With more than $47 million certain to go Joe Sakic's way over the next five years, he locked up the most guaranteed money of any unrestricted free agent this offseason. But the contract that could have the most impact on NHL salaries is more likely Martin Lapointe's five-year, $20 million-plus deal with the Bruins.

	Steve Heinze can now celebrate his new contract.

Sakic is the league MVP, a Stanley Cup champion and a proven commodity for more than a decade. He has scored 457 regular-season goals and made $7.9 million last season, so his raise next season is only about $1.6 million.

Lapointe? Sure, he scored 27 goals this season, but he never had more than 16 in his five full seasons before that. Yet his salary will go from $1.35 million to more than $5 million -- about a 400-percent increase.

Lapointe is a rugged, versatile and durable winger who brings a definite attitude to the rink along with his 127 penalty minutes and 30 assists from last season. The hockey market of 2001 was willing to pay him extremely well, despite an average track record of offensive production.

"At $5.2 million, Martin Lapointe obviously makes Steve Heinze a good value at $2 million," said agent Steve Mountain, who got that amount for his client when Heinze signed a three-year deal worth $6 million with the L.A. Kings. "When you see a number of guys go in the $2.5 million-$5 million range, you look at their career and compare them -- it helps in landing them in the same ballpark."

Heinze also scored 27 goals, but he's more than three years older than Lapointe, 28, and isn't considered as much of a "character" player as Lapointe, reasons why Heinze commanded less in the open market.

As astounding as it sounds, Sakic signed for less than market value. Next season, there will be three forwards (Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya and Jaromir Jagr) earning more. Lapointe, on the other hand, raised the proverbial bar for all the mid-level free agents.

And that's exactly what players such as Heinze hoped for when they finally received the privilege -- after upward of 10 years in the league -- to sign with the team of their choice.

"My agent's plan, more so than mine, was to let a couple of guys go, and he thought the market would go up for me," Heinze said. "I wasn't going to be a market-maker, and thought other signings could lift me up."

Attorney Jerry Buckley helps represent free agent Scott Pellerin, another less-heralded but extremely valued veteran in the lower end of the unrestricted market. Buckley said Lapointe's signing helps all players in general, but not every free agent will necessarily benefit from it.

"I don't know if individual free agents are as affected by these signings because teams target specific guys for specific roles," he said. "If teams have someone in mind they want to go after, then they'll pay a premium to get him.

"You can't say 'Marty Lapointe did this, and I did that, so I deserve this.' But it certainly helps, and the marketplace for these guys that can help a team win is going up -- with (Jeremy) Roenick and Lapointe."

But while the signings of unrestricted free agents affect the league's overall average salary, they don't impact the market for restricted free agents -- those players whose rights remain under the control of a particular team.

"An unrestricted free agent is factored into the discussion for a Group II, but it's known if it's an unrestricted free agent or not," Buckley said, adding that the comparison often comes up in arbitration hearings for restrictred free agents. "Lapointe doesn't affect Bill Guerin as much as you would think."

"You cannot compare an unrestricted free agent to a restricted free agent," agreed Mountain.

Buckley referred to Guerin, a restricted free agent with the Bruins who made $3.2 million last season. With a 40-goal season, Guerin would command top dollar on the open market. But his bargaining power isn't as strong because he can only deal with Boston, the team owning his rights until he's an unrestricted free agent next year, unless another team wants to risk a high price of five first-round draft picks as compensation.

"I don't know if we've readjusted our goals," Buckley said regarding whether the recent signings alter his approach to negotiations for Pellerin and/or Guerin. "But you're seeing teams paying a premium to get guys to get to the next level."

For Mountain, there's pressure to land a deal in keeping with the mushroom-cloud growth of the open market -- even for players like Heinze, who had 54 points while making $1.3 million last season with Columbus and Buffalo.

"The scrutiny and intensity and fever creates more pressure to perform," he said. "Or players find new agents."

Heinze says the disparity between the owners' words on fiscal responsibility and their spending habits makes it extremely confusing.

"Everyone is talking about three years from now and the CBA, and how it's going to be a lockout to change the spending habits," he said. "They always say that and then go out and spend all that money.

"The owners put a little scare (into the players), but you have to prove your worth and fortunately, I had a good year. There's so much posturing, and you get a little nervous, but it worked out well for me."

It's bound to work out well for more free agents, as well.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.