Top 30 NHL free agents in 2022

Justin Cuthbert runs down the top free agents looking to cash in this summer as part of an impressive class.

Video Transcript

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: And we got to start at number one with Johnny Gaudreau. This is one of the best players in the NHL this season, an MVP candidate, a guy anchoring maybe the best line in hockey, coming off his most productive season, stepping into unrestricted free agency. It would be a shame if he left the Flames. But how long have we heard whispers of him, like, preferring the East Coast and wanting to be there?

The "Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary" conversation can wait after the-- till after the postseason, of course. It's a big one for Calgary. But that is definitely the top storyline heading into the off season, if Johnny Gaudreau does in fact reach unrestricted free agency.

Less intrigue is tied to number two here. And that's Patrice Bergeron. I mean, still an elite player, right? Technically an unrestricted free agent. But he's not going to function like one. It's either the Bruins or retirement most likely for the future Hall of Famer who's probably going to win the Selke trophy and has showed this season that he still has plenty of game left in him.

It probably will determine-- you know, what happens in the postseason will help determine what Bergeron feels in terms of his health and everything will go into that. But also, how competitive Boston plans to be over the next couple of years here will go into Patrice Bergeron's decision, you would think.

Number three, another future Hall of Famer and another guy who could walk away. That's Marc-André Fleury. I feel like he's got some freedom for the first time in a while. Like, I don't know if he wanted to go to Chicago really. Clearly he wanted to stay in Vegas.

But his contract sort of meant that he had to accept the concession or accept the fate that was given to him. Even though he did have no movement protection, it felt like he didn't think he was wanted anymore and didn't want to be a problem. So for the first time in a while, he's going to have that unrestricted status.

He could choose one last spot for a championship run. He could be a guy who chooses to go maybe back to Pittsburgh, back to Vegas. Who knows what Marc-André Fleury really wants.

But this is the guy that's just one season removed from a Vezina Trophy. He could be an enormous, low-risk addition for a contender, "low-risk" being that he would only be around for a couple more seasons, you would think, and can have a huge, huge, profound impact, like he's having right now with the Minnesota Wild.

Number four is Filip Forsberg. This is a player who's forced either the Predators or another team to pony up. He's contributed well over a point per game this season, having his best year in terms of goal scoring. It's fallen pretty well into Filip Forsberg's lap here stepping into unrestricted free agency.

Number five, and this starts a run on Pittsburgh Penguins, is Evgeni Malkin. He's had some less-than-stellar regular seasons of late, being affected by COVID absences, injuries, and all that. But he still scores at a point-per-game pace.

It's very possible-- it seems more likely than not-- that Malkin moves on from Pittsburgh after 16 seasons. And I don't know exactly what he's going to want. Is he going to want to go to a contender? Is he going to want to add another $9 million into the bank like he's been earning for so long now? Tracking Evgeni Malkin is another one of the major, major storylines heading into the off season.

One more to break up the Penguins here, number six is Nazem Kadri. He's slowed off his triple-digit pace that he was on, a little Hart Trophy buzz, if you want to call it that, he garnered earlier in the season.

But he's leaving little cash on the table after setting career highs in assists and points this season. It's been an unbelievable year from Nazem Kadri. We will see what happens, of course, in the postseason.

Number seven is another Pittsburgh Penguin and another legend likely on their way out. Kris Letang is going to attract plenty of interest following one of his most productive seasons. And there have been a lot of productive ones in Pittsburgh.

I feel like he's exactly in the same boat as Evgeni Malkin. I guess he could return. He could leave. He could go to a contender. He could make the most money as possible. He's going to have no shortage of options come, not July 1 this year, but early July when free agency does begin.

Number eight is John Klingberg, another break before we get one more penguin just as a tease here. Somewhat remarkably, he's going to run out the string on that seven-year contract he signed with the Stars, despite a pretty clear fraying relationship between himself and the organization.

And remarkably, after going through a seven-year deal, he hasn't turned 30 yet. He's going to have a chance to cash in here. He's going have a chance to sign a monster deal.

Whether or not he deserves a monster deal with a lot of money and a lot of term is maybe a different discussion. But he's going to have that opportunity probably because these sort of defensemen don't just grow on trees.

The last Penguin on this run of Penguins is Bryan Rust. Unlike Klingberg, he's approaching 30, or almost 30, and has yet to really cash in on his success and production at the NHL.

He would have 30 goal campaigns in each of the last three seasons if it weren't for injuries and shortened seasons sort of impacting his prime here. It's a guy that hasn't made a ton of money yet who's built a pretty solid portfolio in Pittsburgh and will be looking to cash in, be it in steel town or somewhere else.

Number 10 is Claude Giroux. It's pretty remarkable that Claude Giroux is the number 10 free agent this summer. It's just an example of how good it really is. And this is another guy who you've got to consider his priorities.

I mean, he's made a lot, a lot of money in his career. And his time in Philadelphia clearly is over. So what does he go after? Is it another chance to win? Does Florida win this year and sort of invalidate that? Or does that make him want to do it again? Is it to pad the career earnings? Is it to play close to home?

I mean, there's been talk about maybe Ottawa being the spot for Claude Giroux. But whatever it is, he's going to have his choice, be it through financial reasons or just other priorities that he might have in his life. Claude Giroux is going to have plenty to choose from this summer.

Number 11-- we'll try to go through the 11 through 30 a little quicker. Number 11 is Darcy Kuemper. It wasn't a particularly dominant season for Kuemper. Or at least it didn't seem like it.

But friendly confines of Colorado, all of a sudden he's got some really solid numbers, at least when looking in the grand scheme of things. He's grown into the season. And he's going to have a chance to sign a lucrative long-term agreement, whether it's in Colorado or elsewhere.

Vincent Trocheck number 12. A really solid second-line player. I don't think he's a first-line player. I don't think he's a third-line player. So is that enough to gain a raise on his $4.75 million salary? I'm not really sure. But he's a useful player, no doubt, and probably one that Carolina wants to keep around.

Number 13 is one of the most intriguing players on this list. And that's Ville Husso of the St. Louis Blues. He has emerged in this season exclusively and has put up some best-- some of the best numbers league wide at the goaltending position. But he doesn't have that proven track record.

This is almost the same situation as Jordan Binnington found himself in. And of course, Binnington secured his contract-- or helped secure his future earnings by winning the Stanley Cup that year with St. Louis. So we'll see what Husso does in the postseason. And we'll see what St. Louis does with their goaltending situation with this pending unrestricted free agent.

Number 14 is Evander Kane. Big talent, right? But big red flags, as we know. He's been, predictably, I think, a strong addition for the Oilers because when you first get to somewhere, I guess you're on your best behavior.

And the big question, I guess, then, is, do the Oilers risk extending this partnership when every relationship Kane has had, in the hockey world only, has soured for him? So again, a huge storyline is how the Oilers treat this situation and whether or not Evander Kane thinks he can find more money and more comfortability elsewhere.

Number 15, Andre Burakovsky. So we're 15 through, halfway through, and we're talking Andre Burakovsky. Again, pretty impressive, right? This is a player, though, that I think has sort of-- despite maybe the perception, has earned at a rate that maybe has perceived-- exceeded, rather, his production.

This is a guy that's been working on one- and two-year deals, it feels like, forever, and not necessarily bargain deals. Actually, he gets paid pretty well, just under $5 million, I believe.

But is he going to be able to convince someone after this run in Colorado, or with Colorado, that he deserves a five-, six-, seven-year deal worth maybe more than $5 million? I don't know if that's necessarily in the cards for him.

Number 16 is one of the more polarizing players league wide. And that's Ben Chiarot. Polarizing because he had that dominant showing in the Stanley Cup playoffs with Montreal, but returned the next season to put up brutal numbers under Dominique Ducharme, and I guess a little bit improved under Marty St. Louis.

But he's going to have that opportunity again to be dominant in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And if he is that player twice in a row on two lengthy Stanley Cup playoff runs, I mean, someone's going to step up and pay him a lot of money. He'll probably get that money regardless, anyway.

Number 17 is Valeri Nichushkin low key, one of the most productive players in the NHL. I mean, he drives two-way play for the Avalanche so, so well. He's having an outstanding season more so from an analytical perspective than sheer production. This is a player that will not be short of options in free agency.

Another Colorado Avalanche at number 18-- Josh Manson. I think he mirrors Chiarot in a lot of ways in that a change of scenery and a deep postseason run, which is likely with Colorado, could do wonders for his earning potential. He will command interest in free agency, anyway, though, as a legitimate right shot, top four defenseman. They, as we know, don't grow on trees, with so many teams wanting and coveting those sort of players this season.

Number 19 is Ryan Strome. An interesting case because he has found something that he didn't have with the Islanders and Oilers with the New York Rangers. Does he spring at the biggest number he can find? Or does he continue to be a productive player under Gerard Gallant and with players like Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad in New York?

Number 20, Ondrej Palat of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's likely, just a look at the cap friendly for the Lightning, that he's the next body to be sacrificed by Julien BriseBois. But I also think there's a decent chance that he's willing to take a discount to stay. I mean, why wouldn't you want to stay to be there?

But also, the money might not be there elsewhere for him. This is a guy that's not having a particularly strong offensive season. And maybe the Lightning, what they know of him and what they get out of him from a two-way perspective, will covet him just as much or almost as much as other teams in the open market.

Number 21, and into the final 10 here-- Ilya Mikheyev. Maybe the biggest reach on this list if I say so myself is Mikheyev. But I've had an up-close and personal look at this guy for a while now. And he's a dynamic two-way talent. And he's figuring out how to convert on his chances, the many chances he does get, at the right time here with a recent uptick in scoring.

This is a player that's wanted the opportunity, has asked for the opportunity to earn more, to play more, to play a role that will help him earn more. It might be outside of his capabilities, honestly. He might think he's better than he really is. But that doesn't mean he won't be a solid addition to the team that probably pays the most for his services this summer.

Number 22, and kind of in the same boat, is Andrew Copp. He's a strong and versatile middle six contributor, who, like Mikheyev in Toronto, probably has priced himself, and has already priced himself out of Winnipeg getting the trade to the New York Rangers. He can tack more money onto his future earnings if the Rangers go on a long postseason run. And he's a big part of it, which I think is a pretty considerable opportunity or a likely opportunity that that happens.

23-- David Perron of the St. Louis Blues. Just a guy that puts up points always. Just the steadiest of point-producers in a middle six role. I guess we're going to see what the market determines that is worth. There is no better player to set the market than David Perron, who just scores at a secondary rate consistently and has done so again here with the St. Louis Blues.

24-- Reilly Smith, an original misfit with the Vegas Golden Knights. And it appears his days are probably numbered in Vegas, which kind of sucks. It's cool that there's a couple of players that have lasted this long despite how cutthroat they've been at times with that organization.

But he's really been a solid, I guess yet unspectacular, player for Vegas for a long time, since the franchise was incepted. So Reilly Smith, likely because he earns what he does-- I believe it's a $5 million mark. And of course, that's expiring. But it's unlikely that he'll want to take a discount to stay in Vegas, despite the lure of that. And he'll look to find the same sort of money from one of the other 31 teams in the league.

Number 25 is Jack Campbell, a guy who would be way further up on this board if we did it mid-season. He demonstrated then, in the first few months of the year, that he could be a dominant goaltender across a couple-month stretches. But clearly based on how this second half has gone, how he's dealt with injuries, that he still needs to prove that he can handle the duties as a full-time NHL starter.

Of course, a big postseason awaits with him. He can prove to the Maple Leafs that he's the number one guy moving forward. Or he can improve-- or he can prove to Kyle Dubas and the brain trust in Toronto that he's really not that guy and that they might have to look elsewhere outside the organization for that bona fide number-one starter.

The final five here. 26 is Nino Niederreiter of the Carolina Hurricanes. I feel like it's just hard to imagine that any other team will value what Niederreiter brings more than Carolina, given that what he does there is largely unheralded. But still a really solid player that kind of goes under the radar, flies under the radar, like many do in Carolina.

27 is Rickard Rakell, who went from Anaheim to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline. It seems like this player never really hit his potential. But there's no better opportunity to increase your market value by playing with Sidney Crosby in Stanley Cup playoff games. So we'll see if he's able to take advantage of that opportunity.

28 is Mark Giordano. It's been a ride for Giordano over the last calendar season, I guess. He exited the team that he's captain for so many seasons for an expansion team, which named him captain before they wound up trading their first-ever captain after only a few months to his hometown team in Toronto, where he will have so much-- I wouldn't say scrutiny. I think people are kind of celebrating the Giordano thing right now.

But I guess if it doesn't go well in the playoffs, he might receive his fair share of that scrutiny. But this is another guy where priorities matter with what he's going to do next year. Does he want to stay with his hometown team? Does he want to go back to Calgary? Does he want to chase championships on real modest contracts?

Does he enter the Jason Spezza part of his career, where he just signs on for as cheap as possible to make sure that he can help his team put itself in the best position to win? Or does he just take the most money offered from whoever might be willing to give it to him? I think Mark Giordano is one of those players who can really, really help a team, especially if he's willing to play for less, because his priorities are not financially driven per se.

Number 29, and maybe the outlier on this entire list in that most of these guys have been pretty big names so far, is Mason Marchmant with the Florida Panthers. He's been just found money for them after getting him in a deal for Denny Malgin a couple of years ago. He ranks sixth in points per game among all unrestricted free agents. He's been so, so good on that third line for the Florida Panthers, who, of course, are pacing the league in terms of goal scoring.

And finally-- I already mentioned it-- Calle Jarnkrok is number 30. If only he could use his price in the trade market to negotiate in the free market. Calgary spent a lot to get him. But he should be looking to cash in no matter what, as I mentioned. One of the weirdest contracts ever. Six-year deal worth only $12 million. He's got to sign a big deal, or as big as possible, this summer. And I bet he prioritizes that.