Day one of NHL free agency has come to an end. While big names like Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Mikael Granlund, and Vladislav Gavrikov have all found homes, plenty of high impact players remain available.
Here are the top free agents on the board.
Nikolaj Ehlers
Nikolaj Ehlers might be the best player in this entire free agent class (considering Marner didn’t make it to Tuesday). Ehlers’ is nearly a point per game scorer over his entire NHL career and is as close as it gets to an automatic lock for a mid-20 goal season. Though he has some durability concerns, at just 29-years-old a smart team can get this forward locked up for the latter half of his career.
“Ehlers will likely command an average salary between $8-9 million on the open market,” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski writes. “There’s been a heavy focus on the Hurricanes. Either player could help fill the void created by the loss of Martin Necas in the trade for Mikko Rantanen, and then the subsequent trade of Rantanen.”
Anthony Beauvillier
Anthony Beauvillier comes in this high on the list because of his sheer consistency. At just 28-years-old, Beauvillier has played in more than 600 games, scored more than 100 goals, and accounted for 271 points. He is a plug and play winger on any third line in the league. Beauvillier is 2-3 million dollar signing that will make a forward unit better.
Matt Grzelcyk
There’s a reason Matt Grzelcyk spent eight years with the Boston Bruins before getting signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins last July, it’s because he is consistent. Grzelcyk is a puck moving defenseman with sharp edges who is keen to pushing the offense. He is a solid top six piece and should be considered the best defenseman available.
“The former Boston Bruins defenseman had a quietly strong season for the Penguins with one goal but 39 assists — 24 of them at even strength,” Wyshynski writes. “Defense was never his calling card, but offensively, he was solid in traditional stats and analytics.”
Victor Oloffson
Victor Oloffson is a solid forward through and through. At times in his career he has looked like a second line winger. He put 28 in the back of the net in his final full season with the Buffalo Sabres. But after an injury caused him to be moved, a solid 15 goal, 14 assist season with the Las Vegas Knights makes this forward worthy of a multi-year contract somewhere.
Brent Burns
At the age of 40, Brent Burns is of value to Stanley Cup hopefuls and Stanley Cup hopefuls only. He is one of the best defenseman of this generation, and although his age is catching up to him he is still an offensive minded blue liner who instinctively knows how to move the puck.
Jeff Skinner
Jeff Skinner is one of the best goal scorers on the market. He is 33-years-old with a lot of tread on his tires. And although he might not be able to post 40 goal seasons like he once could, he still brings a certain kind of veteran touch to a third line unit. Skinner has a knack for putting pucks in nets and should be considered a solid addition to any NHL club.
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