Brock Boeser stayed put in Vancouver. The New York Rangers retooled their blue line by landing free agency’s top defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, and trading K’Andre Miller to Carolina.

And Nikolaj Ehlers is taking his time before determining his future.

The frenzy of multiple signings when NHL free agency opened Tuesday was tempered by a free agent class thinned by teams making pre-emptive moves to keep top talent.

“The list wasn’t deep,” Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said, before assessing how active he intended to be in the coming days. “No, I would say that where we’re at now, we’re comfortable with where we’re at if you look at our group here.”

That group includes defenseman Ivan Provorov, who was signed to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract.

Taking advantage of a record $7.5 million jump in the salary cap, the Vegas Golden Knights landed the biggest prize in a sign-and-trade deal to acquire Mitch Marner on Monday. On the same day, the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers used “home Cup” advantage to re-sign defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Brad Marchand.

“It’s easy to want to stay here, and then the culture of winning is just a huge draw,” Ekblad said. “We’ve all been taken care of very well.”

Boeser, a six-time 20-goal-scorer, elected to stay in Vancouver by agreeing to a seven-year, $50.75 million contract a half hour into the signing period.

Soon after, the Rangers signed Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract. New York then acquired defenseman Scott Morrow, a conditional first-round draft pick and a 2026 second-rounder in trading Miller, a restricted free agent and potential candidate to attract an offer sheet.

The Hurricanes signed the 25-year-old Miller to an eight-year, $60 million contract, at a time they expect to lose blue-liners Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns to free agency.

“It was important for us to find a way to do it without giving up any major pieces off our roster if we could,” Carolina GM Eric Tulsky said of acquiring the fifth-year player. “He is just approaching his prime and we are confident that he will excel in a Hurricanes sweater.”

California Dreaming

California’s three franchises were the most active, shelling out more than $60 million in salaries combined. And that included Corey Perry’s return to Southern California, this time with the rival Los Angeles Kings after spending the first 14 seasons in Anaheim.

“Now they’ve got to get on my side, and hopefully we can do that early,” the 40-year-old said of winning over Kings fans accustomed to booing him.

The Ducks missed out on the biggest names in free agency despite billionaire owner Henry Samueli’s guarantee of a blank check but still added consistent scoring forward Mikael Granlund to a team that finished 30th in the NHL in goals last season. The Finnish veteran signed a three-year deal worth $21 million.

San Jose, which entered the day $20 million below the salary cap floor, got a little closer by signing defenseman John Klingberg to a $4 million contract for next season.

As the dust settled, the top players available seven hours in were Ehlers, fellow wingers Andrew Mangiapane and Anthony Beauvillier and Orlov.

Ehlers, who scored 20 or more goals in eight of his 10 seasons in Winnipeg, has informed teams he might take a day or two to decide where he’ll sign.

Several teams turned to the trade route to improve their rosters, with the Bruins acquiring winger Viktor Arvidsson from Edmonton for a 2027 fifth-round pick.