The Free Agency Arms Race Starts Early - Teams Lock in Deals Before the Madness

Every July 1st, NHL general managers circle the wagons and prepare for the chaos of unrestricted free agency, but this year several franchises decided to get ahead of the stampede by inking major deals in the days leading up to the opening bell. These pre-free agency signings reveal which teams came to negotiate with a clear vision and which ones are scrambling to fill holes before the market gets picked clean.