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Free Agent Focus 2019

Free Agent Profile: Thomas Vanek

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If you look at the resume of goal scorer Thomas Vanek, he’s been a man without a team for many years. After a long stint at the start of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, the winger has been on seven different teams over the last six seasons, and while he has proven to be a player that can put the puck into the net, he remains unsigned with plenty of questions on whether his career will continue.

Vanek, who has tallied 373 goals over the course of his career, was moved around so often that he would only sign with the Detroit Red Wings last season on the condition that he had a no-trade clause after being a trade-deadline victim three times over the course of his career. Regardless, he was useful in Detroit where he scored 16 goals as a middle-six option for the franchise after a 24-goal campaign in 2017-18 between Vancouver and Columbus. However, the 35-year-old continues to show he can score, but at his age, the veteran is less and less sought after.

Vanek said at the end of the season that he would need time to decide on whether to return next season for a 15th season. He played 64 games last season, dealing with both knee and finger injuries, but he might be ready to retire depending on what offers might come his way.

Potential Suitors

A return to Detroit might make quite a bit of sense as his 16 goals and 36 points was solid play for a third-line winger. However, with a number of youngsters coming up into the system, including Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Taro Hirose looking NHL ready, as well as a number of veterans who are starting to get pushed down the lineup, there may not be much playing time left to give Vanek.

The Buffalo Sabres might also be an interesting destination as he could return to the team that drafted him and the team he played with for eight-plus seasons. However, while the Sabres might be able to use the depth that Vanek could provide on the bottom lines, the team is already capped out and would have to make a roster move to be able to bring Vanek back to the team.

Other teams like the New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets could potentially be other options for the veteran. Lou Lamoriello likes to have a number of veterans on his teams, while the Jets might want some veterans (likely on minimum contracts) to help fill out their depth once the team signs both Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor.

Projected Contract

Over the past three years, Vanek has played for anywhere between $2-3MM on one-year deals. If Vanek signs with a team, it almost assuredly will be a one-year deal like the three previous contracts before that. However, with many teams already near the salary cap and few interested parties at the moment, Vanek might have to be willing to accept a pay cut, perhaps even playing for the minimum if he wants to keep playing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Florida Panthers have quite a few restricted free agents to acquire although no young players worthy of significant deals, while the team has few important unrestricted free agents to worry about, which gives the franchise the opportunity to focus completely on the free-agent market that opens on Monday.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D MacKenzie Weegar – The Florida Panthers have brought the 25-year-old blueliner slowly and he’s starting to provide some value as bottom-tier defenseman. Weegar almost doubled his offensive output, putting up four goals and 15 points last season, while seeing his ATOI increase by more than two minutes to 16:58. Injuries kept him out of 18 games, but Weegar is slowly developing into a reliable player the team needs as defense remains one of the team’s biggest weakpoints. His minus-three rating isn’t too bad, but could be improved upon.

F Denis Malgin – The team has gotten some output out of the 22-year-old Malgin, but the forward has failed to play more than 51 games in any of his three seasons so far with the Panthers as he has dealt with numerous injuries. Regardless, Malgin has showed some potential to put up some points, although he is never likely to be more than a third-line option at best for the Panthers. He tallied seven goals and 16 points, a little less than the 11 goals and 22 points he put up in 2017-18. While he’s shown to be a serviceable depth option for Florida, he likely will never be a 20-goal scorer.

G – Sam Montembeault – With a need for a starting goaltender and the fact that Florida traded James Reimer earlier this morning, the team doesn’t even have a legitimate backup on the roster. The 22-year-old Montembeault did get some NHL playing time this season and might be ready for a permanent back-up role. He played 11 games for the Panthers last season, posting a 3.04 GAA and a .894 save percentage. His numbers weren’t much better in Springfield, suggesting that he probably needs more seasoning, but the youngster is likely the heir apparent to the backup sometime in the future.

Other RFAs: F Anthony Greco, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Dryden Hunt, F Juho Lammikko, F Maxim Mamin, D Ian McCoshen, D Thomas Schemitsch, F Dominic Toninato

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Riley Sheahan – A former first-round pick with the ability to play center, the 27-year-old has now found himself with three teams already and it could be a fourth. Sheahan was acquired in February as part of the deal that saw Florida trade off Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad, but didn’t do much to impress with the Panthers. He scored just two goals in 33 games for Florida and finished the season with nine goals and 19 points. However, the main reason that the Panthers took on Sheahan was that his contract was expiring, which the team wanted in hopes of bringing in a big-game free-agent.

Other UFAs: F Troy Brouwer, D Ludwig Bystrom, D Michael Downing, F Henrik Haapala, F Jamie McGinn, D Julian Melchiori, F Vincent Proplan,

Projected Cap Space: The Panthers currently sit a little more than $25.23MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, which should give them plenty of maneuvering room to sign multiple big-name free agents. The team is well-known for being interested in signing both of Columbus’ top free agents in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and, if the team can convince both to sign, they have ample cap room to lock up both to long-term deals. If they can only sign one, that still leaves them with Plan B options as well, although their top priority is to add a goaltender, their most desperate need.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Detroit Red Wings have few to no worries as they only have three restricted free agents within their entire roster, all three of which are not considered to be NHL level players. The team also has a number of unrestricted free agents.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Joe Hicketts – The team’s top restricted free agent still must earn a job with the Red Wings as the 23-year-old managed to appear in just 11 games last season (eight to start the season when the team was ravaged with injuries on their blueline). Unfortunately in those 11 games, he failed to register a point and finished with a minus-9 rating. He did make three appearances at the end of the season and did play over 20 minutes in all three games, but still finished with a minus-3 in that span. Regardless, the offensive-minded, diminutive, yet gritty defenseman has showed some success at the AHL level, finishing with three goals, 27 points and 67 penalty minutes in 64 games. It’s not likely that Hicketts will be making much more than the minimum next season.

Other RFAs: G Patrick Rybar, F Dominic Turgeon

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Niklas Kronwall – General manager Steve Yzerman has made it clear they do not intend to rush the 38-year-old blueliner as he decides on whether he intends to come back next season. The veteran still fared quite well last season, posting three goals and 27 points in 79 games and most people believe that Kronwall might be motivated to return as he still needs 47 games to reach the 1,000-game mark for his career. Kronwall just finished his seven-year, $33.25MM deal ($4.75MM AAV) he signed back in 2011, but if he returned, it likely would be for a one-year pact for significantly less money.

Thomas Vanek – It looks like Detroit is moving on from the 35-year-old forward, but after bringing the veteran back on a one-year deal, the team was happy with his 16 goals and 36 points. However, he insisted on a no-trade clause in his deal as Vanek has been a common name over the years at the trade deadline. However, with plenty of young forwards ready to make the leap into the NHL, it makes more sense to free up space to give them a chance.

Other UFAs: D Jake Chelios, F Martin Frk, F Axel Homstrom, F Wade Megan, F Dylan Sadowy, G Harri Sateri, D Libor Sulak, F Luke Witkowski

Projected Cap Space: The Red Wings currently sit a little more than $12MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, but that is all free money for the team to spend as the team has little to no in-house work that needs to be done this offseason. Even signing all three restricted free agents, the team should have some cap room to sign a free agent or two to bolster either its offense or its defense.

Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Buffalo Sabres, now that they have inked Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72MM deal earlier this month, don’t have as much to worry about as the team has neither many important restricted or unrestricted free agents they need to worry about.

Key Restricted Free Agent: G Linus Ullmark – The Sabres may not have gotten the season they were hoping for from free agent goaltender Carter Hutton, but they also had high hopes for Ullmark to take the next step and establish himself as a solid backup to the veteran. However, whether that will be the case is another question. While Ullmark looked early on in the season like the answer as the team’s backup, his play started to slip as the year wore on and he struggled especially late in the season, eventually finishing with a 3.11 GAA and a .905 save percentage. However, with no other young goalie particularly close to being ready to challenge him, it’s likely the Sabres will give Ullmark another year to develop his body for the long-haul for the season.

F Zemgus Girgensons – While hardly an impact player, the Sabres have been using the 25-year-old as a bottom-line depth option for six years already as he provides the team with some size and grit that the team needs at the bottom of their line-up. While he hasn’t broken the 10-goal mark since the 2014-15 season (he scored five last year), he did finish with 144 hits last season, his highest numbers since his rookie season. The question is whether the team sees him as a long-term option as he is one year away from becoming a unrestricted free-agent.

F Evan Rodrigues – The team has like what it has seen from Rodrigues, who signed with Buffalo after four years at Boston University and has since worked his way through the AHL and finally saw a full season in Buffalo this year. While his numbers were quite pedestrian as he finished the year with nine goals and 29 points, he has seen increased playing time and the team hopes he can still provide some middle-six depth for the team, although he should receive a slight raise from the $650K that he made last season.

Other RFAs: F Remi Elie, F Johan Larsson, D Jake McCabe, F C.J. Smith

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Jason Pominville – He has played 11 seasons for Buffalo over the course of his career and despite hitting 36 years of age, the team may consider bringing back the veteran as an inexpensive depth option. After all, he posted 16 goals last season, while playing a career-low 12:28 last season. While he certainly wasn’t worth the $5.6MM he was making last season, he would be worth a low-cost deal, who could provide the team’s youth with a veteran presence.

Other UFAs: F Eric Cornel, F Kyle Criscuolo, D Jack Dougherty, F Taylor Leier, F Sean Malone, D Brycen Martin, F Matt Moulson, F Daniel O’Regan; D Matt Tennyson, G Scott Wedgewood, G Adam Wilcox

Projected Cap Space: The Sabres currently sit a little more than $15MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, and should have some cap room to try to find some offense to help out their struggling second line. With the recent addition of defenseman Colin Miller from Vegas, the team should be in good shape with their defense, but the team’s biggest problem was putting the puck in the net, which the team hopes that it can improve on with the right roster moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Boston Bruins

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Boston Bruins have a several important restricted free agents they will have to focus on as they will have to lock up some of their top young defenders, while they also have a couple useful unrestricted free agents. The question will be whether they are willing to pay up to keep them.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Charlie McAvoy – With all the talk around the league of high-priced expectations for many of the top restricted free agent forwards around the league, arguably the best restricted free agent defenseman in McAvoy has seemingly flown under the radar. McAvoy has been amazing and has quickly taken over as the future of the Bruins defense, posting 14 goals and 60 points over the past two years with Boston. The 21-year-old has been the perfect offensive addition on the blueline since arriving after two years at Boston University. If there was something that could be holding McAvoy back, it would be his inability to stay healthy as he played just 63 games in his rookie year and then played even less last year in 54 games total. Despite that, the RFA should pick up a big pay raise over the $1.26MM he made last season.

D – Brandon Carlo – In many ways, Carlo is the opposite of McAvoy. The 22-year-old is not known for his offense, but is a defensive player who has needed time to develop and only more recently has he developed into a shutdown defender that Boston had envisioned when they drafted the 6-foot-5 blueliner in the second round back in 2015. While he isn’t likely to come anywhere close to the money that McAvoy should receive, Carlo has become a key player on the team’s top-four and should only continue to get better.

F – Danton Heinen – One thing the Boston Bruins need are top-six wingers to continue posting the offense they are used to. The question is whether Heinen is that guy for them. After putting up 16 goals and 47 points in his rookie season, many people suspected that Heinen would continue to thrive in that role. Instead, he struggled putting the puck into the net and eventually found himself put on the team’s third line as he failed to produce, finishing the season with just 11 goals and 34 points. The question is which player is he? The team must decide that, likely ending up with a short-term deal so that Heinen can prove that he deserves to be paid.

Other RFAs: F Peter Cehlarik, F Ryan Fitzgerald, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Marcus Johansson – The team fared quite well at the trade deadline, acquiring players who truly helped the franchise reach the Stanley Cup this season. One of the key players was Johansson, who had struggled in two seasons with New Jersey, but proved to be a big contributor in the playoffs, putting up four goals and 11 points in 22 playoff games. Unfortunately, his success could have priced himself out of Boston’s salary cap plans, but there is hope that both teams could still work out a deal. However, the team may be forced to look elsewhere if the 28-year-old can net himself an impressive offer from another team later this week.

F – Noel Acciari – Six goals and 14 points may not sound like much, but the 27-year-old has become a fixture on Boston’s fourth line. While the team could survive without him, Acciari is well known for his hard-hitting style of play and his willingness to sacrifice his body to help the team. In fact, the fourth-liner suffered a broken sternum, yet still played through it throughout the playoffs, something that any team might appreciate. Regardless, the team has made an offer and Acciari opted not to accept it, so the team could end up losing him, although a deal remains possible.

Other UFAs: G Zane McIntyre; F Mark McNeill; F Gemel Smith; F Lee Stempniak; F Jordan Szwarz

Projected Cap Space: The Bruins currently sit a little more than $12MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, but still must add McAvoy, which could end up being pricey, while also having to sign Carlo and Heinen. That should take a chunk of that cap space, but the team should still have the ability to sign one of their unrestricted free agents or even find a couple of cheaper options on the unrestricted free agent market on Monday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Toronto Maple Leafs

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Toronto has already locked up a few important names, but still has plenty of work to do before knowing what next season’s roster will look like. Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Mitch Marner — If this article had been written yesterday this section would have included the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, but it always all came down to Marner. The entire Maple Leafs’ offseason is revolving around him at the moment, with the uncertainty of when Toronto will sign his next contract. That is of course if it’s signed at all by the Maple Leafs, as offer sheet speculation has never been as high as it seems to be regarding the 22-year old star. A huge part of that speculation is the market he plays in, but Marner is reportedly seeking a huge raise that would make him one of the (if not the) highest paid wingers in the league.

There’s good reason for Marner to believe in himself and his abilities. The undersized forward dominated the OHL before and after the Maple Leafs selected him fourth overall in 2015, and he began his NHL career without missing a step. 61 points his first season, 69 his second and a whopping 94 points in 2018-19 made him one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the game, even if that last jump was at least in part due to the addition of John Tavares. Not only is Marner an incredible playmaker, but he also took on a penalty killing role with the Maple Leafs this season and became one of head coach Mike Babcock’s most trusted defensive forwards.

None of the reports and rumors from either side mean much to GM Kyle Dubas and Marner’s agent Darren Ferris, who need to work out a deal at some point if the Maple Leafs are going to proceed with the rest of their offseason. The team currently has just $6.9MM in cap space but can exceed the limit during the offseason or move Nathan Horton to long-term injured reserve. That still doesn’t leave much room for free agent additions because, as Dubas told Chris Johnston of Sportsnet today, they “have got to save space for Mitch.”

Other RFAs: F Michael Carcone

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Jake Gardiner — If the Maple Leafs had more cap space there is no doubt that they would be trying to keep Gardiner in town, given the state of their defense corps without him. Even though he’s not the right-handed option they so desperately need, his depature—and the potential trade of Nikita Zaitsev—could leave them with just three proven NHL options in the whole organization in Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin and Travis Dermott. That’s a horrendous position to be in, even if it is with several months remaining before the start of the year. Gardiner though will likely be priced out of the Maple Leafs’ range given his history as a top puck-moving option. Though he is derided by many for the occasional what-was-he-thinking giveaway, Gardiner has amassed 245 points in his 551 game career including a career-high of 52 in 2017-18. An excellent offensive catalyst at even-strength, he’ll likely earn himself quite the payday on July 1.

D Ron Hainsey — The other big departure from the Maple Leafs blue line is Hainsey, even if he did turn 38 in late March. His agent confirmed that he will continue playing as long as there is interest, and after a +30 season playing alongside Rielly on the top pairing there won’t be any shortage of teams calling. Hainsey is not the offensive player he once was—remember that years ago he was an excellent powerplay quarterback—but he can still contribute and log big minutes in almost every situation. A favorite of Babcock, he could sign a bonus-laden deal if teams aren’t willing to give him a second year.

F Tyler Ennis — Perhaps overlooked for the Maple Leafs this year because of their star-studded forward group, Ennis took a minimum salary contract in order to try and build his value back up and he did it wonderfully. Even fighting through an injury that limited him to 51 games, the undersized forward scored 12 goals from the fourth line and showed he can still play at the NHL level. A three-time 20-goal scorer, the 29-year old Ennis should secure another NHL deal to provide a little scoring depth at a relatively inexpensive price—but probably one the Maple Leafs can’t afford.

Other UFAs: D Igor Ozhiganov, D Martin Marincin, F Gabriel Gagne, F Chris Mueller, F Nicholas Baptiste, D Vincent LoVerde, D Jordan Subban, D Steven Oleksy, G Eamon McAdam

Projected Cap Space: The Maple Leafs currently sit a little more than $6.94MM under the cap ceiling according to CapFriendly, but can also put Horton’s $5.3MM deal on long-term injured reserve if necessary to give them some more flexibility. That number is only including the cap hits for 18 players however, meaning they actually have even less than that once they decide who will be making the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Free agency is now just a few days away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Tampa Bay has already made moves to clear some salary off their books but have several RFAs needing new deals.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brayden Point — For Tampa Bay, the entire offseason comes down to Point and his next deal after he exploded for 41 goals and 92 points in 2019-20. The undersized forward has worked his tail off since dropping to the third round in 2014 and is now one of the best two-way centers in the league. While teammates Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos may get more national coverage, Point’s impact on the Lightning is irreplaceable and he’ll be looking for a huge raise coming off an entry-level contract that saw him record 198 points in 229 games. There is optimism that a deal will eventually get done between the two sides, but Point is in a group of restricted free agents around the league that are all waiting to see each other’s contracts.

F Cedric Paquette — While Point is the straw that stirs the drink this offseason, Paquette shouldn’t be overlooked. The 25-year old center provides a physical, grinding presence that the team may be lacking now that J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan are gone and even scored 13 goals in limited minutes last season. A good faceoff man and key penalty killer, his 269 hits would be difficult to replace if the team was forced to go in another direction.

Other RFAs: F Adam Erne, F Danick Martel, F Carter Verhaeghe, D Ben Thomas, D Dominik Masin

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Anton Stralman — Easily the biggest loss through free agency this summer for the Lightning will be Stralman, who has been the epitome of consistency for the last five seasons. The veteran defenseman has provided a stable, stay-at-home option on the right side for some of the more offensive Lightning defenders and has eaten up minutes on a nightly basis. He dealt with injury this season that limited him to just 47 games, but he heads into the offseason as one of the top free agent options remaining on the blue line. If Tampa Bay wanted to bring him back they’d need to find some extra cap space, as even at 32 he should command a multi-year contract.

D Dan Girardi — The same might not be true for Girardi, who is set to sign his next contract after his 35th birthday. That designation comes with added risk for teams, but performing decently enough in a reduced role for Tampa Bay there will still be someone who gives him the chance if he wants it. Girardi recorded 16 points in 62 games for the Lightning but was still a key penalty killer and trailed only Ryan McDonagh in blocked shots.

Other UFAs: F Andy Andreoff, F Mitch Hults, F Gabriel Dumont, F Kevin Lynch

Projected Cap Space: The Lightning currently sit a little more than $10.6MM under the $81.5MM ceiling according to CapFriendly, but can also place Callahan’s $5.8MM hit on long-term injured reserve if necessary. LTIR designations are a little more complicated than just “free cap space” however, and with Point’s deal expected to add a huge chunk of salary the Lightning don’t have a ton of room for free agent shopping—just don’t tell them that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

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Free agency is now less than two weeks away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Dallas has a few pricey contracts coming off their books and only a few RFAs needing new deals.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Jason Dickinson – After being up and down in 2017-18, the 23-year-old locked down a regular role in their bottom six and held his own while chipping in with 22 points in the regular season and five more in the playoffs.  Dickinson is owed a qualifying offer of just under $920K and it shouldn’t take much more than that to get him under contract even though he is eligible for salary arbitration.

D Julius Honka – It wasn’t that long ago that he was viewed as an important building block for their back end.  However, Honka hasn’t lived up to his potential.  He was in the doghouse for most of the season and when he did get into the lineup, he didn’t see a lot of playing time and didn’t make much of it.  At 23, there is still the hope that there’s some upside and that should be enough to secure him a qualifying offer of just over $874K.  Even with that though, that may come primarily to give them the option to trade him down the road.

Other RFAs: D Gavin Bayreuther, G Landon Bow, G Phillipe Desrosiers, D Niklas Hansson, D Dillon Heatherington, D Chris Martenet, F Brett Ritchie

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Mats Zuccarello – He didn’t get much of a chance to make an impression in the regular season as he was injured in his first game with Dallas after being acquired.  However, he returned for the playoffs and tied for the team lead in scoring.  Zuccarello will be 32 at the start of next season so he should have a few good years left in him and should draw considerable interest on the open market as one of the more consistent wingers available.  Unfortunately for Dallas, if they wind up re-signing him, they will have to part with a first-round pick (instead of a third rounder) as part of the trade to bring him in from the Rangers.  Zuccarello has indicated that he wants to see what his options are so we’ll see over the next week if he decides to circle back or not.

F Jason Spezza – While Spezza was once a key cog for the Stars, he has seen his production tail off considerably the last two seasons as his career starts to wind up.  At 36, he’s now subject to 35+ contract rules so he will likely be going year-to-year moving forward.  A team thinking that a change of scenery could lead to a short-term resurgence will give him a look but he’ll have to take a significant pay cut from the $7.5MM he has made in each of the last four years.

D Ben Lovejoy – The veteran blueliner was added to give the Stars some stability on the back end for the postseason and there will undoubtedly be teams that will be looking to free agency to try to get him to do that for them.  His best days are behind him but he can still help a third pairing for another year or two but will also probably be looking at a dip in pay from his previous $2.67MM AAV.

Other UFAs: F Erik Condra, D Taylor Fedun, D Marc Methot, D Reese Scarlett

Projected Cap Space: The Stars have a little less than $10MM in cap room under the $81.5MM Upper Limit, per CapFriendly.  Their RFAs won’t cost too much to keep around so GM Jim Nill will have some room to go shopping on the open market.  Whether that money is spent on Zuccarello or another player remains to be seen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche

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Free agency is now less than two weeks away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Colorado has one of the top restricted free agents in need of a new deal plus quite a few other regulars that have to sign new contracts.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Mikko Rantanen – Let’s get the obvious one out of the way quickly.  Not only is Rantanen Colorado’s top restricted free agents in need of a new deal, he is one of the top RFAs available around the league.  After a breakout season in 2017-18, the 22-year-old was even better this past season and was an integral part of one of the most dangerous number one lines in the league.  He has two straight years of high-end production under his belt.  He was dominant in the 2019 postseason.  He’s going to get paid even though he doesn’t have salary arbitration rights.  Rantanen’s next contract will drastically chance Colorado’s salary structure as he’ll check in considerably higher than Nathan MacKinnon and could have a case to push for upwards of a $10MM AAV this offseason.

F Alexander Kerfoot – The 24-year-old has put up two nearly identical seasons (43 and 42 points) since signing with Colorado back in August of 2017 after opting for free agency instead of signing with New Jersey.  He’s not a fixture on the top line for the Avalanche and probably won’t be down the road but he has already become an important part of their secondary core.  He has arbitration rights and that type of offensive consistency will help his case should it get to a hearing.

D Nikita Zadorov – The 23-year-old has been someone that has been in plenty of trade speculation over recent years but his combination of size and skill has made it difficult so far for the Avs to part with him.  He took a bit of a step back in 2018-19 which likely complicates their plans that much more.  When he’s on, he can be a capable piece on the second pairing but he wound up playing a lesser role than that last year.  His name will probably be up in trade speculation once again while he pushes for a raise on the $2.2MM he made this past season.

Other RFAs: F Sven Andrighetto, D Sergei Boikov, F J.T. Compher, F Sheldon Dries, D Mason Geertsen, D Ryan Graves, F A.J. Greer, F Vladislav Kamenev, D Anton Lindholm, G Spencer Martin, F Julien Nantel, F Dominic Toninato

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: G Semyon Varlamov – Varlamov was Colorado’s starter for a good chunk of the regular season but was on the bench when it mattered most in the postseason.  With Philipp Grubauer still in the fold for two more seasons, it’s clear that Varlamov will be heading elsewhere.  However, without many opportunities for a starting job, it will be interesting to see what he winds up getting.  Does he take a spot with a team where he could push to be the higher half of a platoon and be content with that for a few years?  Does he take a one-year in the hopes of getting something bigger next summer?  Either way, he’s looking at a pay cut from the $5.9MM AAV he’s had over the past five seasons.

F Derick Brassard – Some players do well in contract years.  Brassard was one who didn’t.  He never did fit in with Pittsburgh, even after a full training camp with them.  He was okay in Florida but that was only a short-term landing spot before he was ultimately flipped to Colorado where he once again struggled.  He’s going to have a hard time selling himself as a top-six player after getting just 23 points in 2018-19.  A short-term contract seems to be a probable outcome for him as he hopes to restore some value.

F Colin Wilson – The 29-year-old has never really lived up to his first-round draft billing but he has nonetheless been an effective middle-six forward.  Unfortunately, his production has eroded the last couple of seasons so he’s not hitting the open market at the ideal time.  Still, as someone that can play center a pinch and hold down a spot on a third line, he should have a fair bit of interest in free agency but he will also be looking at a drop from his $4MM salary over the past three seasons.

Other UFAs: F Andrew Agozzino, F Gabriel Bourque, F Max McCormick, D Patrik Nemeth, F Scott Kosmachuk, D David Warsofsky

Projected Cap Space: While their RFAs won’t be cheap, the Avalanche enter the offseason with over $35MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  That means that they will have plenty of room to work with if they decide to spend on the open market or add an impact player via trade this summer.  GM Joe Sakic has said he intends to be aggressive this offseason and he has lots of cap space to use to his advantage.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

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Free agency is now just a couple of weeks away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Blackhawks have most of their team under contract with only a few depth players needing new deals.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brendan Perlini – While he didn’t get quite the attention that Dylan Strome did in the trade that brought them over from Arizona, the winger quietly put up a dozen goals in 46 games following the move despite not getting much in the way of power play opportunities (or ice time as he averaged less than 11 minutes a game in Chicago).  Consistency is a concern but he’ll be given a chance to carve out a bigger role next season.  Perlini is coming off of his entry-level contract and isn’t eligible for salary arbitration.  A bridge deal (one or two years) is almost certainly going to be the end result here.

D Gustav Forsling – This past season was a tough one for the blueliner.  He had an opportunity to grab hold of a regular spot in the lineup but instead missed time with three separate injuries and could never really get going.  As a result, there are some questions about whether or not he still has a future with Chicago, especially after they went and added Olli Maatta last weekend.  The upside is still there and at the very least, there will be some trade interest if the Blackhawks decide to move on.  Either way, a one-year bridge contract is likely.

Other RFAs: F Victor Ejdsell, G Anton Forsberg, D Blake Hillman, F Luke Johnson, F David Kampf, F Anthony Louis, F Dylan Sikura, F Spencer Watson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: G Cam Ward – Chicago brought Ward in to give them a veteran backup behind Corey Crawford.  They were hoping that he’d be able to rebound with a change of scenery after some tough years with Carolina.  It didn’t happen.  Instead, he had his worst goals-against average since his rookie season and the lowest save percentage of his career and he didn’t provide much stability when Crawford was felled by a concussion once again.  The Blackhawks indicated their intentions with Ward a while back when they signed Collin Delia to a three-year deal so it’s clear that the 35-year-old will be hitting the open market.  There are quite a few teams in need of a new backup this summer but Ward will need to take a significant pay cut on the $3MM he made in 2018-19 to have a shot at another deal.

F Marcus Kruger – His second stint with the Blackhawks didn’t go as well as his first.  He spent most of the season on the fourth line and had the lowest full-season point total of his career.  Kruger’s days of being an impact checker appear to be done but teams looking for extra depth down the middle could check on him as the offseason goes on.  Any new deal he gets will be at a much lower price tag than the $3.083MM AAV he had on his last contract.

Other UFAs: D Andrew Campbell, D Brandon Davidson, F Chris Kunitz, F Andreas Martinsen, F Tyler Sikura

Projected Cap Space: Chicago is in a spot they haven’t been in a long time.  They actually have considerable cap space to work with this summer with only $65.7MM in commitments for next season so far, per CapFriendly.  Without any prominent players in need of new deals, GM Stan Bowman has some room to shop this summer but with new deals for Strome and winger Alex DeBrincat on the horizon a year from now, some of that activity is likely going to be of the one-year variety.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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