CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • June 22, 2021 NHL free-agency tiers: Ranking the top 90 (plus) players By Greg Wyshynski That's how the agents see it too. "The market is going to be tight. The players that you expect to get their money will get There are two major factors that will shape NHL free agency it, and everyone else will get squeezed," said one agent. when it officially begins on July 28. One other factor worth considering: the big names potentially The first takes place a week before the market opens for available via trade, including Buffalo Sabres center Jack business: the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, in which every Eichel (with a contract that pays him $10 million in average team not named the Vegas Golden Knights offers up a annual value) and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth player to the NHL's 32nd team on July 21. In turn, the Jones ($5.4 million AAV). That's going to impact whom Kraken will open up salary cap space for many of those teams are seeking to sign, and how much they have leftover teams, and will open up even more as a landing spot for to do so. veteran players whose contracts teams want to shed -- sacrificing draft picks and prospects in order to do so. What does the current NHL free-agent market look like? Here's a tiered guide to the players available this offseason: "People are looking at Seattle as the Swiss bank. I don't think [GM] Ron Francis will totally be that, but he'll take some Note: Players are arranged in alphabetical order within each contracts on," one NHL agent told ESPN this week. tier. Ages listed are as of June 22, 2021. The other factor is the flat salary cap, which will be stuck at Tier 1: The best bets $81.5 million for the second straight season due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on revenue. Tyson Barrie, D, Edmonton Oilers Some agents are optimistic that the cap will be on the rise Age: 29 after the 2021-22 season. One said the NHL could eclipse 2021 cap hit: $3.75 million the $4.8 billion threshold for hockey-related revenue next Barrie signed a one-year contract with the Oilers in order to season, which would allow the cap to increase by $1 million juice his offensive numbers and mend his reputation as a each season until the players' escrow balance is paid off. puck-moving defenseman. Mission accomplished: With 48 Another anticipated "one more cycle of this" before the cap points in 56 games, Barrie led all NHL defenseman in starts growing again. scoring. He scored 23 of those points on the power play. Will But for now, it's a flat cap, coming after a regular season in teams see this as merely a product of the "Connor & Leon which teams lost considerable revenue playing in empty or Show," or will Barrie find the long-term deal he's seeking as nearly empty arenas. a free agent? And can he find it in Edmonton? Some general managers we spoke with believe this free- Philipp Grubauer, G, Colorado Avalanche agent market will look like last offseason's, with a lack of Age: 29 long-term deals and stagnant salaries for midlevel talents. 2021 cap hit: $3,333,333 "I think it's going to be the same. I don't see how it changes. The Avalanche goalie certainly played for a contract this Teams still have cap issues. There's only so much money season: He won 30 of his 40 appearances, going 30-9-1 with that can go around," said one NHL general manager. a .922 save percentage, a 1.95 goals-against average and a Others believe there will be an uptick in activity. league-high seven shutouts. His .914 save percentage in the playoffs wasn't stellar, but he also wasn't reason the Avs "I feel it will be more active. Teams have had time to set up peaced out in Round 2. The first-time Vezina Trophy finalist for the flat cap. Expansion concerns will be over by free is going to get paid. It's hard to imagine the Avalanche not agency," said another NHL general manager, who predicted doing the paying, unless they've got another option up their the player pool could once again increase with teams sleeve that can repeat the performance of this known walking away from players instead of giving them qualifying quantity. The six-year, $6 million AAV deal Jordan offers. Binnington landed with the Blues would seem the likeliest comparable contract. "It will be a busy free-agent period, due to expansion as well as the flat cap," said another GM. "There will be a group of Taylor Hall, LW, Boston Bruins players that will always get their money, but there will be a group of players that will have to be smart in regards to Age: 29 where they fit into the market, or they could get squeezed out 2021 cap hit: $8 million with few options." Turns out, Taylor Hall played the free-agent market pretty well last offseason. The pandemic flat cap unexpectedly reduced his options, especially for the long-term contract he CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • June 22, 2021 was seeking, so he took a large sum of money in exchange There's some speculation that Saad's future with the for one year with the Buffalo Sabres and full trade protection. Avalanche could be tied to Gabriel Landeskog's future with The Sabres stunk, and he used that protection to nudge the team, i.e. if the captain re-signs, they might not have them toward a trade with a franchise with whom he's long much left over for what Saad commands. If he hits the desired to play: the Boston Bruins. He had a successful market, he'll be a coveted left wing: Saad is a consistent goal audition with 14 points in 16 regular-season games and scorer who drives possession and can play up and down the scoring more playoff goals (3) than anyone not on the lineup effectively. "Perfection Line." He wants to remain in Boston. If the Bruins want another run with their veteran core, one assumes that's Tier 2: The best value where he'll stay, but nothing's signed yet. Blake Coleman, LW/RW, Tampa Bay Lightning Dougie Hamilton, D Carolina Hurricanes Age: 29 Age: 28 2021 cap hit: $1.8 million 2021 cap hit: $5.75 million Attention to all of those contending teams seeking a "Blake The Hurricanes have given their top offensive defenseman Coleman type" for their bottom-six forwards after the permission to find the contract he feels he's due in free Lightning's playoff success: Why buy generic when you can agency, potentially setting up a sign-and-trade on an eight- have the genuine article? Coleman is a speedy winger who's year deal. We chronicled some of the potential landing spots good for 20 goals per season, can solidify a checking line for Hamilton -- from the Blackhawks to the Kraken to the and is an asset to the penalty kill. He won't lack suitors, and Maple Leafs -- but don't count out Carolina here. The will get a considerable raise. Hurricanes like Hamilton, and he knows it's a good situation Phillip Danault, C, Montreal Canadiens for him in Raleigh. But both sides know that some big offers could come in for a blueliner who's as good at playing the Age: 28 puck (42 points in 55 games) as he is helping his team 2021 cap hit: $3,083,333 possess the puck -- Hamilton has had a positive Corsi Danault is having a stellar postseason. He's playing relative to his teammates in every season of his nine-year shutdown hockey on the biggest stage of the season and he career. finished sixth in the Selke Trophy voting for the second Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, Edmonton Oilers straight season. He didn't have a strong offensive season (24 points in 53 games), but that was after two straight Age: 28 seasons averaging over 2.3 points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. 2021 cap hit: $6 million It's easy to see a team throwing some money at him as a It wasn't the strongest season for the Nuge, whose points third-line center and instant defensive fix. per 60 minutes rate dropped under two points (1.9) for the Mikael Granlund, C/RW, Nashville Predators first time in four years. There have been reports that the Oilers and Nugent-Hopkins are working on a new deal; there Age: 29 have also been reports that their financial offers are below 2021 cap hit: $3.75 million expectations for the talented two-way center, who could The Predators forward would be an asset for any numbers of command interest in the free-agent market as a teams looking to ratchet up the compete level of their top quintessential No. 2 center on a good team -- with the ability lines, but he does so much more. As Predators coach John to play wing as well. Hynes summarized after the season: "He's extremely Alec Martinez, D, Vegas Golden Knights reliable, consistent. He's durable. He shows up every night. He practices hard. Very coachable. He can play in all Age: 33 situations. He can play wing, center. Very good penalty killer, 2021 cap hit: $4 million can play multiple positions on the power play.