With so many of the league’s significant players headed toward 2014 free agency re-signing with their clubs mid-season, unattached stars will be scarce on July 1, when the courting period ends and unrestricted free agents can ink contracts with the highest bidder — or the one that offers them the best chance to win a Stanley Cup.
The NHL’s salary cap is expected to rise from $64.3 million to $71 million, according to commissioner Gary Bettman’s projection, so expect some hefty contracts for these 14 in-demand players.
Keep it here for a regularly updated look at the latest buzz surrounding these free agents and our best guess as to whether they re-sign with their current club or take their talents elsewhere.
14. Jussi Jokinen
Age on July 1: 31
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Position: Left wing
2013-14 cap hit: $3 million
Stay or go? Stay
Why he’ll get paid: Scooped from the Hurricanes at the 2013 trade deadline for the low price of a conditional sixth- or seventh-rounder, the Finn returned to his 20-goal, 50-point form in Pittsburgh’s high-octane offence. Though Pittsburgh’s second-round exit from the playoffs was disappointing, Jokinen cannot be blamed. He scored seven goals and added three assists in 13 playoff games this spring and has been a great fit on the Pens’ second line. And don’t overlook his shootout skills, which can help a team pick up valuable standings points in this era of parity.
Latest dirt: During locker cleanout, Jokinen expressed his wish to return to the Penguins, and they’d be foolish not to give him a modest raise and bring him back.
13. Radim Vrbata
Age on July 1: 33
Team: Arizona Coyotes
Position: Right wing
2013-14 cap hit: $3 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: Ably filling a top-six role on a team desperate for scoring, the veteran Vrbata posted his fourth 20-goal season with the team and surpassed 30 assists for the first time in his 12-year NHL career. Expect a mid-term deal with a slight raise to be his reward.
Latest dirt: Of the six UFAs on the Coyotes’ roster, only one — backup goalie Thomas Greiss — had received a call by May 22 from management expressing an interest in keeping him on board for 2014-15. Coyotes GM Don Maloney told Sportsnet 590 The Fan he wants his team to get younger and faster. Does Vrbata fit that bill?
12. Mike Cammalleri
Age on July 1: 32
Team: Calgary Flames
Position: Left wing
2013-14 cap hit: $6 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: A fantastic team guy and hard worker whose production increased after he (surprisingly) wasn’t dealt at the trade deadline, Cammalleri was the Flames’ most prolific scorer in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and led the rebuilding club in goals (26) this year.
Latest dirt: Brian Burke offered Cammalleri an extension mid-season, but the forward turned down the offer. While rumours persist that teams such as the Kings could be interested, Cammalleri said, “I am far from having ruled Calgary out as my future.” According to Elliotte Friedman, new Flames GM Brad Treliving met with Cammalleri and the two sides will give contract negotiations a shot.
11. Dan Boyle
Age on July 1: 37
Team: San Jose Sharks
Position: Defence
2013-14 cap hit: $6.67 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: A smart Stanley Cup champion who is a rock on the point and can still quarterback a power play. Boyle is getting older, but he’s still one of the NHL’s more dependable defencemen and free-agent blueliners who can score 35-plus points a season and log 21 minutes per night are hard to find.
Latest dirt: Sharks GM Doug Wilson announced on May 15 that Boyle and Marty Havlat would not be re-signed by San Jose.
10. Jonas Hiller
Age on July 1: 32
Team: Anaheim Ducks
Position: Goaltender
2013-14 cap hit: $4.5 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: Of the goaltenders on this summer’s open market, Hiller easily led all in wins (29) and shutouts (five) in 2013-14. He has a career .916 save percentage in the regular season and .932 in the post-season. He can still be a No. 1 in this league.
Latest dirt: Having been dealt a vote of anti-confidence in Anaheim, watching the younger Frederik Andersen and John Gibson get valuable playoff starts, Hiller could be the consolation prize for teams that can’t land Ryan Miller this summer. “There’s probably a real good chance that I’ve played my last game with the Ducks,” Hiller told reporters upon his season’s end.
9. Matt Niskanen
Age on July 1: 27
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Position: Defence
2013-14 cap hit: $2.3 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: Of all the league’s UFA defencemen, Niskanen racked up the most points (46) in 2013-14. He added another nine in the post-season. He logged more than 20 minutes of ice time and his plus-33 rating is 19 better than Willie Mitchell’s, the runner-up in that category among D-men on the market. Top-four free-agent defencemen under 30 are scarce this summer, which equals a payday for Niskanen, who couldn’t have picked a better season to break out in a big way.
Latest dirt: The belief is Niskanen just priced himself out of Pittsburgh. Expect D-hunting teams such as Edmonton, Colorado and cap-happy Detroit to take a hard look. We could be in for a bidding war.
8. Jarome Iginla
Age on July 1: 37
Team: Boston Bruins
Position: Right wing
2013-14 cap hit: $6 million
Stay or go? Stay
Why he’ll get paid: Iginla tied Patrice Bergeron as the Bruins’ leading goal scorer this year and is still in the midst of a streak of 12 consecutive 30-goal seasons when the NHL gives us a schedule longer than 48 games. And as last summer’s one-year contract proved, Iginla is willing to sign cap-friendly, bonus-heavy deals.
Latest dirt: Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli wants him back. “He’s a veteran guy, he plays our brand of hockey and he fits in seamlessly with that first line. He’s been everything we thought he’d be — everything and more,” Chiarelli said during the team’s postmortem. Plus, Don Cherry says Iginla is staying put.
7. Andrei Markov
Age on July 1: 35
Team: Montreal Canadiens
Position: Defence
2013-14 cap hit: $5.75 million
Stay or go? Stay
Why he’ll get paid: After injuries robbed the Habs of some of Markov’s best years, the power-play staple has been a beast the last two seasons. In 2013-14, he led the team in plus/minus (+12) and ranked fourth in team scoring (43 points).
Latest dirt: Although re-signing restricted free agent P.K. Subban is of higher priority for GM Marc Bergevin, Markov, too, will hold the upper hand in his negotiations. “I’d like to stay here for the rest of my career,” Markov said back in January, when the two sides reportedly had some preliminary talks. “You can see some players in their 40s who still play. I don’t want to think that far. Whatever is going to happen tomorrow will happen tomorrow.” Bergevin reportedly offered Markov a one-year deal worth more than $6 million mid-season; Markov was looking for a three-year pact.
6. Ryan Callahan
Age on July 1: 29
Team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Position: Right wing
2013-14 cap hit: $4.275 million
Stay or Go? Stay
Why he’ll get paid: Thrice a 20-goal scorer, Callahan, a former captain, is lauded as a dressing-room leader and a heart-and-soul guy who will do whatever it takes to win. Though he came up empty in the post-season, Callahan was more productive in Tampa (11 points in 20 games) than he was with the Rangers in New York this season.
Latest dirt: Callahan’s value of himself — reportedly $39 million over six years — priced him out of New York, but Lightning GM Steve Yzerman didn’t trade for the forward just to see him walk. Both Yzerman and coach Jon Cooper have gone on record saying they’d like to see him return to Tampa — “I really hope Ryan considers us a place he wants to spend the rest of his career,” Cooper said after the season — and Callahan says he’s open to a return. One has to believe Callahan’s point-free post-season will make him drop his price.
Callahan said he's open to returning to Tampa, but hasn't thought much about future yet. Also said he sees team going on upward trend.
— Missy Zielinski (@Missy_Zielinski) April 24, 2014
5. Matt Moulson
Age on July 1: 30
Team: Minnesota Wild
Position: Left wing
2013-14 cap hit: $3.13 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: Came up just shy of scoring 30 goals for the fourth time in his career, despite wearing three different sweaters in 75 games. Known primarily as a sniper — and other than Thomas Vanek, he’s the only pure goal scorer aged 30 or under here — Moulson has steadily improved his passing and his all-around game. Bonus: he stays out of the penalty box. Thirty-goal threats make more than $3 million.
Latest dirt: With buzz that the Minnesota Wild will chase Vanek, Moulson could be the odd man out of Minnesota. That he scored just one goal in 10 playoff games doesn’t help his case to remain with the Wild, but a goal-hungry club like Nashville or Arizona could snap him up for an affordable rate.
4. Ryan Miller
Age on July 1: 33
Team: St. Louis Blues
Position: Goaltender
2013-14 cap hit: $6.25 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: Miller won both the NHL’s Vezina and MVP honours at the Olympic hockey tournament in 2010. He’s a bona fide No. 1 goalie with 29 shutouts and 294 wins at the NHL level.
Latest dirt: A rental that never panned out in St. Louis, Miller is looking to join a Cup contender, his agent says, preferably one in the Western Conference. Rumours and common sense have linked him to the Anaheim Ducks, with Jonas Hiller on the way out. The Vancouver Canucks could be a possibility as GM Jim Benning drafted Miller to Buffalo back in 1999.
3. Marian Gaborik
Age on July 1: 32
Team: Los Angeles Kings
Position: Right wing
2013-14 cap hit: $7.5 million
Stay or go? Stay
Why he’ll get paid: Capable of scoring more than 40 goals, a mark he’s reached three times but never consecutively, Gaborik’s effort and health will always be question marks. After a dismal stint in Columbus, Gaborik came alive in Los Angeles and owns one of the hottest sticks in the 2014 playoffs.
Latest dirt: He won’t command $7.5 million per year, but Gaborik has found a fit with the Kings. “Don’t think Marian Gaborik is going to hit free agency,” writes Elliotte Friedman. “During their 2012 cup run, the Kings quietly did an extension with Jarret Stoll, but waited until it was over to announce. Could see something similar here.”
2. Paul Stastny
Age on July 1: 28
Team: Colorado Avalanche
Position: Centre
2013-14 cap hit: $6.6 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: He’s an under-30 centre with six 20-goal seasons to his name, and the two-time Olympian is coming off his best campaign in four years. Even better: Stastny threw up 10 points in seven playoff games for the Avs.
Latest dirt: This one is interesting. Stastny is making significantly more than younger, more exciting teammates like Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, but it’s hard to fathom him wanting to take a pay cut. The Avs have room to sign him, but Stastny will go get more money on an open market that favours a proven centreman. Nothing is “imminent” regarding Stastny re-signing with the Avs, his agent, Matt Keator, told the Denver Post on May 25.
1. Thomas Vanek
Age on July 1: 30
Team: Montreal Canadiens
Position: Left wing
2013-14 cap hit: $7.14 million
Stay or go? Go
Why he’ll get paid: After leading all Buffalo Sabres in scoring in 2012-13, Vanek wore three different sweaters in 2013-14, settling as a rental player for Montreal. He immediately walked into the Canadiens dressing room as the team’s leading scorer and has the potential to lead the highest bidder in scoring come 2014-15.
Latest dirt: If you want the full story on Vanek the master negotiator, check out Chris Johnston’s in-depth feature. All signs point to Vanek rejoining friend Jason Pominville and signing with the Minnesota Wild, perhaps to the tune of $40 million.
Best of the rest
Forwards: Milan Michalek, Benoit Pouliot, Olli Jokinen, Lee Stempniak, Mikhail Grabovski, Brian Gionta, Steve Ott, Daniel Alfredsson, Ales Hemsky, Mason Raymond
Defence: Marek Zidlicky, Kimmo Timonen, Willie Mitchell, Anton Stralman, Matt Greene, Andrej Meszaros, Stephane Robidas, Sami Salo, Tom Gilbert, Roan Hainsey
Goaltenders: Ilya Bryzgalov, Tim Thomas, Alex Stalock, Chad Johnson, Thomas Greiss, Justin Peters, Carter Hutton, Al Montoya, Ray Emery, Martin Brodeur