With the NHL salary cap flat for the near future, a lot of pending free agents are kicking themselves. (Sorry, Taylor Hall and Alex Pietrangelo.)
But the “free agent frenzy” can still inspire teams to open their wallets. Heck, the Wild just handed $42M to defensive defenseman Jonas Brodin.
You know what gets the wallets cracking even more? Thoughts of adding that clutch piece. That logic can really fly out the window when a player drives his team’s playoff success, especially when that ends with a raising of the Stanley Cup. Let’s look at top free agents from the remaining teams in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs: which Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, and Tampa Bay Lightning free agents might be bumping up their value?
Of course, Anton Khudobin is as prominent as a sliding Semyon Varlamov here. Let’s start with the team we already know is headed to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
Key Stars free agents heading into Stanley Cup Final
Anton Khudobin
Even Khudobin’s boosters would’ve been surprised to see him share headline space with Mathew Barzal, but here we are.
As covered recently, Khudobin’s built an impressive resume as something of a super backup. It’s difficult to place what kind of contract would be appropriate, and even what contract Khudobin should set his sights on.
While it’s not ideal that he’s 34, he at least wouldn’t count as a dreaded 35-plus contract. His save percentage with the Stars is impeccable (.926 in 71 games played over two regular seasons), and his career save percentage is better than most hand-picked NHL starters (.919).
You may have heard this during various broadcasts as Khudobin’s workload piled up, but he also hasn’t really carried a big burden very often in his career. Khudobin set a career-high with 41 games played with Dallas in 2018-19, and he boasts four other seasons of 30-plus appearances (including a stout showing this season).
So, the ideal fit is probably still a platoon situation. Could that boil down to staying with the Stars? Ben Bishop is on the hook for about $5M in cap space per season through 2022-23, so that would entail a lot of money wrapped up in goalies. (Khudobin falling anywhere near his current $2.5M cap hit would be a fireable offense for his agent.)
With quite a few names likely to hit the free agent market, it’s that much tougher to forecast what’s ahead for Khudobin. Except you’d almost be certain it’s a raise.
[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]
Young restricted free agents such as Hintz, Faksa
After Roope Hintz made a splash during the 2019 postseason, many pictured a breakthrough for the occasionally bulldozing forward. But like with Denis Gurianov and other young forwards, the Stars have been reluctant to take the training wheels off of Hintz, including dropping the 23-year-old’s postseason ice time considerably from last year (16:06) to this run (14:02).
If you’re a Stars fan who’s been frustrated by this, that’s understandable, especially since Hintz managed 19 goals this season despite tepid use. But at least that might keep his earning power down?
- At the other end of the spectrum, Radek Faksa is a low-scoring, high-leverage forward, and has been for some time for the Stars. The 26-year-old is arbitration-eligible, so that could be interesting to watch.
- Speaking of Gurianov, he’s an RFA, as well. Gurianov followed a 20-goal (albeit with just nine assists) regular season with what’s been a productive postseason. As hot-and-cold as his production has been, Gurianov sits at 17 points (8G, 9A) in 21 playoff games.
Grizzled veterans
- Corey Perry suffered through a lousy regular season, and his playoff numbers don’t jump off the page. Yet, even so, it wouldn’t be surprising if Perry, 35, gets snatched up by a team looking for a scrappy veteran who can draw penalties.
- Speaking of scrappy veterans, Andrej Sekera may be over his significant, career-threatening injury…
Read More: NHL free agents thriving during playoffs: Khudobin, Barzal, Cirelli, more