Taking a look at Frank Seravalli’s top NHL Free Agents list
Earlier this week, TSN’s Frank Seravalli put out an updated Free Agent Frenzy list counting down the top players who are set to hit the open market this summer. Let’s go through some of the interesting names on the list and ones that weren’t included.
1. @Dougie Hamilton
The top free agent this summer is Hurricanes defenceman Dougie Hamilton, who’s reaching the end of the seven-year deal he signed with the Flames after getting traded from Boston in 2015. Carolina’s general manager, Don Waddell, said on the DFO Rundown that both sides have agreed to put off contract talks until after the season.
There’s an added wrinkle to free agency this year with the Seattle Kraken expansion draft happening in June. Teams are less inclined to sign players before the expansion draft because it means they’ll have to be protected from Seattle. A team like Carolina waiting until late June to sign Hamilton would free up a spot to protect another player.
That said, there have also been reports that there’s a large gap between Hamilton’s ask and what the team wants to pay. The Canes have roughly $30 million in cap room to work with this off-season.
Not Listed… @Alex Ovechkin, @Ryan Getzlaf, @Gabriel Landeskog
Next up, we’ll look at three big names who didn’t make the list: Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Getzlaf, and Gabriel Landeskog.
Seravalli notes that, as of right now, it doesn’t appear as though any of these three captains is going to leave their respective teams this off-season. Both Washington and Colorado are contenders right now, so Ovechkin or Landeskog moving on would obviously be shocking. The same can’t be said for the Ducks, so there’s a possibility Getzlaf goes Stanley Cup chasing elsewhere.
As mentioned earlier, the upcoming expansion draft has likely played a role in why these players haven’t inked extensions. The Caps and Avs can open another prospection slot if they reach a handshake agreement with their captain and wait to sign the contract after the expansion draft.
2. @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. @Tyson Barrie, 13. @Adam Larsson
There are three Edmonton Oilers on the list and two in the top five.
The Oilers are apparently working on a four-year deal with Larsson and they’ve been working with Nugent-Hopkins on an extension as well. Barrie, on the other hand, will likely test the open market after leading the league in scoring among defencemen this season.
3. @Taylor Hall, 7. @Tuukka Rask, 21. @David Krejci
Hall wasn’t able to secure a long-term contract to his liking last off-season so he took a one-year deal in Buffalo instead. The Sabres were a disaster but Hall has found his groove since getting traded to a legitimate contender in Boston. In 16 games with the Bruins, Hall scored eight goals and put up 14 points. A good playoff run will surely earn him a big payday.
Will that be in Boston? The Bruins have a lot of flexibility as $14,250,000 to Rask and Krejci is coming off the books. It would make sense for the Bruins to bring back Rask but moving on from Krejci would give them more than enough room to keep Hall around.
30. @Michael Bunting
An interesting name at the end of the list is Michael Bunting, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Coyotes who has put up big-time numbers in the AHL. Bunting scored 19 points in 16 games with the Tuscon Roadrunners in 2021 and had 49 points in 58 games in 2019-20.
Bunting is a Group VI free agent who many believe could be an under-the-radar late-bloomer, such as @Jonathan Marchessault was in Florida a few years ago.