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Free Agent Focus 2020

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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With free agency now just hours away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Rangers don’t have many UFAs of note but their RFA class is going to be one to keep an eye on.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Ryan Strome – While they were undecided about tendering him a qualifying offer until about two hours before Wednesday’s deadline, it wasn’t because they were unhappy with Strome’s performance but rather a concern about an arbitration award.  Those concerns may be well-founded as the 41 assists and 59 points were both new career benchmarks and have him well-positioned to earn a sizable raise on the $3.2MM salary he earned last season.  The fact they qualified him suggests there is some optimism they can avoid going to a hearing and the hope is that they’ll be able to sign him before it gets that far.

D Anthony DeAngelo – Last year, New York held the hammer and used it, basically leveraging DeAngelo into a cheap one-year deal with him not having any real leverage to work with.  The power has swung over to the other side now, however.  The 24-year-old had 52 career points heading into last season but managed to produce 53 points in 2019-20 despite not seeing an increase in playing time.  That performance has him well-positioned to land a substantial raise via an arbitrator and after the Rangers played things out to their advantage last season, expect DeAngelo to at least file for a hearing to give himself the leverage this time around.

G Alexandar Georgiev – Georgiev enters this offseason in the same spot he was a year ago, albeit behind a different starter this time around.  He has shown flashes of being a capable starter at times over his brief NHL career but inconsistency has been a challenge as well.  Just 24, it’s possible that New York pushes for a one-year or two-year deal to give them more time to evaluate his long-term upside and fit for his role while also giving themselves a bit more short-term cap flexibility with the Upper Limit flattened out.

Other RFAs: D Brandon Crawley, F Phillip Di Giuseppe, F Gabriel Fontaine, F Ryan Gropp, F Brendan Lemieux, D Darren Raddysh

10.2(c): F Dawson Leedahl (ineligible for an offer sheet)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Jesper Fast – The 28-year-old has been a steady middle-six winger for the past five years and while he doesn’t put up a ton of points (he has ranged between 20 and 33 points in that span), he plays with an edge physically and is a capable penalty killer.  Even in a lowered cap environment, there should be a fair bit of interest but it appears it’ll be coming from elsewhere as Fast and the Rangers were well apart on contract terms leading up to the trade deadline.  Fast earned the 28th spot in our Top-50 UFA Rankings.

G Henrik Lundqvist – It was a move that had been anticipated for a while but the Rangers officially bought out the franchise legend back in September with Igor Shesterkin and Georgiev set to be their tandem of the present and future.  The 38-year-old has made it known that he wants to continue playing but he’ll be facing a significant drop in pay from the $8.5MM AAV he had before the buyout.  Washington has been widely speculated as a landing spot although other teams will certainly show interest in him in either a mentoring role or even a platoon situation.

Other UFAs: F Matt Beleskey, G Jean-Francois Berube, F Steven Fogarty, F Greg McKegg, F Micheal Haley, F Vinni Lettieri, F Boo Nieves, F Danny O’Regan

Projected Cap Space

On the surface, the Rangers have plenty of space to work with following the buyout of Lundqvist and the Marc Staal trade as they have roughly $58.8MM committed to 14 players, per CapFriendly.  But it won’t take long for that to be whittled away as they get their three primary RFAs re-signed and then fill out the rest of their roster.  There will be a bit of room to work with in the free agent or trade market but there shouldn’t be a splash like there was last year with the Artemi Panarin signing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Senators have several restricted free agents to deal with this offseason while one of their top scorers is now set to hit the open market.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Connor Brown – The move from Toronto to Ottawa last offseason gave the 26-year-old the opportunity to take on a much bigger role which is something that wouldn’t have happened had he stayed with the Maple Leafs.  He responded quite well, posting career highs in assists (27) and points (43) while finishing just one point behind Brady Tkachuk for the team lead in scoring.  He also was called upon to play more than 20 minutes a night which will certainly help bolster his arbitration case.  Brown is a year away from UFA eligibility but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sens try to try to sign him to a medium-term deal to have him as one of the veterans as they come out of their rebuild.

F Chris Tierney – Had it not been for the pandemic, Tierney might have had a shot at three straight seasons with 40 points or more which is pretty consistent production for someone that isn’t too far removed from being a role player in San Jose.  Between that and his penalty killing acumen, he has become a useful middle-six pivot for Ottawa which should help him earn a small raise on his $2.975MM qualifying offer that the team tendered.  Tierney is eligible for arbitration and is also a year away from UFA eligibility.

G Matt Murray – Before he puts on an Ottawa sweater for the first time, GM Pierre Dorion will need to reach a contract with his newly-acquired goaltender.  Murray’s numbers dipped considerably with Pittsburgh this past season and his .899 SV% was a career-low and Pittsburgh turned around and committed to Tristan Jarry as their new starter.  He’s a year away from UFA eligibility but expect the Senators to try to work out a long-term deal which could wind up approaching the $6MM range.  With no prospects that are ready to take over as the number one in the near future though, it’s a price tag that’s justifiable to pay.

Other RFAs: F Rudolfs Balcers, F J.C. Beaudin, F Filip Chlapik, G Joey Daccord, D Christian Jaros, F Nick Paul

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Anthony Duclair – In a move that came as somewhat of a surprise, the Senators opted to non-tender the winger after they weren’t able to come to terms on a new contract with Duclair representing himself in negotiations.  The 25-year-old had a career year offensively with 23 goals and 40 points but on the other hand, only two of those tallies came in his final 23 games as he struggled in the second half of the season.  Nevertheless, while he is a streaky player, he has established himself as a better scoring threat than he was when he entered the UFA market as a non-tender player two years ago.  Whether that’s enough to earn him a bigger raise than Ottawa was initially offering him remains to be seen.

D Mark Borowiecki – The fan favorite was unable to agree to terms on a new deal with the Sens and instead will hit the open market for the first time in his career.  The 31-year-old surprisingly posted 18 points in 2019-20; that’s only the third time in his career that he has hit the double-digit mark.  Borowiecki isn’t known for his offensive prowess but rather his leadership, physicality, and willingness to block shots.  That combination should generate a fair bit of interest as an upgrade on a third pairing somewhere.

G Craig Anderson – Prior to the Murray acquisition, Dorion had already confirmed that the 39-year-old wouldn’t be returning.  While Anderson’s days as a starter are done, he has still played in at least 34 games in each of the last seven seasons.  Considering the 2020-21 season (now targeted to start in January) is expected to be a bit more compressed than normal, the fact that he can handle a larger than average workload could make him appealing to teams as a backup.  Coming off of a season that saw him post a 3.25 GAA and a .902 SV% though, he’s looking at a substantial pay cut from the $4.75MM he played under the last two years.

D Ron Hainsey – Ottawa has expressed an interest in retaining Hainsey who was one of the few veterans on a relatively inexperienced back end this past season.  Given that he’ll turn 40 next season though, it’s likely that the Senators will be looking to bring him back in a more limited role, not one that will have him averaging more than 20 minutes a night again.  If so, they’re certainly offering less than the $3.5MM he made in 2019-20.

Other UFAs: D Andreas Englund, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Morgan Klimchuk, D Hubert Labrie, F Matthew Peca, F Scott Sabourin

Projected Cap Space

With just over $42MM in commitments to 10 players for next season per CapFriendly, cap space isn’t an issue here.  However, Ottawa has historically been a budget team so they’ll likely come in well below the $81.5MM Upper Limit when their offseason spending is completed.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Flyers will be entering free agency with a relatively light list of players needing new contracts but they will have a few to retain or replace.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Nolan Patrick – Technically, his designation is simply unsigned as because he missed all of this past season, he doesn’t have enough service time to technically become an RFA (that’s eligible for an offer sheet).  It’s safe to say that Patrick will be tendered an offer, especially since GM Chuck Fletcher expressed optimism that he’d be able to return next season.  However, after two relatively quiet seasons and now an entire year away from the game, it’s safe to say that the 2017 second-overall selection is heading for a cheap short-term contract until he can show that he has fully recovered from his migraines and is ready to become a part of their core forwards.

D Philippe Myers – The 23-year-old hasn’t yet played a full season with the Flyers but he has already become an important part of their back end and logged just over 20 minutes per night in the playoffs.  The sudden retirement of Matt Niskanen just opened up an even bigger opportunity for Myers to seize next season as he now stands as their top right-shot defender.  With that in mind, it may make sense from his perspective to take a short-term contract and hit arbitration coming off of what should be a career year.  From Philadelphia’s perspective, they’d be wise to try to lock him up long-term now before the cost inevitably goes up.  They now have the cap room to do such a move without significantly affecting their cap situation with Niskanen’s $5.75MM set to come off the books.  For a player with just 87 career games played (regular season and playoffs), this is quickly becoming an intriguing contract.

Other RFAs: F Nathan Noel, F Mikhail Vorobyev

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Tyler Pitlick – After a down season with Dallas in 2018-19, the change of scenery helped Pitlick as he posted the second-best offensive numbers of his career despite the pandemic wiping out a month of the regular season.  He can kill penalties and play with some edge in a bottom-six role and even with a flattened cap likely hurting the role player market, he should be able to land a deal that’s a bit higher than the $1MM he made over each of the last three seasons.

F Derek Grant – Very quietly, Grant put up 15 goals this past season, the most in his career and fourth-most among pending UFA centers.  Of course, considering that accounts for more than half of his career total, no one should be expecting a repeat in 2020-21.  But what he can provide at the very least is some strong work at the faceoff dot and an ability to play the penalty kill.  That sounds like a prototypical fourth-line center but Grant’s offensive success this season should help him stand out amongst the crowd.

F Nate Thompson – The 36-year-old came over from Montreal as a depth addition but wound up playing a largely regular role after being acquired.  Thompson has played in 13 NHL seasons and has posted a faceoff percentage that’s better than 50 in all of them.  That’s his calling card and at the very least, it should help him earn an end-of-roster spot with someone for next season with a chance to play his way back into a regular spot on the fourth line.

Other UFAs: F Kurtis Gabriel, D Andy Welinski, D Reece Willcox

Projected Cap Space

Following Niskanen’s retirement and the recent re-signing of Justin Braun, the Flyers have a little under $73MM in commitments to 18 players.  With Myers being the only notable player in need of a new deal at this time, Fletcher will have an opportunity to venture into the free agent market or take on a bit of money in a trade to give Philadelphia a boost heading into next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Penguins have some key decisions to make, but with a plan to keep their cap number down and their overall goals of making changes to keep their team in the playoff picture for the next few years, they may have to let some players go.

Key Restricted Free Agents

G Matt Murray – With the signing of Tristan Jarry on Saturday to a three-year deal, the Penguins are basically making it clear that they have chosen Jarry over Murray in net. While they could conceivably keep both as it is expected that the team will tender a qualifying offer, it still is more likely that Murray will be traded shortly. That’s a far fall for the “goalie of the future” three years back when they allowed Marc-Andre Fleury move on. Many teams are waiting for the huge free-agent goalie market to disseminate in the next week as Murray sounds like a cheaper option, but the 26-year-old’s lack of consistency likely worries plenty of teams. Murray finished the season with a 2.87 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 38 games, although the netminder did fare better in three postseason games as he had a 2.50 GAA and a .914 save percentage in three games.

F Dominik Simon – Hardly a top-six player, but the versatile Simon suddenly looks like he could be a cap casualty as The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reports that he could make as much as $1.25MM, a high price for a capped-strapped team. The 26-year-old played all over the lineup, but has never managed to post more than 30 points in his career. He tallied seven goals and 22 points last season in 64 games. The forward is also recovering from shoulder surgery in late April, which was expected to keep him out six to seven months.

Other RFAs: F Pontus Aberg, F Anthony Angello, F Graham Knott, F Sam Lafferty, F Sam Miletic, D John Nyberg.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D – Justin Schultz – The blueliner was singled out last month by general manger Jim Rutherford as one of the problems on the Pittsburgh blueline. That likely means that the team will allow Schultz to explore other offers around the league. The team did get an impressive year out of John Marino, suggesting the team can get along without him and $5.5MM cap hit that came with him. It’s highly unlikely he will get anything like that on the market anyway, but Schultz definitely struggled since signing that three-year, $16.5MM contract. Since posting a 51-point season with the Penguins and signing that deal, he has posted just 54 points combined in those three seasons and has dealt with a number of injuries that has affected his overall game.

F Conor Sheary – The Penguins re-acquired Sheary at the trade deadline from Buffalo after trading him there back in 2018. The 28-year-old winger scored 23 goals in his second year with the Penguins back in 2016-17. Those goals, however, have declined every year to 18 to 14 to 10 last season. The team has made it clear it doesn’t want to put Sidney Crosby next to lesser players like Sheary has, meaning if they held onto him, they would more likely move him down to the third line. The question is whether Sheary is affordable enough to bring back to the team.

F Patrick Marleau – The Penguins picked up the legendary winger from the Sharks for their playoff run, but he managed to scored just one goal and two points in eight games before the shutdown and was scoreless in four playoff games. It isn’t likely that the 41-year-old will return to Pittsburgh, although a return to the Sharks for one final season isn’t necessarily out of the question.

Other UFAs: F Riley Barber, F Thomas Di Pauli, F Adam Johnson, F Kevin Roy, F Phil Varone.

Projected Cap Space

Rutherford vowed to change up his roster this offseason in hopes of giving Crosby and Evgeni Malkin every opportunity to win another Stanley Cup before their time in the NHL is up. That will require some major decisions in both free agency and through trades, something that Rutherford is an expert on. The biggest problem remains the salary cap where the team has just $2.6MM in available cap space to make all these moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Panthers barely have half of their roster under contract for next season so new GM Bill Zito certainly has his work cut out for him over the coming weeks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Lucas Wallmark – One of the parts coming back in the Vincent Trocheck deal at the trade deadline, Wallmark didn’t get much of an opportunity to make his mark before the pandemic hit as he played in just seven games and only played twice in the postseason.  The 25-year-old is eligible for salary arbitration but considering he has only played in two full NHL seasons thus far, an award likely wouldn’t be too high if he makes it to a hearing.  After making the league-minimum $700K in salary this past season, his qualifying offer is only $735K.

D MacKenzie Weegar – Injuries limited the 26-year-old to just 45 games in 2019-20 but he still managed to set career highs in goals (seven) and points (18).  Even more importantly, head coach Joel Quenneville trusted him enough to play him more than 20 minutes a game which is a figure that will play a prominent role if he makes it to arbitration.  After making $1.6MM last season, Weegar should be in line for another million or so in his final trip through restricted free agency although it wouldn’t be surprising to see Zito try to buy out a UFA year or two which would push the price tag closer to the $3MM mark.

Other RFAs: G Phillipe Desrosiers, D Emil Djuse, F Dryden Hunt, F Mason Marchment, F Sam Montembeault, F Aleksi Saarela, D Thomas Schemitsch, F Dominic Toninato

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Mike Hoffman – Goal scorers are always a highly sought after commodity on the open market and Hoffman has been one of the more consistent in that department in recent years.  In five of past six seasons, he has scored between 22 and 29 goals with the outlier being a 36-goal campaign in his first season with the Panthers in 2018-19.  He is particularly adept at scoring with the man advantage and Florida took full advantage of that as 28 of his 65 tallies in his two seasons with them came on the power play.  Hoffman may not quite be a prototypical front-line winger but he is certainly one of the top offensive threats that will be hitting free agency and he should have considerable interest.

F Evgenii Dadonov – Hoffman isn’t the only winger of note that’s about to hit free agency.  Dadonov has spent a lot of his last three seasons with Florida on their top line, picking up 182 points in 225 games along the way.  While his production dipped this season to only 49 points, he is still one of the top wingers available on the market and his ability to play both wings will certainly bolster his case.  Three years ago, there was certainly some trepidation from teams about signing Dadonov given that he was coming back from the KHL and that he didn’t play particularly well in his first stint with the Panthers earlier in his career.  With three productive seasons under his belt, his market should be more robust this time around.

F Erik Haula – In a market that is very weak down the middle, Haula could very well be the best of those available.  While he hasn’t come close to replicating the 55-point season he had in Vegas in 2017-18, he has quietly played at a 40-point pace in each of the last two years when he has been in the lineup.  The problem is that the 29-year-old has been hit hard with injuries over that time and has played just 63 times combined in the past two seasons which may be a cause for concern for some teams.  Haula is capable of holding his own as a second-line center in the right situation and may be able to get that opportunity in free agency.

D/W Mark Pysyk – After being a defenseman for most of his career, Pysyk was asked to play on the wing more regularly this past season and held his own all things considered, chipping in with nine goals and nine assists.  Not all of that time was spent on the fourth line either.  Not many players in the league can shift between the two roles which would give the 28-year-old a chance to stand out in a marketplace full of role players.  He almost certainly won’t command the $3.5MM salary he made in 2019-20 but his success on the wing will boost his value compared to had he just played on the third defense pairing.

Other UFAs: F Brian Boyle, F Ryan Haggerty, F Joel Lowry, F Danick Martel, F Jack Rodewald, F Paul Thompson

Projected Cap Space

Cap room is an issue for many teams this offseason but that’s not the case for Florida as they have more than $21MM in space, per CapFriendly.  However, that’s only with a dozen players signed so there are a lot of spots that need to be filled.  Depending on what their internal budget for 2020-21 is going to be set at, the Panthers could potentially be a team to watch for in the coming days in terms of seeking a prominent free agent or leveraging their cap room to add players via trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Another disappointing exit awaited the Edmonton Oilers when the NHL came back this summer, making it another busy offseason for their front office as they try to capitalize on their superstar duo.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Ethan Bear – If you weren’t watching closely you might have missed the fact that another rookie defenseman was logging huge minutes in the Pacific Division. Bear, a fifth-round pick in 2015, ended up averaging just under 22 minutes a night in his 71 games for the Oilers this season, coming in only behind Darnell Nurse in terms of even-strength ice time. That was good enough to earn Bear some votes for the Calder Trophy and perhaps an even bigger role next season. Now 23, Bear is still not arbitration-eligible but could be critically important to the Oilers, especially if Oscar Klefbom’s injury keeps him out long-term.

F Andreas Athanasiou – The Oilers used two second-round picks to acquire Athanasiou at the deadline this year, but may end up being forced to leave him unqualified this offseason. A qualifying offer for the 26-year-old forward would cost the team a minimum of $3MM for next season and potentially even more through arbitration. That blazing speed didn’t end up working as well as hoped in Edmonton, with Athanasiou scoring just a single goal in his 13 games for the team. Just a year removed from his breakout 30-goal campaign though, he’s one of the toughest decisions that GM Ken Holland (who happened to draft Athanasiou in Detroit) will have to make in the coming days.

Other RFAs: D Matt Benning, F Cameron Hebig, F Ryan Kuffner, F Nolan Vesey, D Logan Day, D Ryan Mantha, D William Lagesson, G Angus Redmond

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Mike Smith – Like so many other teams, the Oilers are on the lookout for an improvement in net this offseason and could be ready to move on from the veteran goaltender. Smith is now up to 610 games played in his 14-year career, good enough for 47th all-time among netminders. The puck-handling wild child recorded a .902 save percentage in the regular season, the second straight year he has been ineffective. With so many other goalies available, it’s hard to find a market for a 38-year-old Smith, even if he has been a consistent presence in the league since 2007.

F Tyler Ennis – While Athanasiou cost two seconds and never seemed to click in Edmonton, Ennis cost just a fifth and fit in right away. That seems to be the story with the undersized forward in recent years as he bounces around the league taking bargain-basement deals but performing whenever given the chance. 12 goals in 51 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 playing fourth-line minutes and another 16 in 2019-20 splitting the year between Ottawa and Edmonton, all for the combined two-year total of $1.45MM in salary. If Ennis is still looking at a limited market, why not bring him back on another short-term deal?

Other UFAs: F Riley Sheahan, F Brad Malone, F Josh Currie, F Tomas Jurco, D Keegan Lowe, D Brandon Manning, G Shane Starrett

Projected Cap Space

Here’s the problem for the Oilers. The team has just $8.77MM in cap space for next season and still need to upgrade the roster. Spending a good chunk of that on Athanasiou’s qualifying offer or a long-term Bear extension would seem foolish, unless they can make room elsewhere by moving bad money out. If Klefbom does need surgery and can be put on long-term injured reserve it would provide some extra flexibility, but right now Holland’s hands are tied pretty tightly.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  After one of the worst seasons in NHL history, the Detroit Red Wings have a ton of work to do in order to continue their drastic rebuilding process.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Anthony Mantha – It’s hard to fathom that Mantha is already 26 years old, but here he is just days away from becoming a restricted free agent for the second time after his two-year bridge deal expires. While a long-term deal may be the best way to keep him in Detroit and avoid unrestricted free agency, Craig Custance of The Athletic wrote yesterday that a shorter-term deal is more likely in this case. Custance suggests a three-year contract could work, which would cover Mantha’s age-27, 28, and 29 seasons. The big winger has become an integral part of the Red Wings attack, tallying 82 goals in just 250 games over the last four seasons.

F Tyler Bertuzzi – If Mantha is going to come in on a three-year deal, where does that leave Bertuzzi, who actually led the Red Wings in goals this season. The scrappy, in-your-face forward is arguably the second most important player on the team currently and will be arbitration-eligible this offseason. Bertuzzi will turn 26 next season despite having fewer than 200 NHL games on his resume but is negotiating after back-to-back 21-goal seasons. A player bred for the playoffs, he hasn’t seen a sniff of the postseason yet in his career.

F Brendan Perlini – In his first three seasons, Perlini scored 45 goals in 199 games. Last year for the Red Wings, he scored one. The 12th overall pick from 2014 has almost completely fallen off the map as an NHL player and is on his third organization in two years. Still just 24 there are so many measurables you can fall in love with when you look at the 6’3″ winger, but he just hasn’t been able to put it together on the ice recently. At this point, given he is arbitration-eligible with a history of success in the NHL, it’s not even clear if the Red Wings will issue him a qualifying offer. Perhaps they take another chance on him because they’re not expected to compete this season, but time is ticking for his goal-scoring ability to reappear.

Other RFAs: F Adam Erne, F Dmytro Timashov, F Christoffer Ehn, D Madison Bowey, F Taro Hirose, D Kyle Wood

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

Frankly, the Red Wings don’t have any key free agents this offseason. GM Steve Yzerman has already been quite forthcoming with the fact that he doesn’t plan on re-signing Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson or Jimmy Howard, three veterans who will have to try and find work elsewhere.

Daley, 36, has been a steady two-way defenseman in the league for years but is showing his age and is coming off a forgettable three-year stint in Detroit. He scored just seven points this season and saw his minutes drop to less than 16 minutes a night.

For the 36-year-old Ericsson things are arguably even worse, despite a long history of solid play in Detroit. He played just 18 games this season and failed to register a single point. Instead, he spent time in the minor leagues for the first time in over a decade.

Howard, who Yzerman confirmed today would not be re-signed by the team, is a goaltender won just two of his 27 appearances in 2019-20 and will turn 37 in the middle of next season. The decision to not bring any of them back is understandable for a team that wants to transition to the next wave of talent.

Other UFAs: F Kyle Brodziak, F Cody Goloubef, F Matt Puempel, F Chris Terry

Projected Cap Space

Now here’s the fun part for Red Wings fans. Even after acquiring Marc Staal and his $5.7MM cap hit (landing a second-round pick in the process), Yzerman has more than $27MM in cap space to play with. Even more, considering that $6.08MM of the $54.1MM he has committed to next season is for Henrik Zetterberg, who won’t play again and sits on long-term injured reserve. The Red Wings don’t have a single contract that extends past 2022-23, meaning he can pretty much build this team in any way he pleases. The Stanley Cup isn’t going to come next year, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it keeps growing brighter.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

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With free agency now just a couple weeks away,  teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Fresh off of a heart-breaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final, the Dallas Stars will have to evaluate the cost of bringing back the veteran UFA’s that contributed to their playoff run while also maintaining enough space to extend several core RFA forwards.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Roope Hintz – Hintz came out strong as a rookie in 2018-19 with 22 points in 58 games only to top that this year with 19 goals and 33 points in 60 games. The 23-year-old is still trending upward and projects to be a core piece for a long time for the Stars. Coming off of his entry-level contract, Hintz is in for a major raise, especially on a long-term deal. And with so many of their top forwards on the wrong side of 30, Dallas will likely aim for a lengthy deal to make sure Hintz is around to help take over.

F Denis Gurianov – Gurianov is part of that next wave of core forwards in Dallas as well. The 2015 first-round pick took some time to arrive on the NHL stage, but in his first full season with the Stars this season shook off any doubts about his potential. With a team-leading 20 goals and 29 points in 64 games, backed up by 17 points in 27 playoff games, Gurianov proved himself to be a dangerous scoring threat. With his entry-level contract expiring, Gurianov is in for a payday, perhaps even more so than Hintz, due to the possibility that he could be Dallas’ top goal-scorer for years to come.

F Radek Faksa – Faksa’s future with the Stars may be a bit more uncertain than his fellow RFA forwards. The 26-year-old center, who is owed at least a $2.2MM qualifying offer, declined this season and his role moving forward in Dallas is unclear. Faksa snapped a three-year streak of 30+ points with just 20 on the year, his lowest per-game rate since his rookie season. He also finished outside the top nine scoring forwards for the Stars and saw his ice time slashed as a result. A good two-way player, Faksa is best suited for a bottom-six role but Dallas may question how much that role is worth to them. Faksa could sign a short-term deal, especially given the current flat cap conundrum, with the chance to prove himself worthy of an extension before he reaches unrestricted free agency.

Other RFAs: F Tony Calderone, F Joel L’Esperance, F Josh Melnick, G Landon Bow

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Anton Khudobin – Has Khudobin priced himself out of Dallas? After outplaying Ben Bishop this season and then taking over for the injured starter in the playoffs and marching the team to the Stanley Cup Final, Khudobin’s stock has never been higher. Which is saying a lot about a player who has been considered one of the top backups in the league for many years. With so many teams looking for a shake-up in net this off-season, including several teams with young netminders who would love a reliable veteran to share starts, Khudobin should draw a ton of interest on the open market. With a solid starter in Bishop and a promising young option in Jake Oettinger pushing for opportunities, will the Stars keep up with the top bidders to retain Khudobin? It seems unlikely.

F Corey Perry – Perry is another player whose stock soared this postseason. A former superstar now past his prime, Perry was still clutch in the playoffs and showed over the course of the whole year that he can still be an effective player. An intense physical presence and a smart offensive mind, Perry can still make a difference even if his 21 points this season is more reflective of his new ceiling. In fact, while Perry may be limited to another one-year deal this off-season, he might be able to command more than his $1.5MM “show me” salary from this season. As the price goes up on the open market, it becomes less likely that Perry returns to Dallas. However, if he’s seeking consistency in his older age, Dallas was a good fit and a return makes sense.

D Andrej Sekera – Dallas has everything you could want in a defense corps: high-end talent, depth, size, experience in the minors, and budding young prospects. However, sometimes a respected veteran and leader is the finishing touch that a contender needs. Sekera is not the player he once was -not really even close – but was a great fit on the bottom pair in Dallas. Sekera can still play meaningful minutes, provides solid defense, blocks shots, and can contribute on offense from time to time. An experienced asset who can help bring along the Stars’ young defenders while playing a reliable role, Sekera fits well in Dallas and should return on another minimal deal as long as he wants to keep playing.

Other UFAs: F Mattias Janmark, F Michael Mersch, F Oula Palve, D Gavin Bayreuther, D Dillon Heatherington

Projected Cap Space

CapFriendly projects the Stars to have about $15.5MM in current cap space. However, that projection includes two-way players whose roster spots are not necessarily secure, such as forward Justin Dowling and defensemen Taylor Fedun and Ryan Shea. It also seems likely that forward Joel Kiviranta and defenseman Joel Hanley have earned roster spots next season with strong playoff performances, but are not included in the current projection. All things considered, the Stars should have at least $16.2MM in flexible cap space heading into the off-season. This will be plenty to extend Faksa, Hintz, and Gurianov while leaving room to explore the free agent market.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.

F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.

Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.

F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.

G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.

Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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With free agency now just a couple weeks away, teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While the Columbus Blue Jackets have no UFA’s of note, they still have their work cut out for them with a laundry list of RFA’s, including several core players.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Luc Dubois – Getting Dubois, 22, locked up long-term is the core objective of the Blue Jackets’ off-season. Over the three seasons of his entry-level contract, Dubois totaled 158 points in 234 games, including a 61-point campaign in 2018-19 and a 57-point pace this season. He also wrapped up his contract on a high note, recording ten points in ten playoff games this year. For a team that is lacking in center depth and elite scoring talent, Dubois is critical to the short-term and long-term success of the Blue Jackets.

The problem is balancing Dubois’ long-term potential and dollar value with the team’s limited cap space for next season With no unrestricted free agents departing the lineup, the Blue Jackets have limited funds to work with against the flat cap. Yet, they also don’t want to settle for a more affordable short-term contract and risk Dubois continuing to improve and increasing his price on a new contract. Negotiations are already underway and the goal stated by both sides is to stick with a lengthy term and to get the deal done before free agency opens to provide the club with some cap clarity.

If a long-term extension can be reached, don’t be surprised to see an AAV of upwards of $8MM or more. If the two sides instead opt for a short-term deal given the fiscal constraints of the current NHL economy, Dubois is still likely set to make $6.5MM or more against the cap on his next deal.

F Josh Anderson – It’s difficult to know where the status quo lies between the Blue Jackets and Anderson. The last time that these two sides sat down to negotiate a contract, it was a contentious affair that ended in a late-summer, below-market contract that left Anderson unhappy and fueled trade rumors. Those flames were stoked by a 27-goal, 47-point season for Andersson in 2018-19 in which the young power forward greatly outplayed his contract. Yet, the tables turned again this season, as Anderson missed much of the year due to injury and was unproductive even when active. The season tanked Anderson’s trade value and at least some of his bargaining power and left his future with Columbus up in the air.

The latest twist in this saga was Anderson’s recent proclamation that he hopes to sign long-term in Columbus. This runs counter to his previous sentiment, but could end up working in the Blue Jackets’ favor. Given their cap crunch this off-season, the team could benefit from deflating the AAV on an Andersson extension by extending the term. Anderson could also return to form and again be a bargain for the club. The risk of course is that his injury troubles persist or he is unable to rediscover his scoring touch. Given the uncertainty of this off-season and Andersson’s health and performance, this seems like a case that is more likely to be settled in salary arbitration than with a long-term deal. While a one-year arbitrator’s decision might risk Andersson leaving as an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Blue Jackets would likely be happy to get an affordable deal done for Anderson and to have another year to consider whether they want to re-sign or trade the big winger.

D Vladislav Gavrikov – Since joining Columbus in the 2019 playoffs, Gavrikov has done nothing but prove that he is a solid two-way defenseman. While his lack of NHL experience makes it difficult to project his long-term value, Gavrikov has at least earned a raise and some security in his next contract. It’s unclear what the expectations are for Gavrikov’s new deal, but the Blue Jackets have all of the leverage. Due to his limited experience, Gavrikov falls under Section 10.2(c) of the CBA as a restricted free agent who is not eligible to sign an offer sheet. Barring a trade, Columbus is the only NHL team that Gavrikov can play for and they can more or less dictate the terms of the next contract. With that said, Gavrikov has proven to be a reliable top-four defenseman and the Blue Jackets are not going to play games. Expect the team to work out a short-term deal with Gavrikov and potentially trade one of their other seven one-way defensemen to cement his role as a core piece on the blue line.

Other RFAs: F Paul Bittner, F Marko Dano, F Maxime Fortier, F Jakob Lilja, F Ryan MacInnis, F Justin Scott, F Devin Shore, F Kole Sherwood, F Calvin Thurkauf, D Gabriel Carlsson, D Ryan Collins, D Michael Prapavessis, G Matiss Kivlenieks

UFAs: D Dillon Simpson, D Doyle Somerby

Projected Cap Space

CapFriendly lists the Blue Jackets as having 22 of 23 roster spots already filled for next season, including 19 one-way contracts. As a result, it should not be a surprise that their cap space is limited, with CapFriendly projecting just over $7MM to spare. The concern though is that Dubois and Gavrikov – at the very least – will be on the roster and should combine for well over $7MM. And that is not even including any free agent or trade additions for a team that has vowed to be active on the forward market. Fortunately, the team will get a bit of a break in the form of Brandon Dubinsky, who is not healthy enough to play again. Dubinsky’s $5.85MM cap hit will be wiped out, bringing Columbus’ true cap space total to around $13MM. While most of that will still be taken up by RFA signings, it will give the club some more flexibility to change up the roster if they so desire.

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