Best Of The Rest: What’s Left In Unrestricted Free Agency

After the usual flurry of early-July activity, things have settled down on the transaction front as it often does at this time of year.  That presents an opportunity to take a closer look at who’s left on the unrestricted free agent market.

There are just six players that remain unsigned from our original Top 50 list back in June.  That number dips to five when you consider that David Krejci is one of the six and he’s expected to retire in the near future.  However, there have been some newcomers to the open market in the form of non-tenders while several long-time veterans remain unsigned as well.

Below is our Top 20 Best Of The Rest.  Rankings are based on our original Top 50 voting results with some non-tendered players who were still with their old teams at the time of our vote back in June being slotted in based on their respective situations.

1) Patrick Kane – Originally ranked second on our Top 50 list, his presence here shouldn’t be considered a surprise.  After undergoing hip surgery following the playoffs, he won’t be ready to start the season and his camp has indicated that he’ll wait until he’s ready to return before signing, giving the 34-year-old a chance to assess who the early contenders will be.  One team will be getting an intriguing addition to add to their playoff push – likely on a one-year deal – but we’ll be waiting a while to find out who it will be.

2) Mathew Dumba – Our 18th-ranked player before free agency opened up, the 29-year-old hasn’t had much luck on a couple of fronts.  The pricey long-term deals have been few and far between this summer and it feels like his situation is on hold until Erik Karlsson’s situation gets resolved.  A contender for Karlsson that doesn’t land him could turn around and make a push for Dumba while the blueliner has been linked to Arizona with some speculation about San Jose as a possible one-year pillow deal candidate.

Signed with Arizona, one year, $3.9MM

3) Tomas Tatar – The veteran winger originally came in 22nd on our rankings after putting up his seventh career 20-goal season.  Now 32, Tatar showed he can still produce at a top-six level with New Jersey last season but from the outside, it seems like his playoff struggles could be scaring teams off.  He has just 13 career playoff points in 52 games and was healthy-scratched frequently back in 2021 with Montreal.  Having said that, Tatar had to wait a little while for his market to come around two years ago and he did fine for himself with a two-year, $9MM contract.  At this point, it would be surprising if Tatar lands that price tag or term on his next agreement but he’d fit on a lot of rosters as a secondary scorer as he has averaged more than half a point per game in four of the last five seasons.

4) Jonathan Toews – After Chicago elected not to bring back their long-time captain, we put him 28th on our listing with his ranking being dropped somewhat due to the uncertainty about his playing future.  Nothing is set in stone yet but all indications appear to be that the 35-year-old seems to be leaning toward hanging up his skates.  Perhaps his mind changes closer to training camp and if it does, he’ll be likely signing for a limited role with a presumed playoff contender, one that would put his price tag pretty close to the league minimum.

5) Zach Parise – Somewhat quietly, the 39-year-old put up a 21-goal season with the Islanders last season.  However, his own uncertainty about his playing future resulted in him slipping to 48th in our initial rankings.  Parise has played on one-year deals with the Islanders since being bought out by Minnesota two years ago and on the surface, a reunion with New York on another one-year agreement might be the probable scenario should he decide to play a 19th NHL season although the Isles would need to open up cap and roster space for that to happen.

6) Ethan Bear – The most prominent non-tender to still be on the open market, Bear’s situation is complicated by his injury.  Even though he might be slightly ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery, the 26-year-old isn’t expected to be back until sometime in December which is hindering his market.  Bear had a decent showing last season back in Vancouver but was told that the Canucks would need to clear cap space before entertaining the possibility of a reunion.  If a team has an opening on their third pairing and enough cap flexibility to carry him on IR for a couple of months, Bear could be a nice pickup.

7) Phil Kessel – It wasn’t his best hockey by any stretch but the 35-year-old still managed to put up a respectable 36 points while once again playing in all 82 games to extend his record-breaking consecutive games played streak.  However, when it mattered the most in the playoffs, Kessel was in the press box for most of the playoffs for the Stanley Cup champs.  If Kessel wants to continue to extend that streak, his best bet might be signing with a non-playoff team that wants to give a prospect more time to develop in the minors.  But if he wants a shot at a fourth title, he might have to settle for a depth role.  Either way, at this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to land the $1.5MM he made last season.

8) Caleb Jones – It was a career year for the 26-year-old last season as Jones set new personal benchmarks in games played (73) and points (16) while logging over 19 minutes a night for the first time since seeing spot duty in his rookie year.  However, despite his play, Chicago opted to not tender a $1.35MM qualifying offer that also carried arbitration rights back in June.  His performance last season was worthy of that type of money but in this marketplace, that will be harder to come by as will an opportunity to see the number of minutes he had last season.

9) Pius Suter – While Suter’s numbers dipped last season, he still managed to put up 14 goals for the third straight year, his only three at the top level.  At 27, he’s one of the younger options left in free agency and can play down the middle which is something that can’t be said for most players on this list.  It’s notable that two teams have effectively walked away from Suter already but as far as finding a third-line option that could move up in a pinch when injuries arise, he is one of the better options out there but will be hard-pressed to match the $2.5MM AAV on his last contract.

10) Max Comtois – Back in 2020-21, it looked like Comtois had arrived as a productive power forward after putting up 16 goals and 17 assists in the pandemic-shortened campaign.  However, Comtois managed just 15 tallies in the previous two seasons combined, leading to a non-tender that the 24-year-old classified as mutual.  One of the youngest unrestricted free agents still out there, Comtois still has two more years of RFA eligibility remaining which means even as a possible short-term signing, he could wind up being a longer-term pickup for someone.

11) Josh Bailey – For the majority of his 15-year NHL career, Bailey has been a capable secondary producer.  However, after having one of his best offensive outputs in 2021-22, the 35-year-old struggled last season with his lowest point-per-game average since his rookie year.  That resulted in the Islanders paying the Blackhawks a 2026 second-round pick to buy him out.  Bailey shouldn’t be viewed as a full-time top-six option at this point of his career but in a depth role, he could still be a capable contributor for some teams.

12) Derick Brassard – Last season ended on a sour note for the 35-year-old as he fractured his fibula in early April.  Still, Brassard had a pretty successful season in a depth role, notching 13 goals in 62 games, giving the Sens a bit of scoring in their bottom six.  He went into Ottawa’s camp on a PTO last fall and earned a contract from there.  Given the injury, there’s a good chance that Brassard will have to go that route again but it wouldn’t be wise to bet against him earning himself another opportunity.

13) Paul Stastny – After putting up a 21-goal season in 2021-22, it was surprising to see Stastny not have the best of markets last summer where he settled for a one-year, $1.5MM deal.  Now, in this market, it’d be surprising to see him get that much now.  Last season, the 37-year-old was used in a much more limited role, averaging just 11:52, a career low.  However, Stastny still is well above average at the faceoff dot and isn’t too far removed from being a top-six player.  There should be a role for him on several playoff-bound teams.

14) Eric Staal – That Staal is on this list at all is impressive.  He didn’t play at all in 2021-22 and didn’t start last season with an NHL contract; Florida converted his PTO into a full deal early in the season.  From there, the 38-year-old went and put up 29 points in 72 games while adapting better than many expected to in seeing plenty of action on the penalty kill.  His lack of speed doesn’t help but Staal showed that he can still be a capable contributor in spite of that.  If he wants to play a 19th NHL season, he should at least have some tryout offers on the table.

15) Martin Jones – Last season was an interesting one for Jones.  He had his lowest GAA (2.99) and most games played (48) since 2018-19.  On the other hand, the 33-year-old had the lowest SV% of his career (.886) by ten points and in the playoffs, he was back to being the second-string option.  Jones hasn’t had a save percentage above .900 in the last five seasons, a track record that likely hasn’t helped his cause.  But if a team is looking to bring in some injury insurance or wants to keep a youngster developing in the minors, Jones could get some calls closer to training camp.

16) Jaroslav Halak – Another veteran netminder that’s still on the market, Halak is more of a true backup at this stage of his career; the 25 games he played last season was his highest workload over the past three years.  Now 38, he isn’t the type of backup that can log starters minutes if injuries arise but he was basically a league-average second-stringer last season which, statistically speaking, elevates him above the other netminders that are still unsigned.  There aren’t many spots available right now around the league but Halak should be a candidate to fill at least some of the ones out there and there are a couple of teams at least that represent a plausible fit for his services if a team wants to keep a younger netminder in the AHL.

17) Danton Heinen – The winger hasn’t been able to replicate his 47-point rookie campaign in 2017-18 and has bounced around a bit in recent years, seeing action with three organizations over the past four campaigns.  The 28-year-old had an 18-goal showing with Pittsburgh in 2021-22 but last season saw him struggle to stay in the lineup at times and when he was in the lineup, he often was on the fourth line, a role that doesn’t fit for him.  Heinen could provide some depth scoring in the right situation where he isn’t miscast in more of an energy or checking role although there might not be too many of those openings at the moment.

18) Nick Ritchie – Power forwards often get plenty of opportunities and Ritchie is one of those players.  Still just 27, he’s coming off his third straight season of double-digit goals while he averaged just shy of three hits per game in the regular season.  Is he the top-six cornerstone Anaheim hoped he would be when they drafted him tenth overall in 2014?  No, but in a bottom-six role where he’s asked to play with some energy and chip in with some production here and there, someone is bound to pick Ritchie up in the coming weeks.

19) Adam Erne – Erne is another player along the lines of Ritchie, a power forward that can contribute a bit of offense from lower in the lineup.  He cleared waivers in Detroit last season due to his contract but still chipped in 18 points in 61 games.  After playing on a $2.1MM AAV the last two years, the 28-year-old is likely heading for one closer to half that price tag but teams looking to add some grit to their fourth line might look in Erne’s direction.

20) Zach Aston-Reese – We finish with another player in that physical fourth-liner profile.  The 28-year-old had a career-high ten goals for Toronto last season and averaged 2.7 hits per game over the last two seasons combined.  He needed a PTO before landing a contract last season so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go that route again.  But it would be surprising if he’s not with a team for training camp six weeks from now.

For the most part, the players still out there aren’t game-breakers by any stretch.  However, there are certainly some serviceable veterans that remain on the open market that can provide some important depth for teams.  As we reach the part of free agency that technically yields some good bargain signings, there are going to be some valuable depth additions in the coming weeks.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.