The list of players available through a hostile takeover is still very appealing

Marc-Olivier Cook
The list of players available through a hostile takeover is still very appealing
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The free-agent market opened Wednesday in the National Hockey League, and several players found new teams.

The result?

This means that right now, there aren't many options left on the free-agent market. And let's not forget that Kent Hughes hasn't done anything yet since the start of the summer, aside from signing players for the Laval Rocket…

That said, the list of players available via a hostile bid is still very enticing. There are several young NHL stars who are still without contracts for next season, and when you look at the list in question, you realize there's some real talent there:

  • Connor Bedard (who got injured yesterday)
  • Jason Robertson
  • Cutter Gauthier
  • Trevor Zegras
  • Leo Carlsson
  • Adam Fantilli
  • Connor McMichael
  • Mavrik Bourque
  • Cole Perfetti
  • Alexander Nikishin
  • Jamie Drysdale

All of these players are currently restricted free agents and will need to reach an agreement with their respective teams to sign new contracts. Unless, of course, another team decides to make a hostile offer for one of them… as we saw yesterday with the Devils and Barrett Hayton.

(Credit: Screenshot / PuckPedia)

Amid all this, there's unfortunately some bad news.

The Canadiens aren't in a good position to make a hostile offer because they traded their third-round pick (2027) to the Vegas Golden Knights in the last draft to move up and select Gleb Pugachyov.

Kent Hughes' hands are somewhat tied in that regard… and that's a shame, since he'd have the room (and the assets) to make one. There are some truly talented players still available on the restricted free-agent market, and the Canadiens are certainly keeping an eye on that.

But anyway, let's go back to what we've been saying for several days now: if the Habs want to improve, it has to happen through a trade.

And in the meantime, it'll be interesting to see if another NHL team decides to make a hostile bid… because that always grabs people's attention when it happens.


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