The National Hockey League’s silly season is almost upon us.
Teams can begin to sign unrestricted free agents at noon ET Friday. We’ve compiled a comprehensive look at every team’s unrestricted and restricted free agents as well as off-season needs.
Salary cap data courtesy of GeneralFanager.com.
Projected Cap Space: $15,695,834
UFAs: David Perron, Jamie McGinn, Shawn Horcoff, Chris Stewart, Brandon Pirri, Mike Santorelli, Korbinian Holzer, Anton Khudobin
RFAs: Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm
Team Needs: The Ducks boast an impressive collection of defencemen under the age of 25. With the club set on John Gibson as their man between the pipes, expect GM Bob Murray to target some secondary scoring to make up for the pending loss of depth forwards Perron, Stewart, etc.
Projected Cap Space: $25,401,629
UFAs: Shane Doan, Alex Tanguay, Boyd Gordon, Viktor Tikhonov, Sergei Plotnikov, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Selleck, Nicklas Grossmann, Jarred Tinordi, Kevin Connauton, Klas Dahlbeck, Alex Grant, Anders Lindback
RFAs: Tobias Rieder, Michael Stone, Connor Murphy
Team Needs: First year GM John Chayka inherited an exciting young roster and he made splash ahead of the NHL Draft by thwarting a free agency bidding war for defenceman Alex Goligoski with a five-year deal. The Coyotes are still $6 million-plus under the salary cap floor so a new deal for 39-year-old Doan could be in order along with some depth up front and on the blue line.
Projected Cap Space: $19,957,935
UFAs: Joe Colborne, Josh Jooris, Drew Shore, Derek Grant, Turner Elson, Jakub Nakladal, Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio
RFAs: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
Team Needs: GM Brad Treliving solved Calgary’s goaltending problem by acquiring Brian Elliott from the Blues. First order of business is new deals for RFA stars Gaudreau and Monahan.
Projected Cap Space: $6,390,706
UFAs: Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann, Brandon Mashinter, Christian Ehrhoff, Michal Rozsival, Michael Leighton
RFAs: N/A
Team Needs: It wouldn’t be an off-season without Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman pressed up against the cap ceiling. Chicago already said goodbye to Andrew Shaw via trade so Bowman will have to get creative to replace the exodus of depth he won’t be able to afford.
Projected Cap Space: $20,934,407
UFAs: Mikkel Boedker, Shawn Matthias, Jesse Winchester, Jack Skille, Andrew Agozzino, Zach Redmond, Andrew Bodnarchuk
RFAs: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikhail Grigorenko, Tyson Barrie, Calvin Pickard
Team Needs: New deals for MacKinnon and Barrie. The Avalanche are in need of serious help on the blue line.
Projected Cap Space: $13,577,917
UFAs: Travis Moen, Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Eaves, Colton Sceviour, Jason Demers, Kris Russell,
RFAs: Valeri Nichushkin, Jamie Oleksiak
Team Needs: Dallas remains stacked up front but their back end leaves something to be desired. Offsetting the loss of Goligoski and potential loss of Demers and Russell should keep GM Jim Nill busy.
Projected Cap Space: $11,455,501
UFAs: Luke Gazdic, Adam Cracknell, Nikita Nikitin, Eric Gryba, Adam Pardy, Adam Clendening
RFAs: N/A
Team Needs: It’s no secret the Oilers are eyeing an improvement to their defence corps. GM Peter Chiarelli may opt for the trade route to add a blue liner, but the club has the cap space to make an impact move either way.
Projected Cap Space: $4,365,607
UFAs: Milan Lucic, Kris Versteeg, Luke Schenn, Jamie McBain, Jhonas Enroth
RFAs: Nic Dowd
Team Needs: A backup goaltender, cheap depth. The Kings are light on cap space with GM Dean Lombardi facing a challenge to replace Lucic up front.
Projected Cap Space: $12,168,913
UFAs: David Jones, Justin Fontaine, Jarret Stoll, Ryan Carter, Chris Porter
RFAs: Zac Dalpe, Jordan Schroeder, Matt Dumba, Darcy Kuemper
Team Needs: Minnesota freed itself of Thomas Vanek’s contract via buyout so there’s some money available to build an effective bottom six forward group.
Projected Cap Space: $7,111,193
UFAs: Paul Gaustad, Gabriel Bourque, Carter Hutton
RFAs: Calle Jarnkrok, Petter Granberg,
Team Needs: A defenceman to round out the third pairing and a capable backup goaltender should be in order. GM David Poile ponied up for Filip Forsberg and a Ryan Johansen extension is looming.
Projected Cap Space: $12,105,836
UFAs: Nick Spaling, Dainius Zubrus, Micheal Haley, Roman Polak, Matt Tennyson, James Reimer
RFAs: Matt Nieto, Dylan Demelo
Team Needs: Most of the Sharks’ core remains intact. Bottom six help and an upgrade on Polak/Tennyson should top the GM Doug Wilson’s list of needs.
Projected Cap Space: $15,245,418
UFAs: David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott
RFAs: Jaden Schwartz, Magnus Paajarvi, Anders Nilsson
Team Needs: An extension for Schwartz is a top priority for the Blues. Jake Allen has been handed the No. 1 goaltender job with Elliott gone, so a backup will be required. The potential loss of Backes, Brouwer, and persistent Kevin Shattenkirk trade rumours could make for an interesting summer in St. Louis.
Projected Cap Space: $10,178,752
UFAs: Radim Vrbata, Linden Vey, Dan Hamhuis, Matt Bartkowski, Yannick Weber
RFAs: Andrey Pedan
Team Needs: A scorched-earth rebuild. Jim Benning and Co. appear set on chasing top free agents.
Projected Cap Space: $20,160,001
UFAs: Matt Halischuk
RFAs: Brandon Tanev, Joel Armia, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, J.C. Lipon, Jacob Trouba, Brenden Kichton, Julian Melchiori
Team Needs: Winnipeg is a candidate for a big bounce back year. A resolution to the Trouba situation could ultimately determine the club’s course for the summer. Tyler Myers faces a long road back to the lineup so some blue line help would be in order here.
