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Free Agency Preview 2019
With this summer set to see the greatest free-agent class of all-time, we have everything you need to know in our Free Agency Preview: reports on all 31 teams; top 20 UFA Power Rankings; top 10 bargain UFAs; a history of offer sheets; features on Karlsson, Panarin and Bobrovsky; and much, much more. Also in the issue: our 2019 mock draft, we say goodbye to Red Kelly, and we count down the final 10 helmetless NHLers.
11. Mats Zuccarello
AGE: 31 POS: RW2018-19 CAP HIT: $4.5M On Jan. 1, Zuccarello had four goals and 14 points in 25 games on a Rangers team going nowhere. It appeared he’d torpedoed his value at the worst possible time. So much has happened since then. He caught fire with 23 points in his next 21 games, wound up traded to Dallas at the deadline, broke his arm during a highly productive first game, then returned in time for the playoffs, where he made a massive impact. Whew. Zuccarello is a catalyst. He’s not a franchise-pillar signing, but his feisty, silky-handed game can boost any contender’s depth. He fit great with the Stars but will cost them a 2020 first-round pick as a trade condition if he re-signs. BEST FITS: DAL, EDM, PHI…
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins don’t have a lot of players to deal with this summer, which is good, because they have zero cap space right now. A trade or two is inevitable since Pittsburgh has only nine NHL forwards and six D-men signed, with about $3 million to play with. True, most of the RFAs in need of new contracts are on the lower end, but power forward ZACH ASTON-REESE is in that company, and he’ll be interesting to follow. Originally a coveted NCAA free agent out of Northeastern, ‘ZAR’ saw his second NHL campaign truncated by injuries, yet he did get some solid minutes when he was healthy. Given Pittsburgh’s dearth of young players, GM Jim Rutherford must be dialled in when it comes to those the team already has.…
Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s all but certain the Maple Leafs will become the first and only team in the NHL to have three players who carry average annual values of more than $10 million once they get MITCH MARNER to sign an extension. The only problem is the Leafs have only about $8 million in cap space, so roster adjustments will need to be made, and that’s before the team even thinks about extending Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, the latter of whom has arbitration rights. On the blueline, it’s hard to envision any scenario where Jake Gardiner or Ron Hainsey stays in Toronto. They’ll need to be replaced. If Marner does get past July 1 – he almost certainly won’t – will the sharks start circling with offer sheets for the valuable…
Have Mask, Will Travel
IT DIDN’T TAKE VERY long for Mads Sogaard to realize he wanted to be a goalie. Growing up in Denmark as the son of a huge hockey fan, Sogaard gravitated to the sport immediately. But when he first played the game as a skater at three-and-a-half, he wasn’t very good. So he strapped on the pads a half-year later, and the rest is history. Sogaard, one of the top netminders available in the 2019 NHL draft, just completed his second season in North America and his first with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. His sheer size makes him an obvious candidate for future NHL success, but that’s not the only reason the 6-foot-7, 190-pounder was attracting interest from evaluators. “He’s really quick laterally, it’s impressive,” said one scout. “He can overplay…
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