2014 free agents

[newfcollins]

I think next summer will be nuts when it comes to free agents. With the cap coming down, and teams having to buy out players to stay under it, not sure how many can afford to sign these guys. Even if the main ones are signed, there's still plenty out there.

Here are the top free agents:

Forwards: Malkin, Heatley, Gaborik, Vanek, Thornton, Marleau, Datsyuk, Stastny, D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Kessel, Bergeron, Michalek, Pavelski, Brown, Moulson, Setoguchi

Dmen: Bouwmeester, Boyle, Phaneuf, Pitkanen, Letang

Goalies: Lundqvist, Miller, Kipper, Brodeur, Hiller, Halak, Crawford, Elliott

Oh yeah, those are just unrestricted free agents.

Restricted free agents include Giroux, RNH, Schultz, Landeskog, Duchene, Couture, Ennis, Del Zotto, Schenn, Ellis, Silvferberg, Gardiner, Faulk, Elliott, plus a whole bunch of other young guys.

Yes, many of them will re-sign with their teams, but not all of them, especially with the cap coming down and new rules to prevent the cap hit from being lower in 12 year deals. Could make for a crazy summer next year.

[4T2]

I think next summer will be nuts when it comes to free agents. With the cap coming down, and teams having to buy out players to stay under it, not sure how many can afford to sign these guys. Even if the main ones are signed, there's still plenty out there.

Here are the top free agents:

Forwards: Malkin, Heatley, Gaborik, Vanek, Thornton, Marleau, Datsyuk, Stastny, D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Kessel, Bergeron, Michalek, Pavelski, Brown, Moulson, Setoguchi

Dmen: Bouwmeester, Boyle, Phaneuf, Pitkanen, Letang

Goalies: Lundqvist, Miller, Kipper, Brodeur, Hiller, Halak, Crawford, Elliott

Oh yeah, those are just unrestricted free agents.

Restricted free agents include Giroux, RNH, Schultz, Landeskog, Duchene, Couture, Ennis, Del Zotto, Schenn, Ellis, Silvferberg, Gardiner, Faulk, Elliott, plus a whole bunch of other young guys.

Yes, many of them will re-sign with their teams, but not all of them, especially with the cap coming down and new rules to prevent the cap hit from being lower in 12 year deals. Could make for a crazy summer next year.

Excellent list and I agree that next year will be tough for all these guys to sign with their current teams given the cap situation. However, realistically a lot of these players will not be going anywhere. I have highlighted the guys I think may actually make it to free agency. I'd be interested in seeing other people's takes on this.

Heatley - If he meshes really well with Parise/Koivu, Minny will try to resign him but given the monster contracts Parise and Suter have, they may not have the cap space.

Thorton/Marleu/Boyle - If the Sharks fall out of the playoff picture early (doubtful) then these guys will be traded as part of a rebuild. More likely is the Sharks have a great regular season, fail in the playoffs and lose one or two of these guys to free agency.

Moulson - I really don't see the Islanders letting him go given his chemistry with JT. But he could hit a bigger payday somewhere else and may walk if they wont pay him enough.

Setoguchi - His production has fallen so far that he will not be resigned. Maybe he becomes a reclamation project in 2013-2014 for a team like Detroit or the Islanders. Or maybe he gets a silly deal from a foolish GM for a team like Calgary or the Panthers.

Bouwmeester - Gets traded at the trade deadline to team in need of D. I see him signing at a reduced rate in Detroit for next season. Unless someone like Philly swoops in and offers him a ridiculous contract.

Kipper/Iginla - If Feaster has any sense, he trades these guys for some good young assets by the trade deadline (unless Calgary has a playoff spot on lockdown). More likely is that Calgary is just in the playoff hunt and they stay, then walk in the offseason for teams with a better shot at winning. These two will be the Parise/Suter situation of next year, not necessarily signing together but will get the biggest paydays.

Elliott - Something has to give in St Louis. They can't hang on to both goalies. Halak plays himself into a new contract with them and Elliott plays well enough to land a #1 gig and big payday elsewhere. I think he ends up in either New Jersey or Calgary next season.

I'm going to leave RFAs alone for now.

[lucifer316]

its very early to start worrying about this imo

the same claims were made when the cap was first put into place and there was no substantial uptick in player movement compared to precap

we have no idea what the cap will look like going into that season and we really dont know how much space amnesty buyouts are liable to open up on teams

also dont discount the fact that players will be able to get an extra year on their contract by choosing to stay put

there will be some movement no doubt there always has been some movement but i think that like the last time we might be getting excited over nothing

[ericdaoust]

There will be less money to go around for a couple of years as the transition goes on. After that things will be caught up. The free buyouts will help but they will not cover the 6 million drop from this year to next year for all 30 teams. There will be a crunch and it will be felt all over the place. That is why Del Zotto signed for so cheap.

[letangerang58]

You forgot Getzlaf and Perry.

[lucifer316]

You forgot Getzlaf and Perry.

they are 2013 ufas

[4T2]

Haha, wow, how the hell did I miss that being the point of this whole thread? Was looking at all those names as 2013 FAs. Talk about a brain fart