NHL free agency is a ways away, but here is a look the defensemen that could be hitting the open market in July 1st as NHL free agents.
The free agent market for defenseman lost what would have been the most sought player in Dustin Byfuglien. The Jets re-signed the Big Buff to a five-year, $38 million deal. Byfuglien would have been the only top-tier blueliner.
You probably won’t find any legit top pairing defensemen in this year’s free agent crop, but there are still some who will get plenty of interest. Though as we saw last year, teams may not be lining up to drop big bucks on free agents.
Keith Yandle should get some interest this offseason. The Rangers don’t appear to be interested in re-signing him, and there is a chance he’s traded before the deadline. Ryan McDonagh is currently out with a concussion, and if he’s to miss a significant amount of time, the Rangers may be forced to hold onto Yandle.
The Canucks are still deciding on what to do with Dan Hamhuis. Hamhuis would like to stay, but he may not fit in with the Canucks plans. If they were to bring him back, it would definitely have to be for less than his current $4.5 million cap hit.
The Stars have three pending UFA defenseman in Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers and Jordie Benn to decide on.
The Flames say they are wanting to re-sign Kris Russell, who will be looking for a nice raise from his current $2.6 million deal. It won’t be an easy contract for the Flames to fit in. If the Flames and Russell don’t reach a deal by the deadline, he could be a candidate to be moved to a contender.
We’ll continue to update our 2016 NHL free agents list if someone signs or is traded.
| Players | Team | Age | NTC/NMC | Shoots | Salary Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Campbell |  | 36 | NTC | Left | $7,142,875 |
| Keith Yandle |  | 29 | Left | $5,250,000 | |
| Dustin Byfuglien |  | 30 | NTC | Right | $5,200,000 |
| Alex Goligoski |  | 30 | NTC | Left | $4,600,000 |
| Dan Boyle | | 39 | NMC | Right | $4,500,000 |
| Braydon Coburn |  | 30 | NTC | Left | $4,500,000 |
| Dan Hamhuis |  | 33 | NTC | Left | $4,500,000 |
| Nikita Nikitin |  | 29 | Left | $4,500,000 | |
| Willie Mitchell | | 38 | NTC | Left | $4,250,000 |
| Kyle Quincey |  | 30 | Left | $4,250,000 | |
| John-Michael Liles |  | 35 | Left | $3,875,000 | |
| Mattias Ohlund | | 39 | NTC | Left | $3,607,142 |
| Luke Schenn |  | 26 | NTC | Right | $3,600,000 |
| Nicklas Grossmann |  | 30 | NTC | Left | $3,500,000 |
| Jason Demers | | 27 | Right | $3,400,000 | |
| Carl Gunnarsson |  | 29 | Left | $3,150,000 | |
| Evgeny Medvedev |  | 33 | Left | $3,000,000 | |
| Tom Gilbert |  | 32 | Right | $2,800,000 | |
| Roman Polak |  | 29 | Right | $2,750,000 | |
| Kris Russell |  | 28 | Left | $2,600,000 | |
| Chris Phillips |  | 37 | NTC | Left | $2,500,000 |
| Grant Clitsome | | 30 | Left | $2,066,666 | |
| Matt Bartkowski | | 27 | Left | $1,750,000 | |
| Mike Weber |  | 28 | Left | $1,666,666 | |
| Christian Ehrhoff | | 33 | Left | $1,500,000 | |
| Jay Harrison | | 33 | Left | $1,500,000 | |
| Yannick Weber | | 27 | Right | $1,500,000 | |
| Marek Zidlicky |  | 38 | NMC | Right | $1,500,000 |
| Eric Gryba | | 27 | Right | $1,250,000 | |
| Ben Lovejoy |  | 31 | Right | $1,100,000 | |
| Adam Pardy | | 31 | Left | $1,000,000 | |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | | 32 | Left | $900,000 | |
| Jeff Schultz | | 29 | Left | $850,000 | |
| Jakub Nakladal | | 28 | Right | $817,500 | |
| Mark Fraser | | 29 | Left | $800,000 | |
| Nate Guenin |  | 33 | Right | $800,000 | |
| Matt Irwin |  | 28 | Left | $800,000 | |
| Michael Kostka | | 30 | Right | $800,000 | |
| Kevan Miller | | 28 | Right | $800,000 | |
| Brian Strait | | 28 | Left | $775,000 | |
| Korbinian Holzer |  | 27 | Right | $750,000 | |
| Zach Redmond | | 27 | Right | $750,000 | |
| Jordie Benn | | 28 | Left | $700,000 | |
| Taylor Chorney |  | 28 | Left | $700,000 | |
| Raphael Diaz | | 29 | Right | $700,000 | |
| TJ Brennan | | 26 | Left | $675,000 | |
| Chris Butler | | 29 | Left | $675,000 | |
| Victor Bartley |  | 27 | Left | $666,666 | |
| Andrew Bodnarchuk |  | 27 | Left | $650,000 | |
| Corey Potter | | 32 | Right | $650,000 | |
| Derek Smith | | 31 | Left | $650,000 | |
| Tyson Strachan |  | 31 | Right | $650,000 | |
| Niclas Andersen | | 27 | Left | $625,000 | |
| Maxim Noreau | | 28 | Right | $625,000 | |
| David Schlemko |  | 28 | Left | $625,000 | |
| Andre Benoit | | 32 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Chris Breen | | 26 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Justin Falk | | 27 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Taylor Fedun | | 27 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Alex Grant | | 26 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Peter Harrold | | 32 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Brad Hunt | | 27 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Jamie McBain | | 27 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Patrick Mullen | | 29 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Shane O'Brien | | 32 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Joe Piskula | | 31 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Dylan Reese | | 31 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Michal Rozsival |  | 37 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Bobby Sanguinetti | | 27 | Right | $600,000 | |
| Karl Stollery |  | 28 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Chris Summers | | 27 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Matt Taormina | | 29 | Left | $600,000 | |
| Kyle Cumiskey | | 29 | Left | $575,000 | |
| Davis Drewiske | | 31 | Left | $575,000 | |
| Marc-Andre Gragnani | | 28 | Left | $575,000 | |
| Mike Moore | | 31 | Left | $575,000 | |
| Steve Oleksy | | 29 | Right | $575,000 | |
| Will O'Neill | | 27 | Left | $575,000 | |
| Dan Kelly | | 26 | Left | $562,500 |
Source: General Fanager was used to compile the list of NHL free agent centers.
