NHL free agency opens Monday, less than a week since Commissioner Gary Bettman to the .
, and with all of it packed into a short period of time and more extra money to spend since before the pandemic, general managers are not quite sure what's to come when the free agent frenzy gets underway.
鈥淚t's going to be unpredictable, really," said Saturday on NHL Network. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting. Every team鈥檚 trying to get better, and there鈥檚 only so many seats at the table.鈥�
at the playoff table, but nearly all of the league's 32 teams will make a signing of some sort, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be committed to players this week. This summer marks the first big salary cap increase since 2019 鈥� 鈥� and there is no shortage of top players who will cash in as part of a free agent class headlined by longtime Tampa Bay captain and 2023 playoff MVP .
Some moves got done Sunday, including one of the biggest-named players on the market staying put: Three-time Cup champion for next season. Toronto also re-signed forward Max Domi (four years, $15 million) and defenseman Timothy Liljegren (two years, $6 million) and Utah kept Sean Durzi around for the next four seasons with a $24 million contract.
鈥淪ean is a reliable two-way defenseman who can anchor the power play and provide offense from the blueline," GM Bill Armstrong said. "He鈥檚 a young, highly skilled defenseman with an incredibly bright future, and we look forward to having him as a core player for this organization.鈥�
Beyond signings, more trades are also in the offing, after Detroit GM Steve Yzerman called some of the activity at the draft over the weekend 鈥渆ye opening鈥� and moves he didn't see coming.
鈥淓very team鈥檚 got a little bit more cap space,鈥� Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille said. "And we鈥檙e seeing where things are going to be (going up) in the next two or three years. We expect some movement, and it should be exciting.鈥�
So much that at least a couple of teams' front offices are staying in Las Vegas following the draft to handle free agency from there. That includes the Washington Capitals, who have been one of the busiest teams lately, trading for and goaltender Logan Thompson of moves.
鈥淲e鈥檙e retooling and adding prospects and competing,鈥� GM Brian MacLellan said, adding he 鈥渕aybe鈥� has some more up his sleeve by way of trade or free agency, particularly to change up his defense. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to shop around and see what we can find.鈥�
Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, fresh off helping the in franchise history, are among the experienced defensemen available, along with Brady Skjei, three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez and Sean Walker, a trade deadline pickup by Colorado. Brett Pesce, a longtime teammate of Skjei's with Carolina, has been linked to New Jersey after the Devils cleared room for him.
The pool of forward talent available is stronger, even if Sam Reinhart stays with Florida following and Jake Guentzel signs with the Lightning after the high-scoring winger's rights.
Significant interest should materialize for Marchessault, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights scoring a career-best 42 goals. There may not be room left for him after the team added $6.7 million-a-year center Tomas Hertl and in March, though GM Kelly McCrimmon was unwilling in the big picture to speculate about how free agency will unfold.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not completely in any club鈥檚 control,鈥� McCrimmon said. 鈥淲e have a real good handle on what that market is, what that landscape is, what it looks like and we鈥檒l make our decisions accordingly. But it takes two parties to come to an agreement, and free agency is free agency. You鈥檙e never quite sure. We鈥檒l see what plays out.鈥�
The goaltending market has been playing out for some time now, with the , the and Boston Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo and more. Plenty more teams need help in net, including Detroit and Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, joining the Capitals remaining in Vegas for the free agent festivities, are willing to roll the dice that they can find a solution.
鈥淗ow concerned am I of the goalie market? Well, we鈥檒l see what the goalie market is,鈥� GM Brad Treliving said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been poking around in it, and we know we鈥檝e got to shore that up on our end but we鈥檙e confident that we can.鈥�
___
AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow and freelancer writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
___
AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
