Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad are off the board, leaving slim pickings in NHL free agency.
This is not one of the deepest free-agent classes in recent history. Still, with the salary cap going up a record $7.5 million to $95.5 million, teams will be spending a lot of money beginning at 11 a.m. CDT Tuesday.
Here’s a look at the players to watch when the market opens:
Brock Boeser
Six-time 20-goal scorers don’t hit free agency before age 30 very often, and Boeser had 40 goals as recently as 2023-24. He is Marner’s age (28) and had 25 goals and 25 assists last season, so everyone from Winnipeg to Washington will be in on Boeser.
The Minnesota native has spent his whole career in Vancouver, and the Canucks seem to be sliding into a rebuild. That gives Boeser the opportunity to get a welcome change of scenery, potentially with a contender.
Nikolaj Ehlers
Ehlers could be a big beneficiary of so many moves happening in late June, making him, along with Boeser, one of the top wingers still available. He was nearly a point-a-game producer with 63 in 69 games in his 10th season with the Winnipeg Jets.
The 29-year-old Dane was making $6 million annually on his last contract, and the cap going up combined with high demand and low supply could get Ehlers a nice raise.
Brent Burns
One of the oldest players in the league at 40, Burns still is chasing the Stanley Cup and can bring experience and more to a contender. The 6-foot-5, nearly 230-pound defenseman no longer skates top-pairing minutes, but he averaged nearly 23 a game during the Carolina Hurricanes’ run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Fellow soon-to-be former Hurricane Dmitry Orlov also will garner interest. Orlov had a rough series against the Florida Panthers but is still capable and has a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the Washington Capitals.
Nate Schmidt
The two-time defending champion Panthers re-signed Marchand, Ekblad and Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett, and that was a magic act in itself. There’s not much room left for someone like Schmidt, who revitalized his career in Florida.
A year after the Jets bought him out, Schmidt could cash in once more on the verge of turning 34.
Ilya Samsonov
The goaltending market is remarkably thin, with fewer than a dozen unrestricted free agents who played in the league last season. Most are backups or, at best, 1-B options, including Jake Allen and David Rittich.
Samsonov is the most intriguing option. He’s only 28, he has starting experience and the right goalie coach and locker room could be enough to get his career back on track after consecutive sub-.900 save percentage seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights.