Step one of the NHL offseason is the entry draft. And now step two is free agency. On Canada Day, the NHL opened the floodgate on the free agent market. All 32 teams can try to sign any player not signed to a contract.
This year’s class of pending unrestricted free agents is…to put it lightly, awful. Here’s a look at some of the top names available and where they might be going.
2023 Free Agency Odds
We’ll keep track of where free agents end up going at the bottom of the copy. So follow along with our 2023 Free Agency Tracker.
Where Will Patrick Kane Play in 2023-24?
| Team | Odds |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +300 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +400 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +500 |
| Dallas Stars | +600 |
| New Jersey Devils | +700 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +750 |
I initially thought staying in New York made sense. But with the Rangers signing Nash, Wheeler and Bonino I don’t think there’s room for him anymore. Carolina also might be off the board. The Canes signed Bunting and Fast to fill out their forward depth.
The options for Kane are dwindling to hook up with a contender.
Colorado might be the best fit. They’ve got cap space with Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR and they have a need for depth on the right side of their middle six. With all due respect to Logan O’Connor, Patrick Kane, even at 34, is a big upgrade.
Where Will Vladimir Tarasenko Play in 2023-24?
| Team | Odds |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +250 |
| Florida Panthers | +300 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +400 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +500 |
| Dallas Stars | +600 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +750 |
| New York Islanders | +900 |
Tarasenko had a down year last season. With 18 goals between the Blues and the Rangers, the 2010 16th overall pick had his lowest goal production ever. I don’t think the Rangers will pony up the money to pay him off of that season.
The Islanders need goals. The Isles 2.95 goals per game was 22nd last year. That 2.95 G/GP was the highest scoring rate on the Island since 2017-18. Lou Lamoriello’s side has needed goals for a while.
But the Islanders seem locked in on acquiring Alex Debrincat from Ottawa. A secondary option might just be to stay in New York.
The Rangers have the space with ~$6.2 million in cap space. Keeping Tarasenko would push Blake Wheeler down to a third-line role and Barclay Goodrow to a fourth-line role. That’s a better deployment for both of those guys.
If you can find Rangers odds as Tarasenko’s next destination I have no doubt there’s good value there.
Where Did Ryan O’Reilly Sign for 2023-24?
| Team | Odds |
| Colorado Avalanche | +135 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +300 |
| St. Louis Blues | +400 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +400 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +500 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +500 |
Odds from June 28
I thought O’Reilly would stay in Toronto. The fact that he left surprised me. Signing with Nashville surprises me even more. The Preds don’t project to be contenders for a while. New GM Barry Trotz is clearly in rebuild mode.
This was such a left-field play, that Nashville wasn’t even on the board. But good for ROR to get the term and money he got to play in Smashville.
Confirmed NHL Free Agent Signings
As promised here’s a list of all the free-agent signings so far in the NHL. Rather than give you a long list of names, we’ve broken it down by team by division. We’re only looking at UFAs signed to standard NHL 1-way contracts.
Here’s a quick way to look at all four NHL Divisions:
Atlantic Division
| Team | Player (Years/AAV) |
|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Kevin Shattenkirk (1/$1.05m) Morgan Geekie (2/$2m) Patrick Brown (2/$800,000) James Van Riemsdyk (1/$1m) |
| Buffalo Sabres | Connor Clifton (3/$3.33m) Tyson Jost (1/$2m) |
| Detroit Red Wings | Christian Fischer (1/$1.125m) Alex Lyon (2/$900,000) Klim Kostin (2/$2m) Justin Holl (3/$3.4m) Shayne Gostisbehere (1/$4.125) J.T. Compher (5/$5.1m) Gustav Lindstrom (1/$950,000) |
| Florida Panthers | Evan Rodrigues (4/$3m) Kevin Stenlund (1/$1m) Anthony Stolarz (1/$1.1m) Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1/$2.25m) Niko Mikkola (3/$2.5m) Dmitry Kulikov (1/$1m) Mike Reilly (1/$1m) |
| Montreal Canadiens | N/A |
| Ottawa Senators | Joonas Korpisalo (5/$4m) |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Calvin de Haan (1/$775,000) Luke Glendening (2/$800,000) Jonas Johansson (2/$775,000) Josh Archibald (2/$800,000) Conor Sheary (3/$2m) |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Max Domi (1/$3m) Tyler Bertuzzi (1/$5.5m) John Klingberg (1/$4.15m) Ryan Reaves (3/$1.35m) Dylan Gambrell (1/$775,000) |
Metropolitan Divison
| Team | Player (Years/AAV) |
|---|---|
| Carolina Hurricanes | Michael Bunting (3/$4.5m) Frederik Andersen (2/$3.4m) Antti Raanta (1/$1.5m) Dmitry Orlov (2/$7.75m) Jesper Fast (2/$2.4m) |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | N/A |
| New Jersey Devils | Michael McLeod (1/$1.4m) Nathan Bastian (2/$1.35m) |
| New York Islanders | Scott Mayfield (7/$3.5m) Pierre Engvall (7/$3m) Semyon Varlamov (4/$2.75m) |
| New York Rangers | Riley Nash (2/$775,000) Erik Gustafsson (1/$825,000) Tyler Pitlick (1/$787,500) Jonathan Quick (1/$825,000) Blake Wheeler (1/$800,000) Nick Bonino (1/$800,000) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Garnet Hathaway (2/$2.375m) Ryan Poehling (1/$1.4m) Mark Staal (1/$1.1m) |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Ryan Shea (1/$775,000) Lars Eller (2/$2.45m) Noel Acciari (3/$2m) Ryan Graves (6/$4.5m) Tristan Jarry (5/$5.375m) Alex Nedeljkovic (1/$1.5m) Matt Nieto (2/$900,000) |
| Washington Capitals | Matthew Phillips (1$775,000) Max Pacioretty (1/$2m) |
Central Division
| Team | Player (Years/AAV) |
|---|---|
| Arizona Coyotes | Nick Bjugstad (2/$2.1m) Alexander Kerfoot (2/$3.5m) Jason Zucker (1/$5.3m) Troy Stecher (1/$1.1) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Ryan Donato (2/$2m) |
| Colorado Avalanche | Jonathan Drouin (1/$825,000) Miles Wood (6/$2.5m) Jack Johnson (1/$775,000) Andrew Cogliano (1/$825,000) |
| Dallas Stars | Gavin Bayreuther (1/$775,000) Sam Steel (1/$850,000) Craig Smith (1/$1m) Joel Hanley (2/$787,500) Matt Duchene (1/$3m) |
| Minnesota Wild | N/A |
| Nashville Predators | Luke Schenn (3/$2.75m) Gustav Nyquist (2/$3.185) Ryan O’Reilly (4/$4.5m) |
| St. Louis Blues | Mackenzie MacEachern (2/$775,000) |
| Winnipeg Jets | Jeffery Viel (1/$775,000) Laurent Brossoit (1/$1.75m) Vladislav Namestnikov (2/$2m) Collin Delia (1/$775,000) |
Pacific Division
| Team | Player (Years/AAV) |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | Radko Gudas (3/$4m) Alex Killorn (4/$6.25m) |
| Calgary Flames | Jordan Oesterle (1/$925,000) |
| Edmonton Oilers | Lane Pederson (2/$775,000) Connor Brown (1/$775,000) |
| Los Angeles Kings | David Rittich (1/$875,000) Jaret Anderson-Dolan (1/$775,000) Andreas Englund (2/$1m) Trevor Lewis (1/$775,000) Cam Talbot (1/$1m) |
| San Jose Sharks | Kyle Burroughs (3/$1.1m) Givani Smith (2/$800,000) Mackenzie Blackwood (2/$2.35m) |
| Seattle Kraken | Kailer Yamamoto (1/$1.5m) Brian Dumoulin (2/$3.15m) |
| Vancouver Canucks | Ian Cole (1/$3m) Carson Soucy (3/$3.25m) Teddy Blueger (1/$1.9m) |
| Vegas Golden Knights | N/A |
