It’s the question on everyone’s mind. When will these restricted free agents sign? The workday on the second last Friday of August has almost come to an end and there is still a huge list of unsigned stars with no real progress being made. Whether they are all waiting on Mitch Marner or Brayden Point to set the market or not, we’re starting to get closer and closer to the start of training camp and real contract holdouts beginning. We’ve already heard one player has contacted a European squad to give them a place to train, and there will undoubtedly be more.
So who breaks the dam? When Colin White signed earlier this week there was hope that things were finally progressing, but instead there has been deafening silence around the league. Even with small tidbits of information coming out from situations surrounding Zach Werenski and Brock Boeser, there still doesn’t seem to be any movement. Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney explained today that things with Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy are going “not as fast as everybody would like” but that he’s confident they will be with the organization for a long time.
It’s not even just the top players that are still out there without a contract. Names like Kevin Fiala, Brendan Perlini and Adrian Kempe are still without deals for one reason or another and may still be waiting on the high-profile players to be finished first. That’s a tough place for any young player to be in, especially when you’re not quite as established as someone like Point or Marner. Missing training camp would be a huge detriment to their careers, meaning they’re likely watching the news wire just as closely.
When will things change? Who will finally decide that the waiting game is taking too long? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain why in the comments. We’ve included the top names, but feel free to explain why another player may be the one to kick things off.
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