CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — July 1 is less than a week away. While Canadians will be celebrating the nation's birthday, NHL fans will be closely monitoring the annual start of the league's free-agent period.
As is usually the case, most of the potentially available players are past their best-before date. Nevertheless, a handful of notable stars could be obtainable for the right price.
Teams in search of scoring will focus on Columbus Blue Jackets forwards Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene. Panarin, a 27-year-old left winger, is coming off back-to-back 80-point seasons. Duchene, 28, completed a 70-point campaign split between the Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators.
Looking for offence and leadership? San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski and New York Islanders captain Anders Lee could be testing the market. Despite his age, the 34-year-old Pavelski matched his career-high for goals (38) this season. Lee, 29, has three consecutive 50-plus point seasons on his resume.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jake Gardiner and Winnipeg Jets rearguard Tyler Myers could fit the bill for clubs seeking experienced blue-line depth. Gardiner, 28, is a skilled puck-mover who tallied 30 points despite missing 20 games to an injured back. A former NHL rookie of the year, the 29-year-old Myers is a solid all-around defender who tallied 31 points this season.
Teams looking for a starting goaltender will pursue the Blues Jackets' Sergei Bobrovsky and the Islanders' Robin Lehner. The 30-year-old Bobrovsky is the only active two-time Vezina trophy winner as the league's top goalie. Lehner, 27, was a finalist for the Vezina this season and won the Masterton trophy for perseverance.
This summer could also finally see a player sign an offer sheet. Under the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA), restricted free agents (RFA) can accept an offer from a rival club. The player's current club has seven days to match it or accept draft picks as compensation, depending upon the dollar value of the contract.
Offer sheets rarely occur in the NHL's salary-cap world. The last time a player was successfully signed away from his club was in 2007. The last offer sheet signing took place in 2013.
This year, however, several teams with limited salary-cap space could find their top RFA players becoming offer-sheet targets.
The biggest could be Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner and Tampa Bay Lightning centre Brayden Point. Both are completing entry-level contracts and are coming off 90-point performances. They'll be seeking significant raises, but their respective clubs could have difficulty freeing up sufficient cap space to re-sign them. A rival club with plenty of cap room could swoop in with an unmatchable offer on July 1.
They're not the only players who could receive offer sheets. Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk and Sharks winger Timo Meier could also prove enticing.
Happy Canada Day, everyone. Have a safe and enjoyable summer. Hope to see you again in October.
Lyle Richardson is a freelance writer with the Sporting News and runs the website Spector’s Hockey. His column will appear in The Guardian throughout the NHL hockey season.
