AP sources: Oilers sign Hyman, Barrie; Vegas re-ups Martinez

Zach Hyman is heading to the Oilers and Tyson Barrie is staying put in Edmonton as the first day of NHL free agency got off to a quick start.

Hyman agreed to terms on a seven-year, $38.5 million contract, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the signing couldn’t be announced until the NHL’s free-agency period began at noon EDT.

The long-anticipated move comes after the Connor McDavid-led Oilers lacked secondary scoring as they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Winnipeg Jets. Hyman has topped 20 goals in two of his six seasons. He has 15 goals and and 33 points in 43 games last season.

Hyman will count $5.5 million against the salary cap through the 2026-27 season. It would’ve been lower had Toronto signed Hyman to an eight-year contract and traded him to Edmonton, but the Maple Leafs wanted some meaningful compensation for facilitating the move.

“We’ve been in that situation before at the trade deadline, and when you’re in that spot the other GMs aren’t helping you out,” Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas said last weekend. “They’re pulling the pin from the grenade and they’re throwing it to you. I know that there’s a narrative that we should just get something, but when you’re saving a team significant dollars on the salary cap that comes with a cost and we’re not going to bend on that.”

Edmonton also re-signed Barrie before he was eligible to become a free agent, and fellow defenseman Alex Martinez is staying put with the Vegas Golden Knights.

A person with direct knowledge of the deal told The AP that Martinez signed a three-year, $15.75 million contract with an annual salary cap hit of $5.25 million. A different person with direct knowledge of Barrie’s deal said the 10th-year player signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract.

Both people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the signings have not yet been announced.

Barrie returns for a second season in Edmonton after he topped 40 points for the fifth time in his 10-year career.

Martinez returns for a second full season with the Golden Knights a day after the team freed up salary cap space by trading goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks.

He had nine goals and 23 assists in 53 games to top 30 points for the third time in his 12-year career. Martinez also scored four times in the Golden Knights’ playoff run, which ended with Vegas losing to Montreal in the semifinal.

The Golden Knights continued shaking up their roster by acquiring forward Evgenii Dadonov from Ottawa for defenseman Nick Holden and 2022 third-rounder.

Another defenseman was on the move, with the Blackhawks trading Nikita Zadorov to Calgary for a 2022 third-round pick.

Philipp Grubauer was among the top goaltenders available in free agency, along with 2016 Vezina Trophy winner and 2018 Stanley Cup champion Braden Holtby, Petr Mrazek, James Reimer, Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta.

The morning after re-signing with Colorado on a $56 million, 8-year deal, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said he hoped Grubauer would return.

“At the end of the day that’s his decision, and, yeah, we’d love to have Grubi back, believe me,” Landeskog said. “He was the backbone of our team and a huge part of our success this past season, but at the end of the day I’m not going to tell Grubi what to do just like he didn’t try to tell me what to do.”

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