Pool Worthy Restricted Free Agents Still on the Shelf

We're turning the page on the calendar today and we're drawing ever closer to NHL training camps, the first sniff of real homework for us hockey poolies.  Rookie camps are just about to open up, but those kids are either locked in or heading back to the lower ranks after they're done, but the guys that are still big question marks today are the unsigned restricted free agents.

Seven players, who were hockey pool worthy last year, still remain unsigned and are the focus of this post today.  All of them are coming out of their respective entry-level deals and the clubs are now trying to determine whether or not they want to sign them long-term or bridge their deal by a couple of years, playing the wait and see game, trying to confirm whether or not they are worthy of being signed long-term.

Last year, at this time, there were also seven players on the list and they fell pretty quickly after this post, so I'm sure most of the fans of these teams and players are hoping for much of the same this year.

The biggest fish in the restricted free agent pond is William Nylander and his next contract will certainly have a greater effect on the salary cap status of the years after the 2019 season, more than it will the 2019 season.

There's no question that the kid is talented and fits in like a corner piece on a puzzle, but the question may remain... is he THE corner piece that the Maple Leafs need to pay top dollar for?  He's already popped off 135 points in his first three seasons with Toronto, so where is the issue on paying this kid?  With Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner looking for extensions already, John Tavares now in tow, Frederik Andersen anchoring the team and a blueline that isn't cheap, money begins to appear to be quite tight, starting in the 2020 season.

Of course, the whole picture is going to appear much clearer, when Nylander signs his next deal, but whether or not the Leafs will be able to get a hometown discount from the 22-year old Swede for keeping the gang together will loom large for the future of this team.

Things aren't nearly as serious in Buffalo, as they are in Toronto, which makes the Sam Reinhart situation a little less interesting, perhaps, but on the grand scale for the Sabres, not any less important.

It may have taken a little while, but the 22-year old has really started to show what he is really made of with this team, finishing with 50 points in 82 games last season, knowing full well it could have been better, if Jack Eichel remained healthy for the whole year.

The Sabres are growing a pretty good looking franchise on paper these days, having some poor years yield some top end prospects and they have been able to take advantage of some teams selling off pieces, which have aided in making the team look a little bit more competitive.  Getting Reinhart locked in will be a key piece of this puzzle moving forward, but it doesn't seem like it is a slam dunk to get done, which could be troubling.  By my count, the Sabres have $5.4 million in cap space with their current 23-man roster, so money shouldn't really be an issue today and with free agency looming next summer, they should have even more space.

One of the lesser-known players on this list, New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood, popped out of the woodwork (pardon the pun) and snuck his way onto the pool worthy list of scorers, ranking 197th among all forwards with 32 points in 76 games.

This could be a tricky negotiation, one that the player really doesn't have a lot of leverage on, but the difference between 'what have you done for me lately?' and 'what is your potential for the coming year?' really begins to settle in here.

After two solid seasons, playing in 136 games, it does appear that he is now an everyday player for this club and he may have a case for being paid like one, even though he could possibly be thought of as a bubble player, thanks to some only 'okay' numbers.

One would have to believe that the bridge deal is far more likely for Wood at this point, as much as the player may want a little bit more of a long-term commitment.  I don't think there will be much of a hockey pool commitment from many teams at this year's draft, since he was such a bubble player at the end of last year and there are some up-and-coming rookies ready to take his place (or be better).

Now we get into all the defensemen that are left on the list and we start in Calgary, where the newly-acquired Noah Hanifin is apparently "super close" to a new deal and that is good news for the Flames.

Thanks to the recent buyout of forward Troy Brouwer, the Flames opened up a little more cap space to get a deal done with Hanifin, as reports are suggesting that the deal could be in the 5-year range, worth north of $5 million per season.

In giving up a franchise defenseman like Dougie Hamilton in the trade that brought Hanifin to Calgary, the Flames are destined to pay Hanifin like he is a franchise defender, as he appears to be on the verge of being one of those guys.

With what has already been said in the media reports and still a couple weeks until players start arriving for training camp, there shouldn't be any reason to panic... for now.

I think we're all still waiting to see if Shea Theodore is really going to live up to all the hype he has had in the last couple of years, albeit he made it onto the hockey pool worthiness list after last season's effort of 29 points in 61 games.

We still haven't seen a full 82-game season out of him yet, last year was really his first full season, so there's still a little bit more proof needed that he is worthy of a long-term deal.  Somehow, I think this could still be the thinking for the Vegas Golden Knights, who do appear to be quite high on him, but did he really do enough to earn that big deal or will he still only manage a bridge deal out of it this summer.

If you believe what you have read, in terms of some of the projections that the Hockey News has given him for the coming season, 43 points, then maybe he has a little bit of leg to stand on, but the proof is really in the pudding and Theodore might be better suited for a small bridge deal, hoping that he can work out the kinks and be that full-time guy that everyone expects him to be.

The Winnipeg Jets and Josh Morrissey are likely in some pretty interesting talks, in terms of settling their restricted free agency differences. 

The Jets are another one of those teams that have to look much further ahead down the road with these negotiations, as they have lots of work to do in the next year or so, just to lock down the core group, hopefully for the long-term.  Morrissey will need a new deal now, but Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba will also need new deals in the next 12-to-13 months and that is going to take up a lot of cap space immediately.

I am currently showing the Jets having a 23-man roster and $8.5 million in cap space, but the cap hit that Morrissey gets in his new deal will creep over the length of the deal and where he stands right now, that could put a pretty big dent in what the team could offer the four other players soon.

Today, I could see a guy like Morrissey fetch about $4 million per season, if he was to re-sign long-term and that could be a good deal for both the club and the player, but the argument for upside is certainly there and is probably what is hindering the deal getting done.

And finally, closely following Morrissey in Winnipeg is the same situation between Darnell Nurse and the Edmonton Oilers, certainly looking long-term, but really keeping an eye on the pennies spent.

Nurse is another kid that has plenty of hype around what his future looks like in the NHL and it is certainly bright, but the Oilers will already struggle to afford what that could be worth down the road, as they may struggle with the cost of him, just outside of his entry-level deal.

I currently show the Oilers with a 23-man roster and only $2.2 million in cap space today and he'll be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4 million per season, much like Morrissey above him here.  If he was to pan out to his expectations, his contracts would be worth much more than that and that's a scary thought for this team, which has already allocated a lot of cap space to very few players.

I don't think it is out of the question to think that the Oilers will be forced to make a move or two, just to make sure they have Nurse on the roster for the coming season.

Gone to Europe (Aug 24)

NHL free agency has been a long process for unrestricted free agent defenseman Toby Enstrom, so much so, that he's decided to head home to Sweden, signing with MODO on Friday.  Enstrom is coming off a 5-year deal, which paid him $5.75 million per season and he wasn't able to perform at a high level, thanks to numerous injury problems over the last few years.  The last season where Enstrom was worthy of being picked in the pool was back in 2015, when he finished 70th among all defensemen in scoring.  Since then, he's been a fringe player or not at all. 

Pool Worthy RFAs Not Qualified (Jun 25)

The Philadelphia Flyers are letting goaltender Petr Mrazek head to market, as they did not qualify him as a restricted free agent by Monday's deadline.  Mrazek was brought in by the Flyers at the trade deadline, when the team was running into some serious injury troubles in their crease and Mrazek got them through a jam and helped them into the playoffs, where he saw no love, upon the return of Brian Elliott and eventually, Michal Neuvirth.

Mrazek ranked 36th among all goalies in hockey pool goalies, finishing the 2018 season with 14 wins and 36 points in 39 appearances between Detroit and Philadelphia.  He should be able to find some work out there on the open market, but a starting job might still be hard to come by.

The San Jose Sharks also didn't qualify a pool worthy RFA on Monday's deadline, letting defenseman Dylan Demelo head to market after a pretty decent season in the tank. Demelo had 20 assists in 63 games, ranking 99th among all defensemen in scoring.  The Sharks are planning to make a big splash on July 1st, if you listen to all the pundits out there, so they can't be bogged down by the fringe scoring players, who are looking for big raises... which is only my guess.

Pool Worthy RFAs Not Qualified (Jun 22)

The Buffalo Sabres announced this week that goaltender Robin Lehner will not be qualified before Monday's deadline, which will make him an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, when the NHL calendar officially ticks over.

Lehner, 26, appeared in 53 games for the Sabres, including the Winter Classic, and he picked up 14 wins and 34 points, good enough for 39th among all goalies, outside of the top 31, where you'd want starting goalies to be.

The Sabres will be in need of a new number one or a 1B, with Linus Ullmark being the current favourite to take the top job, until free agency rolls around, of course.  Buffalo has lots of cap space to work with, so they'll be a team to watch this summer.

Top 10 Potential Pool Worthy Unrestricted Free Agents

Now that we've finally made it to the summer, we can finally start talking about free agency and what an amazing class we're going to have this year... okay, amazing is selling it a little too high.  No, it is going to be a very interesting group of players, especially the ones noted here, the top 10 pool worthy players, in order of their scoring numbers.

Last year, the biggest interest was going to be in what the Vegas Golden Knights were going to do in their first free agency period and they did some, but this year, there are a couple of Knights on the list of potential free agent list and they could be playing a role in how the summer shakes out for a number of teams.

In total, there are 30 unrestricted free agents, who finished in the pool worthiness conversation, which is the top 200 forwards, top 100 defensemen and top 50 goalies.  These will be the headlining players, when we head to the free agent frenzy in July.  For now, we'll look at the top 10 from those 30 players and maybe we'll offer some predictions.

There's no bigger prize heading to free agency right now, than John Tavares of the New York Islanders.  The Islanders do have a few weeks to try and nail down their franchise player, but as we inch closer and closer to July 1st, the hope for re-signing him to a long-term contract shrinks considerably.

With 37 goals and 84 points in 82 games for the Islanders last season, he's far and away the top player on this list and teams are going to line up to talk to Tavares, hoping to lock him down and build a contender around him.

Tavares is now 27 years old and 1st overall pick in 2009 has offered up some of his best years already to the Islanders, but I would say that there is more to come from him, given a better opportunity and since he hasn't re-signed yet, he might be thinking the same.

How does one get Tavares?  We're looking at long-term, eight years, likely in the $8.5 million range, Steven Stamkos money.  There are lots of teams that could potentially fit him in, but the Islanders re-signing him is still a possibility, while the Maple Leafs might kick the tires, as well as the Rangers, Red Wings and maybe even the Golden Knights.  Where he signs is anyone's guess.

There's no better add to one's resume than a Stanley Cup, especially at the time of free agency.  The NHL's top scoring defenseman, John Carlson of the Washington Capitals, will qualify for unrestricted free agency and if you read yesterday's Pool Outlook for Washington, it would have been hard not to notice how important he is and how unlikely it will be for the Capitals to re-sign him, given their current cap situation.

The 28-year old defender finished 2018 in 49th overall in pool scoring, scoring 15 goals and 68 points in all 82 games, in somewhat of a down year for defensemen scoring.  Carlson is a quarterback on the power play and has turned into a very dependable player in his own end as well, so he will be commanding some top dollars.

What are we expecting to see for Carlson this summer?  This will be another long-term deal and he has an argument to be paid among the best defensemen in the league, really setting the table for some of the other big ticket contract extensions, which we could see soon.  Eight years will be a must and he'll hover around Victor Hedman or Brent Burns money, $7.875 million (Hedman) or more.  This will be hard for the Capitals to stomach, if they can, so I can see him hitting the market in July.

The first of the darlings from Las Vegas is forward David Perron, who had a bit of a resurgence under the bright lights and the theatrics of Sin City.  Perron was a solid influence on the young team, as they shocked everyone in the hockey world, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Perron wasn't healthy through the entire playoff stretch, even found his way up to the press box as a healthy scratch too, but when we look at his numbers from the regular season, he's certainly worthy of being on this list.

The 30-year old forward finished the season with 16 goals and 66 points in only 70 games, good enough for 59th overall in hockey pool scoring.  That will likely mean that he is up for a decent raise from his $3.75 million that he counted against the cap last season.

Given his age, a long-term deal will only likely last four or five years, which isn't too bad, but the money will be a tough negotiation, unless someone sees some real potential to keep those scoring numbers up.  I could see his total hit $5 million per season on a new deal, but anything more is a real gamble.  Vegas would do well to re-sign Perron, possibly getting a discount to do so, but there will be teams looking to boost their offense and Perron could be that guy.

Thomas Vanek has been fairly well-traveled in the last few years and when the Vancouver Canucks signed him to a 1-year deal last summer, he was offered some pretty good minutes to play and he did well with them.  The Canucks were able to sell him at the trade deadline, offering him up to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where they were hoping that he would come in and help them into the promised land.  Sadly, Vanek wasn't enough and the Jackets couldn't get out of the opening round.  Still, Vanek's numbers were good and here he is on the list.

Vanek finished 103rd overall in hockey pool scoring, scoring 24 goals and 56 points in 80 games between Vancouver and Columbus, improving upon his 2017 numbers and now the 34-year old should have a reasonable lineup of teams to talk to him about a new deal.

The expectation here will be another 1-year deal, but a team could swoop in with a 2-year contract, trying to squeeze whatever offense he has left to give.  Last year's deal was in the $2 million range and I could see a team give him a slight raise for a 1-year deal or about the same for a 2-year pact.  It will be all about the opportunity to win, in a best-case scenario, but we'll have to see what's out there for him.

The youth movement in Toronto is going to start costing a whole lot more money in the next year or two, so it comes as no surprise that the Maple Leafs are going to be parting ways with 29-year old forward James Van Riemsdyk.  The gritty forward has been a decent goal scorer in recent years and he'll bring a great net-front presence to any team in need of one, but it will certainly come at a cost.

It wasn't Van Riemsdyk's best season in recent memory, but 36 goals and 54 points in 81 games isn't anything to sneeze at, especially that goal total.  He was good enough for 113th in pool scoring overall, 82nd among all forwards and if he was to find a really good fit, that total could bump back up to 60 or more points.

I think the competition for a goal scorer like Van Riemsdyk could make for an interesting bidding war, which could land him a pretty solid (and overly expensive) deal.  The team that takes him on will probably throw both term and cap space at him and he's the kind of guy that a team will overspend on.  Seven years?  $6.5 million per?  I'm not sure that I'd pay that much, but someone might.

Another one of those rental players at the deadline, the Winnipeg Jets got a really good stretch out of Paul Stastny in the 2018 season, after acquiring him from the St. Louis Blues.  Stastny had a monster cap hit in the 2018 season, but the Jets had just enough room to sneak him in and he nearly fit the bill to its entirety, helping the Jets to the Western Conference Finals, but that was all.  He's still a very serviceable offensive option, but he still hasn't done enough to lift a team above and beyond yet.

Between St. Louis and Winnipeg, Stastny played in all 82 games, scoring 16 goals and 53 points, which was good enough for 118th overall in pool scoring, 86th among all forwards.  That isn't quite good enough for his $7 million cap hit last season, so he might have to swallow some pride and take a close listen to all the offers that he'll receive in this off-season.

Stastny is already 32 years old, which means that the offers could be in a wide array of possibilities.  A short-term richer deal, all the way to a 4-year deal, which could be a little easier to stomach in the cap hit department, maybe the $4.5 million range.  It's not going to be a bad deal, but he's not a $7 million man anymore.

The 2018 season wasn't supposed to feature nearly as much of Cam Ward in Carolina as it did, but Scott Darling didn't have the year that the team's management was hoping for, when they signed Darling to a new starter's deal.  No, Ward had to come in and try and salvage what he could of this season and that gave him some pretty decent numbers for the end of the year and it gave him inclusion to this list.

The 34-year old keeper is the top goalie on the list, having appeared in 43 games last season, winning 23 and collecting 50 points in total.  He was the 24th ranked goalie on the overall list, but I'm sure there are still plenty of questions out there about what he has left to give.

There are not a lot of teams in need of more goaltending, but teams like Buffalo, Chicago or Long Island could take a chance on a guy like Ward, especially on a short-term, 1-year deal.  All three of those teams have plenty of question marks about how they'll proceed with their crease workers, so a $2 million deal to Ward could at least bridge the gap, before they find someone who can take the crease for the long-term.

The cap hit that James Neal had in 2018 made him a keen candidate for poaching by the Vegas Golden Knights at the expansion draft last year, as the Nashville Predators were growing faster than what that lump of salary could allow for, so off he went.  The Golden Knights made very good use of the 30-year old and he was a great leader for this young team and he was able to put up some decent numbers at the same time.

Neal potted 25 goals and 44 points in 71 games for the expansion club and was very helpful in the playoffs, as the Golden Knights made it all the way to the Finals. 

Vegas still has plenty of salary cap room at the start of this off-season and trying to convince Neal to stay could be one of their top priorities, but what they offer him to stay may not be what he could get on the open market.  I'm sure Neal has moved more than enough times in his career, so term will likely be very important, getting to that 5-year range, possibly still in the $5 million range as well.  That might be a bit steep for the Golden Knights, but that could be what he lands for before the end of the summer.  The guy knows how to win, so he's got that working for him.

The third trade deadline rental player on the market is rugged forward Patrick Maroon, who was shipped out of Edmonton to head to New Jersey and join the refreshed Devils.  Maroon really cut his teeth with the Ducks, on a pretty good team, but when he arrived in Edmonton, he really couldn't translate his game to the fast pace that the Oilers were playing with, so he was a good candidate for a move at the deadline this year.  With the Devils, he didn't add much of an added dimension, especially in the playoffs, so the free agent market seems very likely for him in a few weeks.

It wasn't like Maroon had a bad year, he's on this list, right?  The 30-year old finished with 17 goals and 43 points in 74 games between Edmonton and New Jersey, which is still alright.  He will have to find a team that suits his style of play, which could be difficult in the NHL, which has really moved to a speed game.

I don't think Maroon has the legs to stand on, when it comes to looking for a long-term deal, so I'm thinking that if he can get himself a new deal, it may only top out at two years, still down around the $2 million range. 

Much like Van Riemsdyk above, Tyler Bozak is also getting squeezed out of the picture in Toronto, especially as a guy that carried a cap hit north of $4 million last season and the production and ice-time has really started to fall off.  The 32-year old Bozak isn't going to be a part of the youth movement and a trip to the open market seems exceptionally likely in July.

Bozak finished with 11 goals and 43 points in 81 games this season, down from a 55-point season the year before, but it was still good enough for 140th among all forwards.  With the youth movement in Toronto already taking away his ice-time, it would be very interesting to see what he could do on a team that offers him some 2nd line minutes.

Given his age, it will be a shorter-term deal that gets the pen to paper on his new deal and it could possibly pay him back in the $3.5 to $4 million range.  Since there are limited options out there on the open market, Bozak ends up being one of the top forwards to land and someone is bound to give him a good deal.

Pool Worthy Restricted Free Agents Still on the Shelf

Last year at this time, the list of unsigned restricted free agents was actually quite stunning and there was some 11th hour work done by NHL teams to finally lure players back into their respective jerseys and for one of those players, Valeri Nichushkin, he opted to go back home to Russia, where he'll play for another season in 2018.

This time around, we have a good number of top end free agents still negotiating or playing some serious hardball, which is already leading the rumour mill down the usual dark path of potential trades and other miscellaneous unrest.

Most of the names on the list were pointed out already on the pool projection posts that I had put up a couple of weeks ago, but this is just a quick refresher, as we're now a month away from the draft and you may or may not have already started your homework.  It's probably good to know where they stand, as training camps are opening in a couple of weeks as well.

The slick scoring David Pastrnak has been the biggest focus of trade rumours since the middle of August, as the Bruins may struggle to convince the 21-year old, who scored 34 goals last season, that he may need to bridge out a deal to help the team's cap situation for a couple of years. With players at this age now getting paid, it could be a really tough sell.  The latest from the beginning of the week was suggesting that the Bruins have offered up $6 million per season over numerous years, but it still sounds like it's a bit short.

The projections in place for Pastrnak are suggesting that he could certainly repeat his 70-point performance in the 2018 season and that would make him into a solid 2nd round pick in this year's pool draft.  This also has the best chance of a long-term holdout coming too, which would certainly decimate his overall pool value.

One of last season's big bargain picks in the hockey pool draft, Alexander Wennberg of the Columbus Blue Jackets, may still be flying under the radar to some, but soon, he likely will be a household name.

The 22-year old Swede finished last season ranked 62nd overall in pool scoring, 42nd among all forwards and Stacey C. was able to snag him with an 11th round pick (252nd overall) in last year's draft. That's almost 200 spots better than his draft selection and his trajectory is certainly heading in the right direction.

The Hockey News has him projected at 62 points for the coming season and that's going to be a pretty hefty price tag to match up to, something the Blue Jackets are going to have to consider for the long-term, I'm thinking.

A cornerstone piece in Vancouver is still left unsigned at this point in the summer, but the contract talks with Bo Horvat and the Canucks have been reported to be on track.

Horvat has been making strides in the right direction over his first three seasons with the Canucks, hitting career-high marks last season with 20 goals and 52 points in 81 games.

With the trend line still going up for the 22-year old, it is expected that the new deal will be of the long-term variety and if the reports of good communication between the two sides is true, it shouldn't be very long now.

I think we're all in agreement, that this is a huge year for Sam Bennett and his future with the Flames.  The first hurdle, however, is the contract that is going to allow him to play this season.

The Flames are not exactly in the best shape, cap-wise, to give Bennett something long-term, nor has his numbers given him much of a leg to stand on in negotiations for a long-term deal, so a quick bridge deal would be ideal for both team and player.

Once Bennett is locked into a deal though, however long it turns out to be, he can finally start realizing more of that potential that made him the 4th overall pick in the 2014 entry draft.

The Detroit Red Wings and their salary cap hell that they are going through this off-season has been keeping them from signing one of their key restricted free agents, forward Andreas Athanasiou, and there have been some rumblings that this could cause the 23-year old to depart to Russia for the year.  There is allegedly an offer on the table from the KHL, but the player wants to stay in North America, if at all possible, and so we wait.

There have been all kinds of rumours about the Red Wings still trying to make a deal or two to help their cap situation and they might to make more than one, if they can't open up that extra space for this dynamic winger.

Last season, Athanasiou picked up 18 goals in 64 games played with Detroit and the Wings can ill-afford to be without him, if they wish to be competitive this season, otherwise, it's going to be a very long season in the new Little Caesar's Arena.

The Devils are not struggling with their cap numbers, if you were to believe they weren't a budget team, but they do have to determine how much of a long-term piece of the puzzle Damon Severson will be down the road.

Severson's scoring trend has certainly been going the right way since he jumped into the league full-time in the 2015 season and once signed, he will be expected to eclipse his career-high in points, which he set at 31 last year.  That was good enough for 51st among all defenders, which means he has some real upside to be realized yet.

I am expecting a long-term deal for Severson, as he's a big piece of their future and he certainly has the talent to be the guy for them.  I think it will only get better for him, once the team around him improves to playoff level as well.

Columbus forward Josh Anderson rounds out the list of players that were pool worthy last season and still unsigned.  The 23-year old finally made the jump to the full-time roster last season after a couple of seasons making some brief appearances and he did not disappoint, when he finally made it.  A 17-goal season was a good reward for the team that showed him some faith in having him up there.

Now, the Blue Jackets have to figure out where he's going to play this season and how much that is worth to them.  Unlike Wennberg above, Anderson is more of a depth/role guy, who had some upside to him last season and he would be the sort of player that would likely benefit from a bridge deal, adding the motivation of earning a long-term contract and the team could slide him into their budget easily.

The early projections on the season don't see Anderson reaching the pool worthy heights again, but maybe that bridge deal is what he needs to show us all up.

Pool Worthy RFA's Not Qualified (Jun 16)

Reports surfaced on Friday morning, the deadline to qualify restricted free agents, so teams could retain the restricted free agency rights, that the Montreal Canadiens opted not to give defenseman Nikita Nesterov a qualifying offer, thus he'll be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.  The Canadiens still have time to exclusively negotiate with the 24-year old defenseman, but usually these decisions come with the idea that there is no intention to keep the player on for the future.

Last season, Nesterov finished with 4 goals and 17 points in 48 games between Tampa Bay and Montreal, finishing among a group of defenders at 17 points, thus considering him pool worthy at 105th in defensemen scoring.  He could be a viable asset somewhere in the league and one we'll keep our eye out for.

Top 10 Potential Pool Worthy Unrestricted Free Agents

This whole off-season doesn't quite have the same linear path that the last number of years have had on the blog site, especially since it has been 17 years since we've had any expansion into the NHL, but here we are, awaiting the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights and they too, will have a serious effect on everything in this off-season, including unrestricted free agency.

So, when we're taking players and their possible destinations into consideration, even today, everything does get a bit cloudier with the open nature that the Golden Knights will provide, having an extra window to negotiate deals and use those deals as their picks in the expansion draft.

Now, these top 10 players are based on their hockey pool scoring numbers, not quite their perceived value in the market place, where it could go just about any which way.

Peter Budaj split time between the Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 season and got the bulk of the work when Jonathan Quick went down with his serious lower-body injury, giving him plenty of opportunity to play, win games and pick up points, to which he did a pretty good job.  Getting dealt at the deadline to the Lightning put a kibosh on to his string of starts, but he still finished with more than enough points to take top spot on this list.

Even with 30 wins and 75 points last season, 9th among all goalies, there are very few places that even would consider him for a starting role, which will likely keep him from getting that big pay day that you would think a goalie with those sort of numbers would get.

There's no doubt that he was a bargain at $600,000 last season, but if he's looking for that big pay day, like starting money, my guess is that he'll be heading back to Europe to find it.  Even a team like Buffalo, Calgary or Vegas, all of which need goaltending today, won't likely spend the big bucks to have him in their net.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $1.25 million

The up-and-down career of Steve Mason has fairly well-documented and as much as he has shown some flashes of brilliance, he certainly hasn't shown the steadiness of a goalie that is going to give a team confidence through the long haul of the regular season and into the playoffs.

The 2017 season was much of the same, as he split time with Michal Neuvirth and was kind of spotty, when his platoon partner went down with injury for an extended stretch, leading to the Flyers not being in the playoffs at the end of the year.

Mason is now coming off of a deal, which paid him $4.1 million per year over three seasons and he provided no value in there, as the Flyers only made the playoffs once, in 2016, losing in the 1st round, in that time.  This will certainly hurt Mason's market value and maybe even hurt his possibility of finding a job where he can be a number one as well.

Last season, he was still good for 26 wins and 59 points, but I would suggest that those numbers, much like Budaj's, are about to take a tumble with whatever new assignment he finds.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $2.5 million

The top forward of the bunch on this list, could be considered one of the top prizes of the summer, if someone was to land T.J. Oshie.  He leads the unrestricted free agent pool, as it can happen today, with 33 goals and had 56 points in 68 games for the Washington Capitals.

Oshie has hovered in the low-to-mid 50's in points over the last three seasons, also dealing with minor knocks and injuries as well in that time, playing between St. Louis and Washington.  There is just something about his game, however, that screams, "he should be putting up much better numbers than he actually does."

When the Capitals brought him to town in the summer of 2015, we were all thinking that the offensive system could really tap his potential as a scorer, but all we have really seen is the same ol' thing for the last two seasons.

His numbers make him one of the more highly sought after players, surely, in this off-season, and some team is likely going to improve upon his $4.175 million cap hit he had last season with the Caps, but I would question whether or not that team is going to get real value for their investment.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $5.5 million

The top rental player possibly available, come July 1st, is defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who the Washington Capitals paid a pretty penny to have come in and help anchor their blueline for a playoff run this spring.  Of course, as we all know, Shattenkirk did not provide the offense that was expected of him, which may or may not have lifted the Capitals past the Penguins in the 2nd round of the playoffs, and here he sits, awaiting his fate in the marketplace.

There is very little doubt that Shattenkirk is a very gifted puck moving defenseman, but his numbers, although trending in the right direction, are not exactly showing that he is among the elite scoring defenders... yet.  He has publicly argued that he needs a spot on a team, where he can have those top minutes and then his numbers should improve, and that is what he'll be looking for in negotiations with teams in this off-season.

His 2017 campaign between St. Louis and Washington saw him score 13 goals and 56 points, which was good enough for 4th among all defensemen in scoring, but he was still 20 points behind Brent Burns and 16 points behind Erik Karlsson for elite scoring numbers.  Vegas would do quite well to have him tapped as a possible UFA to talk to and give him a contract offer, as they don't have any defensemen yet, let alone a stud for Shattenkirk to play behind, and it would give the player the minutes that he needs.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $5.75 million

There are nine pool worthy goaltenders, potentially hitting the free agent market, but Brian Elliott is the last of them to be in the top 10 for scoring among all players.  The goaltending market is going to be a bit crowded and it will be more like a game of musical chairs, before it is all said and done.

Elliott had a pretty rocky start to the 2017 with the Calgary Flames, but his game and his familiarity with his new team came around at the right time and the guy who was signed on to be the number one in Calgary, did just that and helped guide them into the playoffs.  The hard-working style of Elliott is going to make him into one of the more sought-after goalies on the market, if he makes it, but it won't -necessarily mean he's going to get a number one job, unless it is in a city like Buffalo, Vegas or he re-signs in Calgary.

The underappreciated 32-year old keeper doesn't have the flash of some of his fellow crease monkeys, but he can get the job done when called upon.  Elliott was good for 26 wins and 56 points in 49 appearances for the Flames, also dealing with injury and cold spells throughout, which did hinder his numbers, but he still finished 80th overall in pool scoring, 21st among all goalies.

Teams that need goalies, often have the need for a better blueline corps as well, but the Flames were certainly coming around, so I could certainly see him re-sign for a bit more than last season, especially since he finally did come around and feel more comfortable with the team.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $3.5 million

We could be seeing a fair bit of Radim Vrbata on these lists over the next couple of years, as the 36-year old is now getting to the point of his career that it will be a lot of 1-year deals.  Any potential deal that would give him term, would be a risky cloud that overhangs over a team's cap budget, as the 35+ deals are hard to shake, if anything was to happen to his game.

Nevertheless, Vrbata did see a resurgence in his game in the 2017 season, when he rejoined the Coyotes in the off-season, doubling his point total from a year ago and finishing with 20 goals and 55 points in 81 games with the desert dogs.

Arizona has some money to spend and some learning curves to still manage in their lineup, so a return would be most favourable to both player and team, giving them some much needed veteran leadership, as long as the price is right.  Vrbata took a solid pay cut to join the Coyotes last season, only signing for $1 million for the season, but he showed that he still has some game left and could be a serviceable player to any team in the NHL, if used appropriately.

I don't necessarily see him as one of the first players to come off the list on July 1st, but his 20 goals is tied for 5th among UFA's this summer, so he won't be on there too long.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $3 million

The return of Alexander Radulov to the NHL was a much to-do story line, as the Montreal Canadiens were able to sway his services their way, offering up a very significant package for a 1-year deal to see if he could play in the North American style and succeed after his failed attempts in Nashville.  The style and systems that the Canadiens offered up to him were quite beneficial to his game and he was able to make an impact with the club, scoring 18 goals and 54 points in 76 games, good enough for 92nd overall in pool scoring.

Sure, those aren't the kind of numbers that he saw while playing in the KHL, where he was among the league leaders in scoring, but they were impacting numbers in a league that is arguably much tougher to play in.

The negotiations between Radulov and the Habs have been made semi-public, as the 30-year old forward is looking for an extended term on a new deal and his potential cap hit is going to be fairly significant, likely more so than the $5.75 million he had last season.  Although, with Vegas in the picture and the Golden Knights already luring a top end Russian to their side in this off-season already, Montreal may have some real competition in putting pen to paper with this enigmatic player.  Only time will tell.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $6.25 million

Another rental player set to hit the open market in July is forward Patrick Eaves, who split his 2017 season between the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks.  Eaves was a huge contributor to both teams in the season, but he couldn't carry the Stars to any sort of success, so they dealt him away for futures to help Anaheim move forward in the playoffs.  Unfortunately for the Ducks, injury struck and he was of very little help, even though the team made it all the way to the Conference Finals, eventually losing out to the Predators.

Eaves scored 32 goals in the 2017 season, ranking him just behind Oshie in the category for UFA's, but the 33-year old doesn't quite have the youth behind him like his fellow free agent goal scorer, although it isn't by much.  Eaves finished 113th overall in pool scoring with 51 points in 79 games, so no matter where he lands, he should be good enough to contribute at a reasonable level and if he can see those 2017 numbers again, he could be a great pick-up this summer.

At 33 years old, however, he'll likely be looking for a deal that gives him some security in years and his numbers should dictate a good raise over his $1 million deal from last season, but will a team overpay to get his services?  Probably.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $4 million

The Columbus Blue Jackets took a measured gamble on forward Sam Gagner, giving him a very cheap deal (1 year at $650,000) after a 2016 campaign split between the Flyers and their AHL club and the gamble paid off.  Gagner found a team and a system that he could play in and he became relevant once again at the top level.

Gagner rewarded the Jackets' gamble with 18 goals and 50 points in 81 games, still playing his streaky ways, off and on, but helped the club excel in the Metropolitan Division in the regular season, but he may have disappeared in the playoffs, which isn't too surprising, given his history.

Nevertheless, given that he is on this list, he had himself a pretty good year and if I were him, I wouldn't let it get to his head too much, because it can come and go, just like that for him, as we've seen in the past.  There's lots of talent there, but desire and consistency is one thing he desperately lacks.  I think the Jackets would do well to bring him back, but only at a cost that makes sense to them.  If Gagner is going to take the money and run, it will likely be somewhere else and it would be fair to guess, that it would come with far poorer results.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $2.5 million

There will be lots of eyes on the San Jose Sharks and their potential free agents this summer and with Joe Thornton still being among the top 100 forwards in pool scoring as a 37-year old, he may still have some relevance in the league, of course you will likely be arguing "how much?" throughout the summer.

Thornton only put up 7 goals in the 2017 season and it wasn't until the midway part of the season until he was actually able to score a goal on an actual goaltender, so his playmaking abilities were what kept him afloat in this conversation, as a whole.

The Sharks have been showing that they are moving in a direction of youth over the last couple of seasons, appointing Joe Pavelski as captain and lessening the ice-time of both Thornton and Patrick Marleau, so it is very likely that they won't be interested in signing either of them, if either intend to return for another twirl.

Thornton has yet to win the big prize and a chance to do so would be in his best interest, even if it isn't with the Sharks, who are not that far away.  If I had to guess, I would think that Thornton could be a late summer signing for a competitive team, who is good with taking his leadership on and giving him a limited role for a reasonable dollar, as I just don't see the cap-strapped league giving him big dollars for a large role on a playoff-bound team.

Estimated cap hit for the 2018 season (and beyond): $2 million

Signed in Europe (Sep 20)

Reports on Monday morning said that Dallas Stars forward Valeri Nichushkin had his KHL rights dealt to CSKA Moscow, with the understanding that the 21-year old is not going to sign with the Stars, as long as their head coach, Lindy Ruff, was still in the job.  On Tuesday morning, the reports came down that the Russian winger did indeed sign a 2-year deal with his new KHL team, ending his current run in the NHL.

The Stars will retain his rights, thanks to qualifying him this Summer, but since Ruff still has two years left on his current deal, it doesn't seem likely that Nichushkin will make his way back any time soon.

Last season, Nichushkin had 29 points in 79 games with the Stars, just ranking him outside of the pool ranks, but still had lots of upside to achieve, making him an interesting pool target, if he was playing.

Pool Worthy Restricted Free Agents Still on the Shelf

Gambling on unsigned free agents at the hockey pool draft is a fun game, most of time, should work in your favour, but it's hard to say just how the relationship stands at the time, since it is generally speculation and hearsay, unless the player, his agent or the team publicly announce how the negotiations are going, but that's a move for a desperate side.

As we now open up in September, the World Cup teams are now gathering for their brief training camps and our list has a few players that will be taking part and in a couple of cases, they have said that there will be no signing of new deals during the tournament, a pretty good power move, if you ask me.

Let's have a look at who we're still waiting for through restricted free agency...

Topping the list, obviously with the most intrigue, is Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, who will be representing the North American under-23 team at the World Cup.  He has already said that his side won't get anything done during the tournament, which won't leave much time to get the deal done, but it is still adequate.

It's no secret that the two sides are looking for a long-term deal, despite coming out of his entry-level contract, but how long and how much might be very contentious for the two sides, more how much than how long.  Right now, the Flames have a projected 23-man roster with only $6.8 million in cap space, which might not be enough.

At a projected 75 points on my list, he is one of the top players available to start the season and he will undoubtedly go in the 1st round of my draft and a strong World Cup will certainly help his cause.  The question is, how much time will Gaudreau miss, waiting for his new deal?

Nikita Kucherov was a lock for the Russian World Cup team after two solid seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and his story continues to get more and more interesting, especially given that the Bolts have continued to be busy adding to their roster and consuming cap space, while he remains unsigned.

The 23-year old is going to be a key piece of Tampa's future and will command a pretty penny and a solid performance at the tournament will only help his cause.  Also coming out of his entry-level contract, it appears that Kucherov will also forego the bridge deal and look for something in the long-term variety.

Currently, Kucherov is projected for 70 points this season, but he will have to get that deal done to be worth that much at the hockey pool draft.  The Lightning only have about $4.5 million left under the cap with their current 23-man projected roster, so there may have to be more movement and shuffling done to get his deal under wraps.

Quietly becoming one of the game's better scoring defensemen, Rasmus Ristolainen might be making more noise when training camp opens for the Sabres, as he is still without a deal to play in the 2017 season.  Posting a 41-point season in 2016 really bumped him up a lot of lists, finishing 24th among all blueliners in scoring and certainly has the potential for more.

One would have to believe that the Sabres are still wanting to bridge the 21-year old out of his entry-level deal, before they get to a more long-term solution, but the numbers are really jumping off the page and that's what the player's camp will be banking on.  Unfortunately for the player, the team has all of the leverage in RFA negotiations, but the Sabres could really use him, if they are going to push for the playoffs this season.

Ristolainen is trending upwards and a 45-point projections is about where I have him right now, but if he isn't signed on draft day, it could be a bit of a wait.

The Washington Capitals and defenseman Dmitry Orlov opted not to go through the arbitration process, despite the player being eligible this summer, so it has been on good faith that the two sides would get their deal done before the season starts and now the countdown has begun.

The 25-year old Russian is set to take part in the World Cup in the coming weeks and he will certainly get a head start, trying to build upon a decent 2016 season, where he finished 52nd among all defensemen in scoring with 8 goals and 29 points in all 82 games for Washington.

Orlov is one of the few major RFA's to not be coming out of an entry-level deal, rather his last cap hit saw him up at the $2 million mark and he is likely looking for a raise on top of that.  The Caps only have about $3.35 million left under the ceiling with their current 23-man roster, not leaving much flexibility for the player or the team.  He could certainly be a candidate for a move, if negotiations fail.

The push for restricted free agent defensemen continues in Anaheim, as Hampus Lindholm still waits for a new deal with the Ducks.  The 22-year old had a little bit of a down season in the final year of his entry-level deal, but his potential is still quite high and that will be a big sticking point, I'm sure, when it comes to deciding on a bridge deal or something more long-term.

His 2016 campaign saw 10 goals and 28 points in 80 games for the Ducks, good enough to be 53rd among all defenders in scoring, but it was down from the 34-point season he had in 2015.  Nevertheless, he will still play for Sweden at the World Cup, taking the spot of injured defender Niklas Kronwall, showcasing his talents early for his contract negotiations.

Once signed, I am thinking that Lindholm should start realizing more of that potential, as his projection for the coming season is in the 35-point range and it could certainly go up from there, if all goes well.

The list of defensemen with huge upsides continues with Jacob Trouba in Winnipeg, as the Jets blueliner has been making some strides, despite being on a very crowded roster.

With a blueline that already boasts Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom, it is a struggle for Trouba to get those big minutes to really shine, but he certainly makes a good go of it, with the minutes that he is given.  In 81 games last season, the 22-year old finished with 6 goals and 21 points, ranking 75th among all defensemen in scoring.

With all of that depth and a lack of minutes, it's really hard to give high projections for Trouba, despite his skill level.  He should be able to break through and have a 30-point year, but it could be a little bit higher, if he was moved in a deal, like some of those trade rumours out there might suggest.

For the Jets, it will be about getting good value from the minutes he'll get and still being somewhat of a budget team, there is no way they are going to break the bank for Trouba.  A bridge deal would be most likely, but it is probably a tough sell and might be even tougher after he plays a large role on the North American under-23 side at the World Cup.

The Ducks have one more player on this list, which is likely complicating the discussions for a couple of players, instead of just one.  Forward Rickard Rakell, a 20-goal scorer for the team last season, is also in need of a new deal out of his entry-level contract and the Ducks could really use his name on the dotted line before the season starts.

Rakell played in 72 games for the club last season and finished with 43 points, ranking 115th among all forwards in scoring and the Ducks' depth at the forward position is rather shallow, heading towards training camp, so it is imperative that a deal gets done here.  The 23-year old will also feature for Team Sweden at the World Cup as another injury replacement, this time for Alex Steen of the Blues.

The depth in the forward ranks may hamper Rakell's overall season, which has his projection down a little from last year's scoring.  I only have him in the 40-point range to start, but that's assuming he can get signed for the coming year.

Anaheim's cap situation is looking rather thin, as they have a projected 24-man roster (one player set for the LTIR), coming in at $4.9 million under the ceiling with both Lindholm and Rakell to get inked.

Tobias Rieder was my intriguing player to watch for the Arizona Coyotes this season in one of my off-season posts, but he has still yet to sign a new deal for the 2017 season (and beyond).

The 23-year old German has been showing some flashes of brilliance, early on in his NHL career, but does struggle to find some consistent scoring.  His 2016 season was definitely a good one, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 82 games and he is certainly trending the right way.  So much so, he has been included on the roster for Team Europe at the upcoming World Cup, playing on a roster that is a collection of players from countries that don't have a lot of representation in the NHL.

I currently have him to bump up to the next scoring bracket in my projection list, hitting the 40-point mark on an exciting Coyotes team and he could be a big part of their future successes.  With that being said, he will probably get a nice raise, likely to take up a good portion of that LTIR relief that they will be dipping into this season.

The New York Rangers have one more key RFA to take care of this off-season, forward Jesper Fast.  The 24-year old Swede earned a full-time spot with the Rangers in the 2016 season, playing in 79 games for the club, scoring 10 goals and 30 points on the season.

The Rangers have been trying to retool their lineup to become younger, leaner and more cost efficient and Fast should be part of that long-term solution for the club, but the team's overhaul has plateaued some of the projections on a number of players, as their expectations should be close to what they've done in years past and Fast is no different, currently projected for 30 points again in the 2017 season.

Fast didn't make the cut for the Swedish World Cup team this time around, so there should be some extra time to get a deal done before training camp opens and then it will be interesting to see where he fits into the grand scheme of things.

The curious case of Valeri Nichushkin and the Dallas Stars.  The young Russian came shooting out of a cannon in the 2014 season, but ever since, has been dealing with injuries and has really been unable to get himself on track for a long NHL career.

In the 2016 season, he was able to play in 79 games for the club, scoring 9 goals and 29 points, but didn't quite have the confidence in the coaching staff when it came to playoff time and was a healthy scratch, more often than not.  A solid off-season regime will hopefully get his health under control and that could possibly lead to some better scoring numbers, but that might be the sticking point on a new deal, just what will they expect of him moving forward?

Currently, I have the Russian coming in at the 40-point range and fully expecting to see him sign a bridge deal for the next couple of years, trying to push him towards bigger and better things and a long-term contract.  None of these things should be considered to be out of the question for him, it's more a matter of when and not if.

There were some pretty high expectations on Islanders forward Ryan Strome and it turned out to be a disappointing season in 2016.  The restricted free agent played in 71 games, missing time to being a healthy scratch, scoring 8 goals and 28 points in that time.

Coming off a 50-point season in 2015, you can kind of see where the disappointment comes from and that has likely hampered his contract talks, as it generally becomes a conversation about what you've done for me lately.

I don't think Strome is going to stay down in the dumps, he'll bounce back in the 2017 season, thanks to some of the changes made to the lineup and he'll come back to a 40-point year (give or take), but I would imagine the Islanders will try to get him to sign at a bargain rate and maybe a short-term deal would be better for him in the long haul anyways.

With their current 23-man projected roster, the Islanders still have about $3.9 million left in cap space, which should be ample room to get the deal done.