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West Notes: Sutter, Hayes, Pavelski

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New Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has made another pair of changes in the front office, parting ways with both vice president of player personnel Duane Sutter and media relations director J.J. Hebert according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN. This comes after the organization also recently said goodbye to Craig MacTavish who is off to coach in the KHL.

It’s not unusual for a new general manager to clean house so to speak, but Sutter’s departure will mean a big change in the scouting department. That of course may not be a terrible thing, given the team’s lack of real success in the draft over the last several years. Sutter had been with the team’s scouting department since the 2011-12 season, after which Edmonton notoriously selected Nail Yakupov first overall. While there have obviously been other cases of successful draft picks, Holland will likely install his own team to try and draft and develop more talent for the Oilers moving forward.

  • Kevin Hayes didn’t fit into the Winnipeg Jets perfectly after the New York Rangers sent him north at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have his suitors this summer when he hits unrestricted free agency. Adrian Dater tweets that sources have told him of the Colorado Avalanche’s interest in the big center, which would certainly make sense given GM Joe Sakic’s “aggressive” comments at the end of the year. Hayes heads into the offseason as one of the top centers available in free agency after posting a career-high 54 points this season split between New York and Winnipeg.
  • Joe Pavelski is focused on helping the San Jose Sharks avoid elimination tonight—if he even plays—but pretty soon he’ll have to consider what’s next in his NHL career. The Sharks’ captain is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is coming off an incredible 38-goal regular season, but has had no extension talks with the front office according to Scott Burnside of The Athletic (subscription required) who examined the Pavelski situation in full earlier today. It seems extremely unlikely that Pavelski would leave the only organization he’s ever known, especially one that gave him an opportunity as a seventh-round pick, but GM Doug Wilson has played hardball as recently as 2017 when he watched Patrick Marleau chase a three-year deal in Toronto.

Avalanche To Be “Aggressive” With Top Free Agents

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Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic is a fan of the upcoming free agent class. Speaking at the team’s final media availability of the season, Sakic said of the impending market that “It’s a pretty good class this year…We see positions of need, of what we’re looking to do. There’s a few guys that we’re gonna want to talk to if they become available. We’ll be more aggressive this year.” The Avalanche went out and added defenseman Ian Cole and forward Matt Calvert last summer, who are solid complementary players, but aren’t the major game-changers that can alter a franchise. After a surprising postseason run, Colorado now knows that their championship window is open and those game-changers appear to be exactly what Sakic has his sights set on this off-season to support his team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup. And he’s also not willing just add anyone if he misses out on his top targets, adding “if it doesn’t work out with the players that we want to talk to we’re not just gonna go spend on anybody. We want the right players and the right fit.”

Fortunately for Sakic and the Avs, the team’s salary cap structure allows the GM to back up his comments as well. With Semyon Varlamov, Patrik Nemeth, and Derick Brassard – three players who contributed little to nothing this postseason – coming off the books, Colorado will shed more than $11MM. The team could opt to re-sign the likes of Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque, and Pavel Francouz, but none of that trio would likely take up much cap space. Right now, the team has an estimate of nearly $32MM in cap space entering the off-season. Some of that will need to be reserved for re-upping restricted free agents Alexander Kerfoot, J.T. Compher, Nikita Zadorov, and most of all Mikko Rantanen. However, it should still leave the Avs with at least double-digit cap space to explore the market with.

So which top free agents could the Avalanche pursue? You can cross off the tandem of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky for a number of reasons and it’s hard to imagine Matt Duchene returning to Denver. However, the team’s need for secondary scoring could lead Sakic to make pitches for many of the other elite forwards. Jeff Skinner, Joe Pavelski, and Anders Lee may not hit the market, but expect the Avs to be in the mix if they do. More ascertainable targets could be Ryan Dzingel, Jordan Eberle, Kevin Hayes, Gustav Nyquist, Marcus Johansson, and Mats Zuccarello, any of whom would provide an immediate boost to the team’s scoring depth. Adding two of those forwards would give the team a totally different look up front next season. Colorado may also have their eye on an established backup for Philipp Grubauer and could chase the likes of Mike Smith or Cam Talbot, among others. 

Given the talent already on the Colorado roster, an aggressive off-season plan should be an interesting topic to follow along with this summer. Sakic and company have seen what their team can do as an 8-seed in the playoffs and surely are imagining what might happen if they are instead a top seed. A division title and more is certainly in the realm of possibility next season if the Avalanche succeed in adding a couple of the aforementioned players.

Poll: How Many Top Free Agents Will Re-Sign Before July 1st?

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The season is over for all but four NHL teams, meaning free agents from the other 27 clubs are already focused on July 1st and the start of free agency. How many of those top free agents are still considering staying where they are versus testing the market? How many teams have the means and interest to re-sign them?

In January, PHR published our Mid-Season UFA Power Rankings: 1-10, 11-20, and honorable mentions. Mark Stone, Eric Staal, Jakob Silfverberg and Jimmy Howard – four of our top 25 –  have already signed extensions. However, the other top names and their current squads have exactly seven weeks to decide whether or not they will follow suit.

The Columbus Blue Jackets went all in at the trade deadline and it paid off with the franchise’s first ever playoff series win, a shocking sweep of the President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. Yet, the acquisitions of Ottawa Senators standouts Matt Duchene (No. 5) and Ryan Dzingel (No. 16) was not enough to get the team through round two, nevertheless to a Stanley Cup title. Now, the team faces the possibility that their new additions could walk in free agency alongside stars Artemi Panarin (No. 2) and Sergei Bobrovsky (No. 6), leaving them with major holes to fill. The latter duo have long been expected to test the market, perhaps even as a package deal. Additionally, the conditional 2020 first-round pick tied to re-signing Duchene would seemingly make it less likely that Columbus opts to extend him, especially given their lack of picks in the upcoming draft. None of those three have officially ruled out a return to the Blue Jackets, but it doesn’t look good. On the other hand, Dzingel, an Ohio State University alum, looks like he could be a more natural long-term fit, but it hasn’t prevented rumors that other teams are very interested in signing him.

Another free agent-heavy team that blew through round one of the playoffs only to be knocked off in round two are the New York Islanders. After losing John Tavares last summer, going through the same with top forward Anders Lee (No. 9) would be devastating for the Islanders franchise. Yet, the captain still remains unsigned. It’s fair to assume they will eventually figure it out, but that line of thinking if awfully reminiscent of last year. New York is reportedly pushing hard to retain enter Brock Nelson (No. 11) and winger Jordan Eberle (No. 15) as well, but they could be more inclined to test the market. There’s also the question of resurgent goalie Robin Lehner (No. 23). Will the Islanders lock up the young keeper who was so solid this season? Or will they refuse to pay market value for a player that has benefited from their system while splitting time with Thomas Greiss?

Another team of interest are the San Jose Sharks, who remain alive in the Western Conference Final. Superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson (No. 1) and respected veteran forward Joe Pavelski (No. 7) are both heading for free agency and the Sharks may be hard-pressed to sign both. There’s also deadline addition Gustav Nyquist (No. 14) to consider re-signing, as he has had a strong postseason with the Sharks. The Carolina Hurricanes are also one of four teams still playing and are definitely happy they held on to forward Micheal Ferland (No. 18). Ferland is reportedly expected to test the market, but after a deep postseason run he may be more open to extending his stay with the Hurricanes.

It was a difficult end to the year for the Winnipeg Jets, who were one-and-done this year, falling to the St. Louis Blues in the first round. Between rental center Kevin Hayes (No. 8) and big defenseman Tyler Myers (No. 10), the Jets have a pair of coveted free agents on the roster who they would surely like to keep, but that is the least of their worries as they face a daunting impending cap crunch. It could make bringing back even one of the two nearly impossible. The same goes for defenseman Jake Gardiner (No. 12) and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs will have a hard enough time keeping their roster together and re-signing their current restricted free agent, nevertheless managing to re-sign Gardiner.

Generally, playoff rentals proceed to hit the free agent market rather than re-up with their new teams. In addition to Duchene, Dzingel, Hayes, and Nyquist, Nashville’s Wayne Simmonds (No. 13), Dallas’ Mats Zuccarello (No. 21), and Colorado’s Derick Brassard (No. 24) could very well be headed to yet another destination. Simmonds and Brassard were disappointments in their short stays, but Zuccarello proved to be a nice fit with the Stars. However, the team would lose a first-round pick rather than a second-round pick to the New York Rangers if they were to re-sign the veteran forward. That may not be enough to stop them from extending him, though.

If there was any doubt that the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t re-sign Jeff Skinner (No. 4), one would think he would have been dealt at the trade deadline. However, he remains suspiciously unsigned and would be a massive addition to the free agent market if he does make it to July. Skinner has been a great match with Jack Eichel and certainly looks like a long-term fit in Buffalo, but the team’s second-half struggles could have Skinner re-thinking a long-term stay.

Vancouver’s Alexander Edler (No. 22) stated that his preference was not to be dealt at this year’s trade deadline and to instead re-sign with the Canucks. The two sides have been working toward an extension, but until pen meets paper he is still an impending free agent that will attract considerable attention. Similarly, Semyon Varlamov (No. 17) has expressed an interest in remaining with the Colorado Avalanche, but it’s unclear if the feeling is mutual. Varlamov would have to take a major pay cut to stay on as backup and may rather test a goalie market that has already lost Howard and could lose Lehner before free agency opens.

Compared to recent years, this impending free agent class does look to have fewer locks for extensions among top players. Any of these names could hit the market, although odds are they won’t all choose to do so. Regardless, this could be a healthy market come July 1st. Just how deep could it be? That’s for you to guess. How many of these top free agents will sign extensions?

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Pacific Notes: Pavelski, Donskoi, Quick, DiPietro

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The San Jose Sharks are expected to get back a key forward for Game 5 on Saturday, but it won’t be captain Joe Pavelski. The veteran forward, who has been out after hitting his head on the ice in Game 7 of the first-round of the playoffs after taking a hit from Vegas’ Cody Eakin, has been skating more often this week, but is still not ready to return, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “Getting better. Starting to skate regular,” head coach Peter DeBoer said of Pavelski, but added “Not in tonight.”

However, the Sharks are expected to be getting back Joonas Donskoi, who has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury after taking a hit from Vegas’ Brayden McNabb in Game 6 in the first round. The winger said he’s available to play, although DeBoer said that Donskoi will be a game-time decision. The 27-year-old has appeared in just three playoff games this season with no points. Donskoi was a healthy scratch for the first three games of their first-round series to allow Micheal Haley to play. If Donskoi does go in, he would likely replace Lukas Radil and join the team’s third line along with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. Haley is expected to play on the fourth line regardless.

  • The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required), in a mailbag column, suggests that the Los Angeles Kings would be better off holding on to veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick. With the team moving towards a rebuilding project, many feel that trading Quick makes the most sense, especially considering the success that Jack Campbell and Calvin Petersen had this season. However, Dillman writes that with four years remaining on his contract at $5.8MM AAV, there will likely be few takers for Quick considering his poor numbers last year (3.38 GAA, .888 save percentage). She writes that it would be better for the Kings to hold onto him and hope he can bounce back and increase his value ahead of the trade deadline or next off-season.
  • Vancouver Canucks prospect goaltender Michael DiPietro got injured Saturday in the OHL playoffs, according to Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal, who adds that he hears it is a high-ankle sprain, which could end his season early. The 19-year-old star goalie prospect, who is expected to join the Utica Comets next season in the AHL, is 13-0 in the playoffs with a 2.24 GAA and a .917 save percentage. The injury should not affect his availability to begin next season.

Snapshots: Francis, Maple Leafs, Pavelski

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If you’re looking for someone to credit for the success that the Carolina Hurricanes are having right now, it’s easy to name head coach Rod Brind’Amour, GM Don Waddell or even new owner Tom Dundon. One person who may be deserving of a good chunk of that credit though is former GM Ron Francis, who was let go before this season even started.

No, Francis wasn’t the man to pull the trigger on the Dougie Hamilton or Nino Niederreiter trades, but his fingerprints are still all over the roster. He was the GM who signed captain Justin Williams to a two-year, $9MM contract despite the forward being over 35. He orchestrated contract extensions for Brett Pesce ($4.025MM AAV) and Jaccob Slavin ($5.3MM) that look like absolute steals right now, and he was the one who selected Sebastian Aho with the 35th pick in 2015. On Sportsnet radio today Francis admitted that he is interested in returning to management, and John Shannon notes that his contract expires on June 30th. It will be interesting to see where Francis lands, and in what role.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are expecting to add a Russian on Wednesday according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, though it is not exactly clear who that would be. McGran suggests it is likely either Yegor Korshkov, a draft pick of the Maple Leafs who is expected to sign his entry-level contract this summer, or Ilya Mikheyev, who has been linked to the team in recent weeks. With the KHL season officially ending today and contracts expiring, many names will be signing over the next several days.
  • The San Jose Sharks will still be without captain Joe Pavelski when they take on the Colorado Avalanche today, as he did not travel with the team to Denver. The Sharks haven’t listed exactly what Pavelski is dealing with, but he hasn’t played since suffering the scary head injury against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Gustav Nyquist, who flew home for the birth of his child, is expected to play for the Sharks.

Pacific Notes: Brodie, Haula, Nyquist

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With an early and somewhat shocking first-round exit in the playoffs, many feel that the Calgary Flames are likely to make some changes this season to continue building their team into a contender. With plenty of salary cap issues already upon the franchise, the Flames will likely have to move on or trade some of their players in order to free up some much-needed cap room.

In a roundtable discussion, Postmedia’s Danny Austin, Wes Gilbertson and Kristin Andersen suggested several of those players, with defenseman T.J. Brodie potentially being the top name on the list. The 28-year-old Brodie has been a solid defenseman in Calgary for years, but with the emergence of rookies Rasmus Anderson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington, the team might be better served by trading Brodie for another top-six forward after the disastrous signing of James Neal.  Brodie, who will still has one year remaining on the five-year, $23.2MM contract he signed in 2014 at an AAV of $4.65MM, might garner quite a bit of interest from teams that need to upgrade their defense.

Other suggestions of players who likely won’t be back included 37-year-old UFA goaltender Mike Smith, who might be let go to give David Rittich a chance to become the starting goaltender next season, and forward Michael Frolik, who has had issues with the team due to his lack of playing time this season.

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) profiles the injury of Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula, who suffered a gruesome knee injury on Nov. 6 that saw his season come to an end after appearing in just 15 games. Interesting enough, he was close to returning to Vegas’ lineup during the playoffs had the team not been eliminated by San Jose in the first round. “He was probably a week to 10 days away from being able to practice with the team, and maybe three weeks away from playing,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. However, Haula will scale back his aggressive rehab after the Golden Knights’ exit and now has four months to get close to 100% to begin next season. He is already penciled in to center the team’s third line next to wingers Alex Tuch and KHL star Nikita Gusev next season, which should be one of the strongest third lines in the league.
  • The San Jose Sharks were forced to play without one of their top players in Game 1 in Joe Pavelski. The veteran forward suffered an upper-body injury in Game 7 of their first-round series after he hit his head following being cross-checked by Vegas’ Cody Eakin. However, despite being without Pavelski against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1, head coach Peter DeBoer praised his replacement, Gustav Nyquist, who moved up to the team’s second line and scored a goal in the team’s 5-2 win over Colorado, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “I thought he was really good,” said DeBoer. “We’ve been waiting for that kind of impact. The effort has been there, but we haven’t had the impact on the game like we got last night, which is something he needs to build on and bring some more of.” Nyquist will continue to play on the second line until Pavelski is ready to return. Pavelski is currently listed as day-to-day.

Golden Knights Owner Pushing For Major Penalty Review

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A series-defining call, or mistake in the minds of many, has lit a fire underneath the owner of the NHL’s newest team. Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has already begun lobbying the league to make all major penalty calls reviewable after a controversial major ended up costing his team in the first round.

With a 3-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks in the third period of Game Seven, Vegas center Cody Eakin was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking Sharks counterpart Joe Pavelski, who fell awkwardly to the ice, had to leave the game, and remains sidelined for San Jose. Over the course of that five-minute penalty, the Sharks scored four times and ultimately won in overtime to eliminate the Golden Knights. The penalty was a blatant cross-check and worthy of a two-minute minor, but it’s hard to argue that a major was the right call. In fact, the NHL has reportedly apologized to the club for the call.

While Knights GM George McPhee said that he and the team would not dwell on the call, he apparently wasn’t speaking for his owner. In a press conference on Thursday, Foley informed the media that he believed a major penalty should be reviewable via coach’s challenge. It is unlikely that this was a passion project of the owner prior to his team’s controversial elimination, but it certainly is now. Foley stated that he has already spoken with league officials and fellow owners about the issue and expects it to be a topic of conversation at the summer Board of Governors meeting.

Foley insisted that if a major penalty review process had been in place, the call on Eakin would have been overturned and the Golden Knights would have won the game and advanced to the next round. However, the owner is only focusing on one part of the problem. Bad calls happen, but if your team cannot allow less than four goals over one five-minute penalty, it would seem that the penalty kill is a bigger issue than the league’s policies and procedures.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Karlsson, Pavelski, Marino

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The Kings have head coach Todd McLellan at the top of their wish list for next season, reports Sportsnet’s Mark Spector.  Interim bench boss Willie Desjardins is not likely to return for the 2019-20 campaign.  McLellan was let go by Edmonton earlier this season following a 9-10-1 start to their season but had plenty of success in his first stint back in San Jose.  There will likely be other teams on the lookout for a new head coach in the coming weeks so expect the 51-year-old to garner some interest from elsewhere as well next month.

More notes from the Pacific Division:

  • Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has had his skating schedule scaled back as he continues to work his way back from a groin injury, notes Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. Instead of skating daily, he’s now hitting the ice every second day which suggests his return is further away than expected.  San Jose has already clinched a playoff spot and appears to be locked into a matchup with Vegas so they can afford to be cautious but they also would undoubtedly feel better if he had some game action before the postseason gets underway.  Meanwhile, Pashelka adds that center Joe Pavelski, who has missed four straight games due to a lower-body injury, is progressing in his recovery and could be available for their game on Thursday against Chicago.
  • The Oilers are in discussions with prospect John Marino, reports Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. The defenseman was a sixth-round pick (154th overall) back in 2015 and is just finishing up his junior year at Harvard, a team that is participating in the upcoming NCAA tournament.  Although he still has a year of college eligibility remaining, he’s also eligible for August 15th free agency as it has been four years since he has been drafted.

Deadline Primer: San Jose Sharks

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we begin to examine the Pacific Division, here is a look at the San Jose Sharks.

The moment that the San Jose Sharks traded for star defenseman Erik Karlsson, many people felt that the Sharks would be at the top of the Pacific Division. While no one was expecting the Calgary Flames to be so dominant, the Sharks are solidly in second place and with their impressive play of late, it wouldn’t be a shock if San Jose found their way back during the team’s stretch run. The Sharks have been rolling, having won 10 of 14 games and three of those games were a streak when they were forced to play without Karlsson.

With a number of veteran players trying to hold on for another deep playoff run, including Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Sharks picked up another significant piece to their plans to win this season. The team went out a year ago at the trade deadline and picked up Evander Kane from Buffalo, eventually locking him up long-term and they followed that up by adding Karlsson during the offseason. Throw in the fact that Thornton hasn’t been 100 percent this season and isn’t the same player due to his knee injury and the need for more depth is obvious. No one would be surprised if general manager Doug Wilson tries to pry another major piece.

Record

29-16-7, second in the Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$6.76MM in full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 45/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: FLA 2nd, SJS 3rd, SJS 5th, SJS 6th, SJS 7th
2020: SJS 2nd, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 5th, OTT 5th

Trade Chips

This is where the Sharks might have some problems. The team has already moved its first-round picks in 2019 and in 2020 as they moved their 2019 pick to Buffalo for Kane and then their 2020 first-rounder for Karlsson (pending multiple conditions that are likely to hold). The team has already unloaded several key young players and prospects in separate deals, including Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, Danny O’Regan, and Josh Norris. It’s been made clear that the Sharks aren’t interested in moving too many more prospects, leaving the team bare of incoming prospects, but regardless, time is running out for a number of their veterans and with the dominance of several teams, the Sharks will want to keep up with them.

Regardless, the team may have few choices. One player the team could consider moving out would be forward Kevin Labanc, who has five goals and 30 points this season, but hasn’t been able to break into the team’s top six. The 23-year-old still has plenty of promise and might be able to being in a significant return for a player who tallied two 100-point seasons in the OHL. The team also could dip into their prospect pool that has a number of talented players, including 21-year-old goalie Josef Korenar, who appeared in the AHL All-Star game this year, AHL forwards Dylan Gambrell and Francis Perron, as well as highly-touted offensive defenseman Ryan Merkley, and junior forwards Sasha Chmelevski and Ivan Chekhovich.

Five Players To Watch For: G Aaron Dell, F Barclay Goodrow, D Tim Heed, F Kevin Labanc, D Joakim Ryan

Team Needs

1) More forward depth: The team has a solid top-six, but the third line has been average at best and hardly the scoring line the team was hoping for at the beginning of the year. With Thornton ailing, the team could use a sniper, potentially who has some experience manning the center position to improve the bottom-six. Thornton has just 10 goals and 25 points in 43 games this season and looks like he’s heading for his most disappointing season so far. While Marcus Sorensen has shown improvement, the forward has just 17 points this season, while Labanc still hasn’t full proven himself to head coach Peter DeBoer. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Sharks went to the Ottawa well again, having already worked out deals to take Mike Hoffman and Karlsson from the Senators. A rental like Matt Duchene or winger like Mark Stone would force the team to adjust their lines and put some quality offense on their third line.

2) Defensive depth: With an injury, as well as poor play, coming from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the team may want to bring in a veteran defenseman who could provide the team with some strength behind the blueline. The team has gotten surprisingly good play from defenseman Radim Simek, who the team signed out of the Czech Republic last summer. However, the team needs more help there and don’t have too much help at that position down in the AHL.

2019 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: 1-10

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With the halfway point of the season now behind us and the trade deadline fast approaching, the All-Star break seemed like the perfect time to take a preliminary look at the UFA Class of 2019. Here is the first half of our top-20 rankings, based on votes from writers Gavin Lee, Brian La Rose, Zach Leach and Holger Stolzenberg. We ran spots 11-20 a few days ago, and will publish the honorable mentions tomorrow afternoon.

1. Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks — Karlsson was the unanimous choice for the top spot and it is easy to understand why. Even after an apparent slow start, the 28-year old defenseman is having one of the most dominant seasons of his career and now has 43 points through 47 games with the Sharks. Acquired for a huge package of assets just before the season began, he makes San Jose one of the most dangerous contenders in the quest for the Stanley Cup. Karlsson has been reported to be looking for a deal approaching Drew Doughty’s eight-year, $88MM extension in free agency and could only sign a contract of that length with the Sharks after this season’s trade deadline. If he doesn’t put pen to paper quickly after the deadline passes though, you can bet 30 other teams—well, perhaps not Ottawa—will be drooling over the idea of adding him in the offseason.

2. Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets — Panarin was ranked no lower than fourth by any of the writers, and that is only because of the other incredible talents at the top of the list. The 27-year old winger is a dominant offensive force that ranks seventh in scoring since entering the league in 2015-16. Once believed to be a byproduct of Patrick Kane in Chicago, Panarin has shown that he can be the one driving the offense even while helping along a rookie forward in Pierre-Luc Dubois. Agent Dan Milstein is set to speak with Panarin one final time before letting Columbus know if he’s willing to negotiate an extension with the Blue Jackets, but looks like he’ll remain with the team through the trade deadline regardless. If the Blue Jackets can’t get him to sign, Panarin could very well cause a bidding war in the offseason that results in one of the biggest winger contracts in league history.

3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators — The first of several Senators to grace this list, Stone trailed Panarin just barely in our voting for the second spot. That’s a credit to how far his star has risen over the past few seasons, and how well-rounded his game has become. The 26-year old will be one of the younger players to hit free agency this year and will likely do so after a career-high in points. Already sitting with 50 in 50 games, Stone brings more than just offensive production to the table. One of the best two-way wingers in the league, he routinely strips opposing players of the puck and gives the Senators a chance for a counter attack. He has received Selke votes in each of his four full seasons and will undoubtedly do so again this time around. There’s no doubt that the Senators want to keep Stone around and that he’s willing to listen to an extension offer, but the closer it gets to July 1st the more tempting free agency becomes.

4. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres — You can understand why Skinner has publicly stated several times that he would love to stay with the Sabres. All he’s done since arriving in Buffalo is score, notching 30 goals through his first 48 games this season. That’s the fourth time the smooth-skating winger has reached the 30-goal plateau in his career, and a mark that is sure to drive up his price to a point where the Sabres may not be able to accept it. Remember that the team already has Jack Eichel locked in long-term for $10MM per season and could be worried about putting themselves in a situation similar to Edmonton where too much of the cap is tied up in a few players. Kyle Okposo’s deal is already looking troublesome and the team will have work to do on players like Sam Reinhart and Casey Mittelstadt after the 2019-20 season. That’s not to say Buffalo won’t fight to keep him though, as Skinner has been a big part of rejuvenating a frustrated fan base this year.

5. Matt Duchene, Ottawa Senators — You would think a 28-year old center scoring at more than a point-per-game rate in his contract year would rank even higher on this list, but there are likely still concerns about Duchene after his actions the last few years, deserved or not. Forcing a trade out of Colorado hasn’t done him any favors as he found himself on a struggling Ottawa team, but there is nothing wrong with his production since arriving in Canada’s capital. With 47 points in 41 games this season he has a chance to break his previous career-high of 70 points, and almost all of his damage has come at even-strength. Always one of the best in the league in the faceoff dot and a responsible enough player in his own end, you can bet a long-term deal is coming for Duchene. The only question is will he sign it with Ottawa over the next few weeks, or does a team spend big to get him at the deadline and try to extend him before the end of the year.

6. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets — Buyer beware with the first goaltender on our list, as long-term deals for goaltenders over 30 don’t always work out. If there’s a goalie you would want to put your chips on though, Bobrovsky may be it. The Blue Jackets netminder is a two-time Vezina winner who came into this season with a career .920 save percentage and showed his durability with 128 starts over the last two years. This year hasn’t been up to his standards, but there is reason to believe he’ll bounce back in the future. Still, if Bobrovsky is expecting a deal approaching Carey Price’s eight-year, $84MM extension there won’t be a ton of teams lining up for him. Not many can afford to inject that kind of goaltender contract into their salary structure, meaning Bobrovsky will need to find the right fit—or perhaps desperate team—to squeeze that much juice out of his next deal.

7. Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks — Just when you think Pavelski might be reaching the age where he starts slowing down, the 34-year old gets off to perhaps the best start of his career. The San Jose captain scored 25 goals in his first 43 games this season and now sits with 45 points through 52 contests. A reliable, versatile forward that can play in basically any situation, Pavelski would also add an incredible amount of leadership and experience to any team in the league. The idea of him leaving San Jose still doesn’t feel right though, especially when you consider GM Doug Wilson’s loyalty to his veteran players in the past. Still, Patrick Marleau left San Jose in the summer of 2017 to chase a Stanley Cup—and $18.75MM—in Toronto and Pavelski would likely draw an even bigger offer from someone around the league. His game won’t last forever, but 194 goals since the start of 2013-14 speaks for itself.

8. Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers — Hayes wants to stay with the Rangers, but the New York front office will have to make a decision on whether he fits into their competitive timeline. If they happen to send him packing at the deadline, you can bet there will be plenty of teams calling. He’s missed time due to injury this season but there is still a very good chance that Hayes ends up with a career-high in points given that he already has 33 through 39 games, and teams are always on the lookout for size up the middle. It’s not that Hayes is a very physical player, but adding a 6’5″ center who can contribute in all situations is basically goal number one for almost any contender. Still, Hayes could very well be a player who gets a little more money than perhaps he deserves, thanks to the huge opportunity he’s had in New York this season during their rebuild.

9. Anders Lee, New York Islanders — Lee arrives on our list in the top-10 given his performance again this season, but it is unlikely that he will actually reach free agency in July. The Islanders have been confident with their approach to an extension with Lee, and felt secure enough to hand him over the captaincy even with just a single year remaining on his current contract. You can bet GM Lou Lamoriello will be putting on the full-court press to get Lee under contract in the coming weeks, but if for some reason the big forward decides to follow John Tavares out the door he’d be a hot commodity. While he might not hit 40 goals this season, there’s still a good chance he will notch his third consecutive 30-goal campaign and with it establish himself as one of the best all-around goal scorers in the league. A big powerplay presence who has demonstrated great leadership in the new-look Islanders locker room, he’s in for a huge raise on the $3.75MM cap hit he’s carrying this year.

10. Tyler Myers, Winnipeg Jets — If it weren’t for Karlsson’s existence at the top of the list, more people might be talking about Myers’ impending free agency. The massive defenseman’s worth is boosted simply by him being right-handed, but he’s also proven to be an effective player for the Jets over the last few years. Though his responsibility and ice time have declined with the emergence of Jacob Trouba, Myers is still young enough—29 in just a few days—to be worth a long-term deal in free agency as a solid top-4 option. The right-handed variety of those get paid big bucks in free agency, making it a tough sell for Winnipeg in a year that they already have so much work to do in the offseason. Simply put, the team likely can’t afford to retain Myers if they plan on extending all of their key restricted free agents, a group that includes Trouba, Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. If Karlsson is locked up before free agency starts, you can bet a ton more will be written about Myers and where he could possibly fit in.

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