REPORT: NHL teams expected to let RFAs walk this summer
There will be a lot of NHL general managers keeping tabs on RFAs, and their qualifying offers this summer.
Cap space is already tight, and the arbitration walk-away number this summer is $4,538,958. (Teams can't "walk away" from any award below that number).
If they're not convinced a player's production matches, teams may choose to let them go free in July rather than risk an arbitration number they can't escape.
Some cheaper RFAs to watch would include Ethan Bear of the Carolina Hurricanes, Denis Gurianov of the Dallas Stars, Kasperi Kapanen of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha of the New Jersey Devils.
Not all of these players are guaranteed to hit the open market, but it's more likely that teams are watching to see what decisions are made.
Here are the Top-10 RFAs for this summer:
1. Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary Flames)
2. Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars)
3. Pierre-Luc Dubois (Winnipeg Jets)
4. Patrik Laine (Columbus Blue Jackets)
5. Josh Norris (Ottawa Senators)
6. Kevin Fiala (Minnesota Wild)
7. Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils)
8. Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers)
9. Noah Dobson (New York Islanders)
10. Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames)
The previous 10 players may cost way too much for most teams to offer a contract to, but there are specific teams like the Buffalo Sabres or Arizona Coyotes that could.
General managers around the league will be watching closely on July 13th to see how many more potentials free agents will be added to the pool.
