Bruins’ Dmitry Orlov climbs to No. 1 on Top 50 Free Agents board
That sound you hear is the cash register cha-chinging for Dmitry Orlov.
With two of the premier defensemen taken off the board in an already thin free agent class – by virtue of the Kings re-signing Vladislav Gavrikov and Columbus snapping up Damon Severson – the Boston Bruins’ trade deadline acquisition is in prime position to cash in two weeks from now.
Orlov, 31, has risen to the top of the class as No. 1 on Daily Faceoff’s latest Top 50 Free Agents ranking. AFP Analytics is projecting Orlov to sign for the highest salary cap hit of any remaining pending free agent, and based on the new deals for Severson (8 x $6.25 million) and fellow countryman Gavrikov (2 x $5.875 million), their projection of $6.25 million feels low. In fact, some teams have clamored in recent days that Orlov could fetch as much as $8 million per year, dependent on the term of the deal. That goal may be lofty, but he’s going to get paid.
Orlov was edged in projected total dollars only by Bruins teammate Tyler Bertuzzi, whom Boston is working to try and re-sign by clearing cap space to keep him. Taylor Hall and Matt Grzelcyk are members of the latest Trade Targets board as a result, Brandon Carlo could also be in that mix and Mike Reilly is a buyout candidate.
In Boston, Orlov found an offensive flair missing from his game in Washington. He was acquired for essentially first and second-round picks and posted nearly as many points (17) in 23 games wearing the spoked-B as he did in 43 games (19) with the Capitals. He then followed that up with another eight points as the Bruins were eliminated in seven games by the eventual conference champion Florida Panthers.
After Orlov, the next best available defenseman is New Jersey’s Ryan Graves at No. 4, who is three years younger. Then Scott Mayfield, John Klingberg, Carson Soucy and Radko Gudas are in the next tier down of defensemen – highlighting the scarcity in this class, which is seen as one of the weakest in NHL free agent history.
Outside of goaltender Adin Hill, no player did better to increase his value on the free agent market this summer than newly minted two-time Stanley Cup champion Ivan Barbashev. He helped the Blues capture the Cup in 2019, then hit a career-high of 26 goals and 60 points in 2021-22, and his production dropped off significantly before he was acquired by the Golden Knights with the help of Mark Stone’s LTIR space. Barbashev rounded back into form with 18 critical points in Vegas’ 22 postseason contests – and now they likely won’t be able to afford to keep him.
Elsewhere, Group VI free agent Matthew Phillips has joined the Top 50, as the Calgary Flames try to convince him to remain in the organization while new GM Craig Conroy and head coach Ryan Huska institute a youth movement. The 5-foot-7 Phillips finished fifth and ninth in AHL scoring each of the last two seasons, racking up 36 goals – second-most in the AHL this year – and 70 points for the Calgary Wranglers.
Free agency opens on Saturday, July 1 at 12 noon ET. Here is the Daily Faceoff’s latest Top 50 Free Agents ranking, with help from AFP Analytics projecting a contract for each player:
| Rk | Player | Pos | Age | Team | Cap Hit | GP | G | PTS | AFP Projection |
| 1 | Dmitry Orlov | LD | 31 | BOS | $5.1M | 66 | 7 | 36 | 5 x $6.25m |
| 2 | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | 28 | BOS | $4.75M | 50 | 8 | 30 | 6 x $5.25m |
| 3 | J.T. Compher | C | 28 | COL | $3.5M | 82 | 17 | 52 | 5 x $5.3m |
| 4 | Ryan Graves | LD | 28 | NJD | $3.17M | 78 | 8 | 26 | 5 x $5.1m |
| 5 | Alex Killorn | RW | 33 | TBL | $4.45M | 82 | 27 | 64 | 4 x $5.25m |
| 6 | Michael Bunting | LW | 27 | TOR | $950K | 82 | 23 | 49 | 5 x $5.25m |
| 7 | Ryan O’Reilly | C | 32 | TOR | $7.5M | 53 | 16 | 30 | 3 x $5.5m |
| 8 | Patrick Kane | RW | 34 | NYR | $10.5M | 73 | 21 | 57 | 3 x $5.75m |
| 9 | Ivan Barbashev | LW | 27 | VGK | $2.25M | 82 | 16 | 45 | 4 x $4.2m |
| 10 | Adin Hill | G | 27 | VGK | $2.18M | 27 | 2.50 | .915 | 2 x $3.3m |
| 11 | Jordan Staal | C | 34 | CAR | $6M | 81 | 17 | 34 | 2 x $3.2m |
| 12 | Tristan Jarry | G | 28 | PIT | $3.5M | 47 | 2.9 | .909 | 4 x $4.8m |
| 13 | Vladimir Tarasenko | RW | 31 | NYR | $7.5M | 69 | 18 | 50 | 3 x $5m |
| 14 | Max Pacioretty | LW | 34 | CAR | $7M | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 x $1.5m |
| 15 | Max Domi | C | 28 | DAL | $3M | 80 | 20 | 56 | 5 x $4.75m |
| 16 | Evgenii Dadonov | RW | 34 | DAL | $5M | 73 | 7 | 33 | 1 x $1.9m |
| 17 | Scott Mayfield | RD | 30 | NYI | $1.45M | 82 | 6 | 24 | 3 x $3.75m |
| 18 | Frederik Andersen | G | 33 | CAR | $4.5M | 34 | 2.48 | .903 | 2 x $4m |
| 19 | John Klingberg | RD | 30 | MIN | $7M | 67 | 10 | 33 | 3 x $4.6m |
| 20 | Connor Brown | RW | 29 | WSH | $3.6M | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 x $3.3m |
| 21 | Carson Soucy | LD | 28 | SEA | $2.75M | 78 | 3 | 16 | 3 x $2.5m |
| 22 | Matt Dumba | RD | 28 | MIN | $6M | 79 | 4 | 14 | 3 x $4.4m |
| 23 | Radko Gudas | RD | 33 | FLA | $2.5M | 72 | 2 | 17 | 3 x $3.3m |
| 24 | Erik Haula | C | 32 | NJD | $2.38M | 80 | 14 | 41 | 3 x $3.5m |
| 25 | Joonas Korpisalo | G | 29 | LAK | $1.3M | 39 | 2.87 | .914 | 2 x $2.6m |
| 26 | Jason Zucker | LW | 31 | PIT | $5.5M | 78 | 27 | 48 | 5 x $5.4m |
| 27 | Semyon Varlamov | G | 35 | NYI | $5M | 23 | 2.70 | .913 | 2 x $2.75m |
| 28 | Alex Kerfoot | W | 28 | TOR | $3.5M | 82 | 10 | 32 | 4 x $3.5m |
| 29 | Shayne Gostisbehere | LD | 30 | CAR | $4.5M | 75 | 13 | 41 | 4 x $4.8m |
| 30 | Luke Schenn | RD | 33 | TOR | $850K | 70 | 4 | 22 | 1 x $1.6m |
| 31 | Garnet Hathaway | RW | 31 | BOS | $1.5M | 84 | 13 | 22 | 4 x $2m |
| 32 | Connor Clifton | RD | 27 | BOS | $1M | 78 | 5 | 23 | 2 x $1.75m |
| 33 | James van Riemsdyk | W | 34 | PHI | $7M | 61 | 12 | 29 | 1 x $1.8m |
| 34 | Gustav Nyquist | LW | 33 | MIN | $5.5M | 51 | 11 | 27 | 2 x $3.2m |
| 35 | Pierre Engvall | RW | 27 | NYI | $2.25M | 76 | 17 | 30 | 4 x $4.1m |
| 36 | David Kampf | C | 28 | TOR | $1.5M | 82 | 7 | 27 | 2 x $1.8m |
| 37 | Evan Rodrigues | C | 29 | COL | $2M | 69 | 16 | 39 | 3 x $3.7m |
| 38 | Tomas Tatar | LW | 32 | NJD | $4.5M | 82 | 20 | 48 | 3 x $3.3m |
| 39 | Ian Cole | LD | 34 | TBL | $3M | 78 | 3 | 17 | 2 x $2.75m |
| 40 | Nick Foligno | C | 35 | BOS | $3.8M | 60 | 10 | 26 | 1 x $1.2m |
| 41 | Jesper Fast | RW | 31 | CAR | $2M | 80 | 10 | 29 | 2 x $2.3m |
| 42 | Nick Bjugstad | C | 30 | EDM | $900K | 78 | 17 | 29 | 2 x $2.3m |
| 43 | Erik Gustafsson | LD | 31 | TOR | $800K | 70 | 7 | 42 | 3 x $3.4m |
| 44 | Justin Holl | RD | 31 | TOR | $2M | 80 | 2 | 18 | 3 x $3m |
| 45 | Sean Monahan | C | 28 | MTL | $6.38M | 25 | 6 | 17 | 1 x $2m |
| 46 | Jonathan Drouin | C | 28 | MTL | $5.5M | 58 | 2 | 29 | 1 x $2m |
| 47 | Teddy Blueger | C | 28 | VGK | $2.2M | 63 | 4 | 16 | 2 x $1.1m |
| 48 | Noel Acciari | C | 31 | TOR | $1.25M | 71 | 13 | 21 | 2 x $1.5m |
| 49 | Matthew Phillips | RW | 25 | CGY | $750K | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 x $750k |
| 50 | Corey Perry | RW | 38 | TBL | $1M | 81 | 12 | 25 | 1 x $850k |
Contract Projections Courtesy of @AFPAnalytics
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