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It’s September 5, 2024. NHL training camps open in ten days or so, and players are starting to arrive in their winter cities.
Around 13 players – including newcomer Patrik Laine – are already skating in Brossard.
Kent Hughes is well into his off-season, having traded Jordan Harris and Johnathan Kovacevic, let go Jesse Ylonen, Tanner Pearson and Colin White, signed Alex Barré-Boulet, drafted Ivan Demidov (and more) and picked up Patrik Laine.
If all goes well, Hughes will even be able to finish the off-season without having to place Carey Price’s name on the long-term injury list, which would give him greater flexibility during the next campaign.
But that’s not the case for all GMs.
A number of restricted free agents are still out of contract throughout the NHL. Their rights still belong to their team, but they’ll have to sign a new piece of paper before they can officially take the ice.
1. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
The 25-year-old goaltender is coming off a season… and a playoff run.
Although negotiations between the two sides began last season, Boston has yet to reach an agreement… even though Linus Ullmark was traded to the Senators a few months ago.
If Swayman fails to reach an agreement with the Bruins in the next few days, he could miss the start of training camp(strike). First, it wouldn ‘t fit in at all with the Bruins’ collective culture, and second, it would be a shame not to have Swayman AND Ullmark to open camp.
Let’s go Joonas Korpisalo!
2. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
23 years old… right-handed defenseman… just finished his entry-level contract… sixth overall pick in 2019… 50, 42 and 42 points per NHL season… Calder Trophy recipient…
And he’s not the kind of player you’re in a position to offer a bridge contract to: he’s proven his worth.
The two parties should be able to come to an agreement before the start of camp, according to Detroit Hockey Now, but time is running out…
3. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings
The Swedish winger has just completed a 72-point season: he’s part of the Wings‘ offensive core. In 2023-24, no other player on the team scored more points than him.
Both Raymond and Seider are in a position to ask for $8 million. We’ll see.
4. Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets
Perfetti was a top-10 pick in 2020, but has yet to establish himself as a true offensive powerhouse in the best league in the world. He was even overlooked a few times last season.
A candidate for an offer sheet a bridge contract…
5. Dawson Mercer, New Jersey Devils
Mercer was off to a good start in the NHL: 42 points in his first campaign, 56 in his second…
It‘s worth noting that Mercer hasn’t missed a game since joining the show.
Shane Pinto, who signed a two-year contract valued at $3.75 million per season, is a good match for Mercer. And the Devils have about $5 million under the salary cap…
Except that, at last count, Mercer and the Devils were still far apart…
We are gonna get a new Linkin Park song before we get a Dawson Mercer contract
– The Bratt Pack (@TheBrattPack63) August 26, 2024
6. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars
Harley is a defenseman with 47 points in 2023-24, but never more than 4 before that. I don’t see how the Stars could decide to give him a lucrative contract for more than four seasons.
Either Harley won’t be greedy, or he’ll have to settle for a bridge contract (like Jason Robertson did with the Stars, by the way).
7. Peyton Krebs, Buffalo Sabres
The man the Habs reportedly preferred to Nick Suzuki in the Max Pacioretty trade has yet to break out in the NHL.
If I were him, I wouldn’t be too picky and try to prove over the next two or three years that I’m a regular NHL-calibre player.
Especially since, even if the city is a pocket, Buffalo offers him a chance to get some quality playing time…
8. Nick Robertson, Toronto Maple Leafs
He scored goals in junior, but a little less in the NHL.
A late second-round pick, he doesn’t have much negotiating power. Even though his agent is Pat Brisson…
Don’t let it go to your head, Nick!
9. Arthur Kaliyev, Los Angeles Kings
Dubois Kaliyev has often been overlooked in Los Angeles, and even though he was selected very early in the second round in 2019, he’s been slow to blossom in the show.
Rumors sent him to the four corners of America – and Russia and June/July, but Kaliyev didn’t budge.
When you want more playing time, make sure you give it your all on the ice, both with and without the puck. That’s still not the feeling I got when I watched Kings games…
10. Jakob Pelletier, Calgary Flames
That guy has bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL over the past two campaigns. He only played 37 games in the NHL.
So I’m surprised to see him still without a contract in September. Accept your qualifying offer, work hard and prove you belong in the NHL. If Pelletier were a member of the Montreal Canadiens organization, he wouldn’t be popular right now. And he’d have even less if he wasn’t present at the opening of his team’s training camp…
When you only have 4 goals and 6 assists in your career in a league like the NHL, be patient. Don’t skip a step. Don’t take yourself for something you’re not (yet?).
It should be noted that other NHL players are also still without a contract this morning. They won’t all be saved by the St. Louis Blues, as Holloway and Broberg were…
Will at least one player end up going on strike and not showing up for the first day of his team’s training camp? If so, who?
