Notable names still available on free agent market!

This hasn’t been your usual free agency in the National Hockey League thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the flattened salary cap. At any other time, these following names would have been off the board as the NHL’s free agent signing period goes into its fifth day.

According to the Top 100 compiled by TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli, Mike Hoffman is now the top free agent available since Alex Pietrangelo signed with the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. 

Seravalli did not on Insider Trading last night that the teams most interested in Hoffman at this point are the Boston Bruins, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators. He also believes that the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks could jump in as interested parties but only if they can shed salary and move some pieces. Hoffman’s ability to find the back of the net has never been in question and coming off a 69 game season with the Panthers that saw him record 29 goals and 30 assists for a total of 59 points will only bolster that reputation. Hoffman has had some red flags off the ice after a wild incident in the Ottawa Senators dressing room between him, his then fiancée, teammate Erik Karlsson and his wife, so perhaps that has played a role in him remaining unsigned thus far.

Behind Hoffman, Evgenii Dadonov, Erik Haula, Corey Perry and Mikael Granlund round out the top five. Dadonov had himself a pretty good season despite the shortened regular season, picking up 25 goals and 22 assists for a combined total of 47 points on the season. It does however represent a significant drop off from the 70 points he had last season, but it’s worth noting that the Panthers overall saw a decline in production and Dadonov also played in 13 fewer games due to the pandemic.

Let’s not forget that Zdeno Chara has yet to re-sign with the Boston Bruins and is amongst the top defensemen still available. Sami Vatanen is also sitting on the market, he who was traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Carolina Hurricanes in February but did not play until the Return to Play, in which he recorded three assists in seven games with the Canes in the Toronto bubble.

Most teams were very active on the market signing netminders as now only two remain on the TSN’s board in Jimmy Howard and Craig Anderson.

So, who moves next?