bruins and was part of the return for forward Tyler Seguin in the trade with the Dallas Stars.

Morrow has played a total of 65 NHL regular-season games, scoring just two goals with seven assists. He had a lone helper and no goals last season while averaging 15:32 of ice time per game.

He is the second defenseman added by the Canadiens on the opening day of free agency. Karl Alzner was signed earlier in the day, while veteran Andrei Markov remains unsigned.

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