Plenty of player changes but where's the holiday bang?

Thankfully, U2's Bono and The Edge saved the day.

The Irish rockers performed as part of Canada's 150th birthday celebrations on Parliament Hill and gave us hockey fans a much-needed break from the colossal yawn known as the annual NHL free-agent frenzy.

Sure plenty of players changed addresses. The Winnipeg Jets did a nice job landing defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and goalie Steve Mason. The Montreal Canadiens outbid other clubs to score a solid veteran defenceman in Karl Alzner.

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But we should have known this year's first day of unrestricted free agency would be a flop and certainly drama deficient.

The small salary-cap increase to $75-million per club kept general managers from bouts of reckless spending. There also was the fact that this year's collection of UFAs was lacking a headliner.

Alzner's former Washington Capitals teammate, Kevin Shattenkirk, was considered the class of this year's free-agent collection. But he hurt his cause with a middling performance for the Capitals in the playoffs after being moved by the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline.

The 28-year-old Shattenkirk of New Rochelle, N.Y. signed a four-year deal worth $6.66-million a season with the nearby New York Rangers.

Not exactly an action-packed afternoon

Maybe next summer will be different in terms of excitement when there is a possibility New York Islanders captain John Tavares or Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price make it to unrestricted free agency.

It will be an interesting 12 months for these two Canadian World Cuppers. One of their teammates from last fall's World Cup of Hockey, San Jose Sharks defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, crossed his name off the list potential 2018 UFAs when he inked an eight-year, $56-million extension on Saturday.

But most of Saturday afternoon was spent waiting to find out answers to questions like whether 30-year-old Alex Radulov, an 18-goal scorer last season, was going to jump to the Dallas Stars or remain with Montreal.

Would Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton really leave the San Jose Sharks? Thornton re-signed, while Marleau continued to mull over offers from the Stars, Anaheim Ducks, Sharks and even the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Would the Colorado Avalanche trade forward Matt Duchene? Not yet.

You see, it wasn't exactly an action-packed afternoon.

Much to like about Alzner

Probably the most interesting move made by a Canadian team was Alzner leaving for the Habs. The 28-year-old left-shot defenceman from Burnaby, B.C. received a five-year deal, worth $4.63-million a season.

He's a shutdown type who will look good alongside Shea Weber. Alzner was a two-time World junior gold medal winner with Canada and back-to-back Calder Cup champion with the Hershey Bears. Since he became a full-time NHLer in 2010, the durable defenceman has played in 540 consecutive regular season games.

Montreal fans will like Alzner. He's a positive person and usually wears a smile. He is driven person.

"I would absolutely love to get to the promise land with this team," he said on Saturday. "My drive to win is incredibly strong and I just want a chance to win and bring [a Stanley Cup] to a Canadian city, especially Montreal."

Let's talk Price

But the Habs still have some missing parts, like a top-flight offensive centre. There, however, still is time for Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin to find a solution to this glaring problem.

But some of these decisions may play a role in whether or not Price decides to re-sign in Montreal or test free agency next summer.

In the meantime, we'll watch to see where the likes of Radulov, Marleau and Duchene wind up. We'll see if 34-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk returns to the NHL after playing the past four years back in Russia.

We'll see if popular members of the 40-year-old set – Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla and Jaromir Jagr – find new homes.

There still is plenty of personnel moves to play out this summer.