NHL’s Top 12 UFAs of 2024: Latest rumours, reports

Captains, Stanley Cup champs, top-pair defencemen, and elite scorers.

Yes, even with several franchise studs (Anze Kopitar, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Sebastian Aho, Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck) and key support players (Noah Hanifin, Devon Toews, Gustav Forsling, Tom Wilson, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello, Dylan DeMelo, Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Eberle) signing pocket-padding extensions well before deadline and avoiding the stress of free agency, the NHL’s 2024 UFA class is an intriguing one.

And with the salary cap rising by $4.5 million — the first significant jump since the pandemic — those spendy general managers will have even more reason to splash the pot on this summer’s Johnny Gaudreau.

Here’s a rundown and ranking of hockey’s best impending unrestricted free agents, plus the latest buzz circulating about their future.

1. Sam Reinhart

Age on July 1: 28
Position: Right wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $6.5 million

The latest: Like Nylander, Reinhart selected a fine season for the best one of his NHL life.

Already a 20-goal man seven times over, Reinhart was a beast in 2023-24, piling 57 goals, 94 points, and sniping the Cup-clinching goal in Game 7.

No wonder the Florida Panthers will take a serious run at extending the forward’s Sunrise days long-term.

“Sam has had a wonderful year, and I’m proud and happy for him,” Panthers GM Bill Zito told The Athletic in April. “Wonderful achievement. I think around 100 players all-time have (scored 50 goals in a season). But I know his focus is on winning. Sometimes the contracts take time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I believe we will find the right contract for Sam and the Panthers. If he wants to be one of the top 100 all-time scorers in the playoffs … that’s OK too.”

Reinhart is but one of 13 pending free agents on Zito’s roster, however, and RFA centre Anton Lundell also needs a raise.

The Cats have the flexibility to keep most of the band together, provided the core pieces are willing to take a hair less and fall under an internal cap.

The means Reinhart accepting less than leaders Aleksander Barkov ($10 million) and Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 million). A winning culture, tax-free state, and balmy winter weather all help matters.

The man would stir a bidding war if he hit the open market, but Reinhart says he “absolutely” wants to stay put and there’s a belief a contract is just waiting to be made official with the Panthers.

“It really sounds like Sam Reinhart, if not announced, that’s happening in Florida,” Elliotte Friedman said on a 32 Thoughts Podcast before the draft. “Everybody thinks the Reinhart thing is done, I assume around $9-$9.5M.”

2. Jake Guentzel

Age on July 1: 29
Position: Left wing / Right wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $6 million

The latest: Despite undergoing ankle surgery last summer, the dangerous winger is one of just three pending UFAs who averaged more than a point per game.

No wonder the Carolina Hurricanes were willing to trade Michael Bunting plus a package of prospects and high conditional picks for Guentzel’s services.

The market is rich for the two-time 40-goal man, with the L.A. Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and now, suddenly, the Tampa Bay Lightning among teams interested after they unloaded Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot on Day 2 of the draft to open up more cap space.

Where Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky had been hopeful an eight-year, $64 million deal would keep Guentzel in Carolina, the market seems to have shifted with free agency a day away.

“Last week Carolina informed (Guentzel) they would be willing to match his ask about 8×8,” Elliotte Friedman said on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast. “The market can change. Maybe 8×8 was appealing to him at the time, but what if you hear there’s a team willing to do 7×9 or 7×9.5? Carolina’s a good tax state, but Florida, where the Lightning are based, is a no tax state. The longer this takes and the closer you get to free agency the more your mind wanders, the more circumstances can change and I think that’s what happened here.

“I think right now the team to beat for Guentzel is Tampa Bay.”

Watch out on Sunday for a possible Guentzel trade, if Tampa or another team in the running wants to have a day of exclusive negotiations with him before the market opens July 1.

3. Brandon Montour

Age on July 1: 30
Position: Defence
2023-24 salary cap hit: $3.5 million

The latest: Much like teammate Reinhart, Montour had spent years elsewhere before finally finding his best fit with Florida, the new Stanley Cup champs.

And like Reinhart, Montour came into the season with zero protection or contract security, but all signs point to a willingness to extend a working relationship.

The offence-fuelling blue-liner enjoyed a career year in 2022-23 (16 goals, 73 points) that sprung almost out of nowhere.

Prudently, GM Zito was not in a rush to buy Montour stock on July 1, when it was at its highest. Instead, Florida’s front office chose patience, waiting to see how Montour’s shoulder responded from summertime surgery.

Late to get running, the right-shooting Montour didn’t light up the league again, but he’s been solid (eight goals and 25 assists in 66 games).

Montour was a warrior in the ’23 and ’24 post-seasons. And puck-moving, right-shot defencemen in their prime aren’t exactly in abundance.

Zito took care of another pending UFA D-man, Forsling, first, signing him to an eight-year extension at a $5.75-million cap hit. Montour will ask for more.

“One day at a time. My goal is to try to keep the core together,” Zito said of Montour’s future on March 8. “At the same time, be respectful that you know people have to make individual decisions.”

But the sharks are circling should Montour hit the open market. The Utah Hockey Club, for one, has already started re-shaping its blue line with draft weekend trades for Sergachev and John Marino, two of just three blueliners under contract with the team. They’re still under the salary floor by just over $5 million, too.

Lots of money for aggressive new owner Ryan Smith to splash the table with.

“Utah I still think there are some people who believe they’re going to be in on Brandon Montour if he hits the market,” Friedman said.

Of course, they won’t be the only ones after the puck-moving blueliner, and you can’t count out the Stanley Cup champs keeping him, even if he does make it to the open market.

4. Elias Lindholm

Age on July 1: 29
Position: Centre
2023-24 salary cap hit: $4.85 million

The latest: Lindholm indisputably became the most dependable centre headed toward the open market once Matthews, Aho, and Scheifele re-signed last summer, a fact that simultaneously increased the player’s bargaining leverage and trade value.

Lindholm and the Flames took an earnest run at a contract extension, but when the player’s ask exceeded Calgary GM Craig Conroy’s budget, it quickly became clear that he’d be traded away.

Conroy secured a decent package by renting Lindholm to the Canucks — a first-round pick, a conditional fourth-rounder, winger Andrei Kuzmenko, plus a couple defence prospects — but the two-way centre’s fit in Vancouver was initially underwhelming.

That Vancouver locked up Elias Pettersson long-term and gave the bag to Filip Hronek suggests there is not enough budget to turn Lindholm into more than a pure rental.

At the trade deadline, there were even murmurs that Lindholm was being considered in a three-way flip trade to the Boston Bruins that would then send Guentzel to the Canucks instead.

The centre’s stock had been on decline, but a stellar post-season did wonders for his market value.

As much as the Canucks enjoyed his critical contributions this May, accommodating Lindholm’s raise will be difficult.

Cities that make sense as potential landing spots: Boston, Carolina (again), Chicago, Utah, and San Jose.

5. Steven Stamkos

Age on July 1: 34
Position: Left wing / Centre
2023-24 salary cap hit: $8.5 million

The latest: Stamkos was “disappointed” that Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois didn’t so much as entertain an extension for the all-time franchise leader in goals, points, and power-play goals over the summer. 

When things started getting down to the wire, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that Tampa tried to do something with Stamkos that they attempted with Alex Killorn: offer a long-term deal to get him his money, but with a smaller AAV. Killorn, of course, signed for four years and a $6.25 million AAV with Anaheim instead. For Stamkos, LeBrun believed the similar offer was for eight years and around a $3 million AAV. But that, too, is on track to end with Stamkos testing the waters elsewhere.

“We’re both going to go ahead and follow through with our due diligence, seeing what’s out there and seeing what’s best,” Tampa GM Julien BriseBois said following the conclusion of the draft. “My responsibility is to see what’s best for the Lightning organization, and Steven has to do what’s best for him, his career and his family. So, unless something changes between now and July 1 — and it doesn’t look like it will — we will get to July 1.”

Things could still change after Stamkos hits the open market, but with $16.5 million in cap space, Guentzel a reported target, and Victor Hedman on track to get extended when he’s eligible on July 1 as well, the dollars are quickly drying up. Historically, this is a franchise that gets its players re-signed early, but after taking Stamkos to the wire the last time he was inches away from unrestricted free agency in 2016, it’s happening again and, this time, may lead to the No. 1 overall pick from 2008 actually putting on a different sweater after a 40-goal season.

“They haven’t done it with Stamkos twice now and even people as nice and polite as Stamkos are who are fierce competitors, they’ve had enough and that’s the case here,” Friedman said.

There will be a lot of teams interested in talking to Stamkos, but the Nashville Predators are one with the most noise around them.

6. Jonathan Marchessault

Age on July 1: 33
Position: Right wing / Left wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $5 million

The latest: The Conn Smythe–winning Marchessault is an original Misfit integral to the defending champions’ off-ice culture and on-ice success. No doubt, in a cap-free world, the sides would be content to extend their relationship beyond this season.

Yet one only need to look as far as Reilly Smith, GM Kelly McCrimmon’s 2023 cap casualty, to see the line between sentiment and business.

“He’s a really important leader, important guy in our dressing room, so there is certainly a strong willingness from both sides to have real good discussions,” McCrimmon said upon elimination.

McCrimmon will be hard-pressed to re-up Marchessault, centre Chandler Stephenson, and rental Anthony Mantha now that he’s locked up Noah Hanifin.

No one would blame the late-blooming Marchessault ($29 million in career earnings) for pulling an Alex Killorn and taking the best offer available.

“We’ve had conversations with Vegas,” Marchessault’s agent Pat Brisson told Pierre LeBrun. “Obviously July 1 is approaching. We’re at a point obviously that if we had a deal, it would be announced. So we don’t have one. So we’ll keep having discussions.”

At the very least, neither side has said yet that the player is definitely going to market. Tick, tock.

Interviewing Marchessault in March, he made it clear that the value of his next contract motivated his performance. (He crushed a career high in goals, with 42.) So, too, was the chance to win again.

“I want to give a good future for my kids, right? That’s what drives me, familywise,” said the father of four.

“But once you taste winning, it’s more than a drug. We were on such a high of emotion last year, it’s the best feeling. You just want to keep going towards it. That’s what drives me. Also, my Cup day, I had so much things going on. I want to win again, put it in my living room and do (expletive) all all day.”

On May 28, Marchessault went public with frustration over the lack of negotiations.

“I did not have a call yet or anything,” Marchessault told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “They said they were interested to definitely re-sign me, and we’ll see. Technically they have time until June 30, so we’ll see how it goes.

“The Golden Knights, they want to be good every year so they’re probably looking at all their options and probably checking what’s out there.”

Marchessault wanted to talk extension in 2023.

“I asked last summer. I was like, ‘You know what? I would rather do it in the summer before the season.’ And they said they’re not ready to do that. And after there’s not even a single talk that happened during the season,” Marchessault said.

7. Matt Duchene

Age on July 1: 33
Position: Centre / Right wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $3 million

The latest: A surprise free agent in 2023 after getting bought out by new Nashville GM Barry Trotz, Duchene signed with the Dallas Stars because they “checked off every box.”

Enjoying better matchups as a second-line centre and being surrounded by a more complete collection of talent, Duchene thrived in Big D.

The 1,056-game veteran rebounded with a 65-point campaign and helped push the Stars to the Western Conference Final.

With Chris Tanev traded to Toronto, there’s one less pending UFA for GM Jim Nill to find room for under the cap. He still must accommodate raises for RFAs Thomas Harley and Sam Steel, but there is growing belief that Duchene and the Stars are on the way to extending their relationship.

Things can still change in any negotiation, of course, but don’t be surprised if we strike Duchene’s name off this list some time on Sunday and replace it with another.

8. Brett Pesce

Age on July 1: 29
Position: Defence
2023-24 salary cap hit: $4.025 million

The latest: Trade rumours and Pesce had always gone together like fish and grits.

And now it appears the D-man will simply walk out the door for nothing.

Rumblings that teams were calling on the player and/or the Hurricanes were considering moving him has become an annual tradition in Carolina — largely because a right-shot, penalty-killing, shutdown defenceman with a stable track record is such a rare commodity.

Considering the deals given in 2023 to UFAs Vladislav Gavrikov and Damon Severson, Pesce should be looking at a long-term contract with a $6-million (plus?) AAV.

The player is on record saying he’d welcome an extension with the club that drafted him back in 2013. But with Guentzel, Martin Necas, Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo, and Teuvo Teravainen all on expiring deals, Tulsky has plenty of difficult decisions to make for his cash-conscious organization.

Pesce appears to be pricing himself out.

The Predators, Maple Leafs and Devils were among the teams with reported interest, but while Nashville now might be gearing up to chase Stamkos, and the Maple Leafs acquired Tanev in a trade, the Devils were the only one of the three who moved out a defenceman Saturday, trading John Marino and his three-year, $4.4 million cap hit to Utah.

Might that be to clear one right handed shot defenceman for another?

“Marino being traded confirms what a lot of people have expected for a while that Brett Pesce is heading to New Jersey,” Friedman reported Sunday.

9. Teuvo Teravainen

Age on July 1: 29
Position: Left wing / Right wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $5.4 million

The latest: The four-time 20-goal scorer routinely produces strong offensive numbers while playing dependable defence and staying out of the penalty box.

In late summer, former GM Waddell told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that all extension talks with Teravainen, Pesce and Skjei had silenced.

There is certainly a wait-and-see vibe coming out of Carolina, an organization known for its financial prudence.

Teravainen framed this season as “a big year” for himself and the team and noted that “not too much” extension talks were had in-season.

Would he prefer to re-sign?

“Of course,” he said, upon elimination. “I’ve had such a good time here with all these people, and the team’s been awesome. Everything is good here, so hopefully I can stay. You never know. It’s kind of a new situation for me right now.”

Teravainen’s skills would complement many a top six. If the Hurricanes don’t pay up, another team will.

Sources say, he’s open to a fresh situation.

10. Tyler Toffoli

Age on July 1: 32
Position: Right wing / Left wing
2023-24 salary cap hit: $4.25 million

The latest: When New Jersey’s Tom Fitzgerald acquired Toffoli from the Flames in the off-season, the Devils GM hoped the scoring winger would grow into more than a one-year rental.

(In fact, Fitzgerald nearly signed Toffoli in the 2020 off-season, before the Montreal Canadiens locked him up for four years and $17 million.)

So, yes, the prolific scorer and the team supposedly on the rise had mutual interest on an extension.

And then New Jersey’s losses began to outweigh its wins, prompting a deadline deal to all-in Winnipeg.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Toffoli said of he and his wife, Cat Belanger. “We’re going to another Canadian city. There’s nothing better than playing in a Canadian market. It’s a weird feeling, but at the same time we’re excited. Winnipeg, the fans are very passionate. I’m excited to go there and keep pushing for the playoffs and try and make a run there.”

GM Kevin Cheveldayoff also went deep with rentals Sean Monahan and Colin Miller, plus held tight on three “own rentals,” yet his Jets were swift first-round fodder for Colorado.

The Toffoli file is one of many Winnipeg must sort through this summer as the front office adjusts from another playoff flop.

“There are going to be changes,” Cheveldayoff said. “Changes are inevitable every off-season. We need to come back 10 per cent better. Everybody. Somehow.”

11. Chandler Stephenson

Age on July 1: 30
Position: Centre
2023-24 salary cap hit: $2.75 million

The latest: Superb in the spring of 2023, Stephenson piled up 20 points in a middle-six minutes during the Golden Knights’ 22-game Cup run and played an integral role en route to his second championship ring.

The centreman’s production scuffled in 2023-24, however. Stephenson was a minus player (dash-9) for the first time in five seasons, and his 51 points marked a three-year low.

That said, the NHL’s demand for both centres and proven post-season performers remains sky high. The Red Wings splashed $25.5 million at centre J.T. Compher in 2023’s free agency, and his previous best was 52 points.

Bottom line: There will be a robust market for the two-way Stephenson if he remains unsigned by July 1.

12. Brady Skjei

Age on July 1: 30
Position: Defence
2023-24 salary cap hit: $5.25 million

The latest: Despite the top-four defenceman’s insistence that he’d love to remain in Carolina, Skjei’s career season should price him out.

The versatile, all-situations lefty is comfortable playing the right side and is coming off career highs in both regular-season points (47) and playoff points (nine).

“There hasn’t been a ton (of negotiating),” Skjei told reporters once the Hurricanes were eliminated. “It’ll probably pick up now before July 1. Obviously, this is an unbelievable place. Great people here, coaching staff, players, medical, everything. It’s an unbelievable place to be. We’ll see what happens.”

Skjei says he is looking for a “fair” offer.

“That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “We’ll see what that looks like.”

Looks like it could start with a six on a long-term deal.

More notable UFAs in 2024: Jeff Skinner, Patrick Kane, Tyler Bertuzzi, Cam Talbot, Ilya Samsonov, T.J. Brodie, Adam Henrique, Sean Walker, Nikita Zadorov, Max Domi, Jake DeBrusk, Viktor Arvidsson, Blake Wheeler, Vladimir Tarasenko, Daniel Sprong, Alexander Barabanov, David Perron, Tyson Barrie, Jakub Vrana, Sean Monahan, Max Pacioretty, Tony DeAngelo, Tomas Tatar, Tyler Johnson, Jack Roslovic, Shayne Gostisbehere, Victor Olofsson, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, John Klingberg, Chris Tanev, Pheonix Copley, Anthony Duclair, Pat Maroon, Anthony Mantha, James Reimer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jonathan Drouin, Corey Perry, Alexander Wennberg, Jordan Martinook, Matt Roy, Jani Hakanpaa, Laurent Brossoit, Anthony Stolarz, Joe Pavelski, Ryan Suter, Cam Atkinson.

All salary info via the indispensable CapFriendly.com.

More from Sportsnet

32 Thoughts: Post-draft buzz with free agency up next

Why Maple Leafs traded for Chris Tanev with free agency hours away

Source link