*Photo from WTOP*
Free agency opened on July 1, and teams have combined to spend well over a billion dollars on free agents with the idea of improving their team in the short and long term. Whether a team is pushing for a Stanley Cup or in the middle of a rebuild, free agency always brings a lot of moving and shaking leaguewide.
Despite the fact that tons of players are changing teams, there are still players who are without a team as of July 20 that don't have a team just yet. With so many quality players left, here is a full 23 man roster of the best remaining unrestricted free agents.
FORWARDS
Max Pacioretty - Mike Hoffman - Blake Wheeler
Dominik Kubalik - Tyler Johnson - Kailer Yamamoto
James van Riemsdyk - Nick Cousins - Filip Zadina
Jakub Vrana - Kyle Okposo - Daniel Sprong
Alex Nylander
The free agent class is a little light on centers at this point, hence why Okposo is the 4th line center instead of on the wing. There are still reliable scorers in this lineup, mainly Wheeler and Pacioretty, while van Riemsdyk had a solid season in Boston last year and Yamamoto and Zadina had quality seasons of their own. Nylander starts as the extra forward and draws in in case of injury or production related scratches. This lineup could compete with some of the cellar dwellers in the league.
DEFENSEMEN
Mark Giordano - John Klingberg
Travis Dermott - Tyson Barrie
Kevin Shattenkirk - Justin Schultz
Tony DeAngelo
The defense group is filled with more offensive-minded defensemen rather than a prototypical defenseman. Giordano and Dermott are the main defensemen who don't put up a ton of points but are sound in their own end. Barrie, Schultz, and Klingberg are all flawed in the defensive zone, while Shattenkirk can do a little of both. DeAngelo is the extra defenseman who is also offensive minded but has clear flaws as well. Goals could come in bunches against this defense.
GOALIES:
Martin Jones
Kevin Lankinen
Antti Raanta
Jones gets the nod as the starting netminder thanks to his run of strong years with the Sharks, where he helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 and has largely been a quality yet frustrating goalie throughout his career. He's also coming off a solid year in Toronto. Lankinen had a strong rookie season in Chicago during the 56 game Covid season and has fared well in sheltered playing time as the backup to Juuse Saros in Nashville recently. Raanta, while largely a dependable goalie during his career, is the extra goalie thanks to coming off a nightmare season that saw him demoted to the AHL a few times while having trouble making routine saves.
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