24 NHL players file for arbitration.

The National Hockey League free agency period has opened up and that means that unrestricted free agents are free to sign with whoever they please and for however much they please. For restricted free agents though the situation is a little different, and sometimes when players are unable to reach a deal with their teams they must rely on the services of an arbitrator to act as an intermediary.

That could very well be the case for as many as 24 NHL players this time around as, according to the National Hockey League Players' Association, 24 restricted free agents have exercised their arbitration rights and have decided to file. It is important to note that this does not necessarily mean that these players will be going to arbitration with their teams, but merely that there is now a ticking clock on working out a new deal before the arbitration process takes over.

In many cases a deal is much more preferable due to the fact that arbitration can at times be a difficult process for both the team and the player. During an arbitration process, a team looking to secure the best deal is effectively forced to argue against their own player which has at times in the past led to some hurt feelings and even some irreparably broken relationships between player and team.

Here are all 24 players, unedited and in full, as per the NHLPA's official website:

Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets)

Ethan Bear (Carolina Hurricanes)

Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils)

Lawson Crouse (Arizona Coyotes)

Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken)

Mathieu Joseph (Ottawa Senators)

Kaapo Kahkonen (San Jose Sharks)

Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights)

Oliver Kylington (Calgary Flames)

Maxime Lajoie (Carolina Hurricanes)

Steven Lorentz (San Jose Sharks)

Isac Lundestrom (Anaheim Ducks)

Zack MacEwen (Philadelphia Flyers)

Niko Mikkola (St. Louis Blues)

Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames)

Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames)

Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers)

Tyce Thompson (New Jersey Devils)

Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators)

Vitek Vanecek (New Jersey Devils)

Jake Walman (Detroit Red Wings)

Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers)

Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins)

It is important to note that in the case of Niko Mikkola of the St. Louis Blues, the player has already signed a new contract since making his arbitration filing.