Top 5 unrestricted free agents still available on Monday morning.

We have had a crazy couple of days in the National Hockey League and a lot of players, even established names like Henrik Lundqvist and Corey Crawford, now find themselves wearing brand new jerseys. 

No doubt the biggest move over the last few days was a stunning move by the Buffalo Sabres that took Taylor Hall, the top free agent forward that was available as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, off the market. That means that one of the biggest names available out there on the market is now gone, and the many teams that were reportedly in on Hall will be left scrambling to find a suitable replacement now that they have lost out on his services. After 3 days of free agency the number of players that are still up for grabs has dwindled considerably, but there is still plenty of opportunity for your team to make significant moves if they wish to do so. 

Keeping that in mind, here at the Top 5 unrestricted free agents still available.

#1 Alex Pietrangelo.

Late last night it sounded like we were gonna get an announcement regarding Pietrangelo signing with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, but that announcement never materialized. There were even reports that the Golden Knights had a cap clearing trade in place that would send defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Florida Panthers, however that trade also never materialized despite multiple sources suggesting it was a done deal. All this means that Pietrangelo is in theory still available, although admittedly it does sound like Vegas will be his destination as of right now.

#2 Mike Hoffman.

Taylor Hall has been claimed by the Buffalo Sabres and teams now looking to add some scoring to their roster will likely view Hoffman as their top option on the open market. 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 locker room between him, his then fiancee, teammate Erik Karlsson and his then wife, so perhaps that has played a role in him remaining unsigned thus far.

#3 Tyler Toffoli.

It seemed at one point like Toffoli was destined to re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks but that team's current cap situation has seemingly taken that option off the table. I for one wouldn't be shocked if both sides circled back here and eventually worked out a deal, but until that happens the long time member of the Los Angeles Kings is up for grabs. Toffoli had a decent showing with the Kings last season but joining the Canucks appeared to breath new life into the 28 year old. Toffoli's 10 game stretch with the Canucks saw him record 6 goals and 4 assists, so its no surprise they were interested in having him back.

#4 Sami Vatanen.

The only defenseman to make the list, Sami Vatanen is a cut above the other UFA defensemen on the market. Teams looking for more of a stay at home type of defenseman may favor former Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic over Vatanen and teams looking to take perhaps a bit more of a gamble may be tempted to lean towards former Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson who showed tremendous potential 2 years ago but has not been able to replicate it. Vatanen spent his last 3 seasons with the Devils and in this most recent, and shortened, NHL season he had 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points over 47 games.

#5 Evgenii Dadonov

Like his teammate in Florida Dadonov has shown an ability to produce goals and that is a skillset that will always find a home in the National Hockey League. Dadonov had himself a pretty good season despite the shortened regular season, picking up 25 goals and 22 assists for a combvined total of 47 points on the season. It does however represent a significant drop off from the 70 points he had last season, but its worth noting that the Panthers overall saw a decline in production and Dadonov also played in 13 fewer games due to the pandemic.