It has become pretty clear that teams in the National Hockey League are putting the squeeze on their salary caps for the upcoming 2020 - 2021 NHL season and that has resulted in some interesting developments in this unusual offseason. We've seen the top free agent forward Taylor Hall take a 1 year deal for huge money and make the unlikely decision to join the Buffalo Sabres, we've seen St. Louis Blues captain stunned by the addition of Torey Krug to his former Blues team only to have him then turn around and pull a surprise of his own by signing with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, a team that looked like they had no room for Pietrangelo, a few days later.
It's been a fun ride and after a few more key signings over the last few days the list of players still out there that can have an impact is growing shorter by the minute. Teams looking to shore up certain weaknesses on their roster will likely have to go with a player that wasn't their first choice, but that doesn't mean there aren't still quality players available. So with that in mind here are the top 5 unrestricted free agents still available on the market.
#1 Mike Hoffman
There's no question about the fact that Mike Hoffman is now the man at the top of everyone's free agent board and frankly he should be. In spite of playing a shortened season with the Florida Panthers due to the pandemic Hoffman still put up 29 goals and 30 assists for a combined 59 points and did so in just 69 games. If you're a team in need of goal scoring there's no doubt that Hoffman is going to be your first choice.
#2 Mikael Granlund
Teams looking for help up the middle of the ice will no doubt be drawn to the 28 year old Finnish veteran who is coming off something of a mixed season with the Nashville Predators. A former 26 goal scorer with the Minnesota Wild, Granlund struggled in the Predators' system under head coach Peter Laviolette, but when Laviolette was replaced by John Hynes in the middle of the season Granlund stepped up his performance and was rewarded with more ice time. He finished the season with 17 goals, the overwhelming majority of which came following the coaching change, and 13 assists for 30 points in 63 games with the Wild.
#3 Erik Haula
Again teams looking for help up the middle will be drawn to Haula much like they will be to Granlund, however Haula's skillset is significantly different. During his time with the Minnesota Wild especially Haula showed an ability to play well in his own end and that will be valuable to teams looking for a good balance in a center. Haula was productive during his time with the Hurricanes last season as well recording 12 goals and 10 assists over 41 games, decent numbers for a guy with solid defensive fundamentals.
#4 Sami Vatanen
Arguably the top unrestricted free agent defenseman still on the market, there are some who are surprised Vatanen has not yet signed a new deal and I suspect it may be due in large part to Vatanen not getting the kind of offers he was expecting. After Vatanen there is a bit of a drop off with the next two best defensemen arguably being Travis Hamonic and Zdeno Chara, both men who have shown signs of decline in the latter stages of their careers. Vatanen finished last season with 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 47 games with a New Jersey Devils team that was frankly not very good.
#5 Anthony Duclair
Perhaps Anthony Duclair deserves to be higher up on this list after scoring 23 goals and adding 17 assists for 40 points last season in just 66 games with the lowly Ottawa Senators, but the performance was such an outlier that I do believe many teams will be wary of investing in the 25 year old forward. Not since his rookie season as a member of the Arizona Coyotes has Duclar reached the 20 goal plateau and that just so happened to be the last time he recorded more than 40 points in a season. Since then he's bounced from team to team, never finding a home and perhaps more importantly never finding a niche for himself within any of those organizations. The fact that the Senators let him walk to free agency also suggests that there is more than meets the eye here.
To hear the Senators tell the tale, they offered Duclair a significant raise in the offseason, but the player who chose to represent himself declined that offer. The fact that he is representing himself here, and the fact that the Senators appeared to suggest that this made the process difficult, have caused him to drop on my list.
