NHL Rumors: Top 12 RFAs This Summer in the NHL

The Class of 2024 NHL RFAs Has Big Names

Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Fox writes there is a little bit of everything heading into the summer of 2024 involving the RFA Class of 2024 once Free Agency begins.

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Add in the fact that the salary cap is going up by $4.2 million. Could there finally be another offer sheet coming in the NHL? Let’s find out.

Here is the list:

  1. Filip Hronek – Vancouver Canucks – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $4.4 million – Arbitration rights: Yes
  2. Moritz Seider – Detroit Red Wings – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $863,333 – Arbitration rights: No
  3. Casey Mittelstadt – Colorado Avalanche – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $2.5 million – Arbitration rights: Yes
  4. Lucas Raymond – Detroit Red Wings – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $925,000 – Arbitration rights: No
  5. Seth Jarvis – Carolina Hurricanes – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $894,167- Arbitration rights: No
  6. Thomas Harley – Dallas Stars – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $863,333 – Arbitration rights: No
  7. Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $3.475 million – Arbitration rights: Yes
  8. Quinton Byfield – Los Angeles Kings – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $894,167 – Arbitration rights: No
  9. Martin Necas – Carolina Hurricanes – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $3 million – Arbitration rights: Yes
  10. Matthew Beniers – Seattle Kraken – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $897,500 – Arbitration rights: No
  11. Sean Durzi – Arizona Coyotes – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $1.7 million – Arbitration rights: Yes
  12. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Buffalo Sabres – 2023-24 salary cap hit: $837,500 – Arbitration rights: Yes

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NHLRumors.com Notes: The Carolina Hurricanes will be a fascinating team to watch this off-season. With so many RFAs and UFAs, there is only so much money for many players. Necas will need a pay raise, and it may not be easy given his arbitration rights and the fact that he has to be one of their more impactful players. Jarvis could get a bridge deal.

The Detroit Red Wings have two players coming off their entry-level deals. We know Yzerman’s history in Tampa Bay, bridging players before extending them long-term. However, you must wonder if Seider gets a long-term extension while Raymond gets the bridge deal.

The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman will be interesting to watch. We know what happened last year with the Bruins and Swayman. It went to Arbitration before Swayman signed a one-year extension.

They are in the same pickle again this year. Swayman continues to put up numbers. It was a shock that no one put an offer sheet on him last year. Could it happen this year or a trade, perhaps? Swayman feels like the goalie in Boston for the future, with Linus Ullmark moving.

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Other names to watch are Filip Hronek in Vancouver, Casey Mittelstadt in Colorado, and Quinton Byfield in LA. Byfield has made strides this season with the Kings. He could be another bridge candidate. Mittelstadt fills the 2C role for Colorado, but they have to watch dollars as well. That depends on Gabriel Landeskog’s status.

Hronek has been great for Quinn Hughes. GM Patrik Allvin was to extend him, but reports are he rejected an eight-year $52 million deal. That is an AAV of $6.5 million. Does he want more? What is fair in this case?