The NHL’s qualifying bid deadline has created an attractive secondary market for impact mining producers. In fact, this year’s harvest of unqualified restricted free agents has more talent than ever.
For a club to withhold rights over their FRGs, they had to submit to the player a qualified offer equivalent to the base salary of their last contract before 5pm ET on Monday. Many teams would prefer to keep some of their RFAs unlicensed, but these players are often eligible for refereeing. If the player requests refereeing, the team risks an unfavorable salary decision, one of which a club does not have legal permission to leave unless the maximum success is $ 4,538,958 or more. . In other words, once a team has qualified an FRG, there is no certainty of costs and there is no going back if the player proceeds to refereeing. This obviously poses a risk to clubs that are compressed against the salary cap.
Any RFA who has not submitted a qualified offer is eligible to become a UFA on July 13th. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most intriguing free bidders, as well as honorable mentions.
Dylan Strome
Since arriving in Chicago, Dylan Strome has scored 154 points in 225 games, 56 points for every 82 games. At the time, it was a big surprise that he didn’t qualify at his modest $ 3.6 million rate, given that the Blackhawks are swimming in space. Even if he didn’t consider the club’s long-term plans, it would have been better if Chicago had reached a short-term deal and exchanged it on the deadline instead of letting it go for nothing.
Alas, here we are.
Strome is a very useful six-intermediate center that should be appealing to teams that need help in the middle. Since the 2019-20 campaign, Strome has scored 1.92 points per hour in five-on-five, which is a good faith rate among the top six.
However, there are yellow flags to keep in mind. On the one hand, Strome’s skating is still slow, making him a questionable two-way player. Therefore, it must be deployed carefully and strategically to be successful. The Blackhawks knew it as they gave Strome a big dose of offensive zone starts, mostly they played him against the bottom six competition and lined up Patrick Kane on his side for long stretches.
The fit is key: Strome makes a lot of sense for a team that needs a center of six intermediates endowed offensively on a protected goal line.
Dominic Cuban
Kubalik is a one-dimensional scorer, but when you can fill the net constantly, clubs can often overlook these flaws. The 26-year-old Czech left winger has scored 62 goals in 202 NHL games, which translates to a rate of 25 goals per 82 games.
Unfortunately, their results have gone in the wrong direction. Kubalik’s goal and points ratios have dropped in consecutive seasons and his ball profile has also plummeted. One explanatory factor is the lack of help around them. Jonathan Toews, Kubalik’s most common center-back, was still one of the top six high-end pivots in 2019-20 when Kubalik scored 30 goals as a rookie, and the Chicago captain is simply not the same player he was. Kubalik can’t drive a line on his own, so it’s no wonder his production has dropped without a top-tier center to boost his line’s play.
It is possible that Kubalik will not have the 30 goals on the rise that 2019-20 showed, as that year he shot an unsustainably high 19.1 percent. But he still offers a legitimate 20-25 upside goal in a six-half role.
Danton Heinen
Heinen did not receive a QO for the Anaheim Ducks last low season; he is now in the same situation with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In this case, he was not tendered because he played so well that there was a high risk of an expensive refereeing ruling, which the Penguins might not have been able to afford given their precarious head situation. It was too good, in other words, and it was made out of Pittsburgh.
Heinen was a crucial source of secondary goals with 18 goals and 33 points in 76 games. Fifteen of those goals were five-on-five, which tied him with Sidney Crosby in second place at the club. Obviously, such high and equal goals are an atypical value, but we’re still talking about a player who has scored 36 points in 82 games throughout his NHL career.
In addition to his secondary score, Heinen was a strong two-way play driver who tipped the ice in favor of Pittsburgh with a very positive shot, goal opportunities and goal-scoring.
Teams looking for a versatile, scoring and reliable bottom six striker should consider Heinen.
Sonny Milano
This is pretty amazing. Milano is a creative and gifted game creator who finally consolidated with a solid campaign, scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games alongside Trevor Zegras. The combination of speed and skill of the 26-year-old allows him to constantly create controlled zone entries and prepare his teammates for dangerous goal opportunities.
Milano’s work away from the record isn’t perfect, but a look under the hood reveals that his two-way profile was no problem. The Ducks controlled a strong 52 percent shooting attempts and goal opportunities during their five-on-five minutes last season.
Speed and skill are increasingly important in the modern game. In Milan, teams can bid for a cheap player who can bid on both.
Ondřej Kaše
After a frustrating 2020-21 campaign that saw him lose all but three games due to injury, Ondřej Kaše made a good recovery performance last season. The 26-year-old right winger is shaping up as a valuable Swiss Army six-knife midfielder: he can score (14 goals and 27 points in 50 games), kill penalties and offer help for the transition with his successful zone generation history. tickets.
Health remains the biggest risk with Kaše. He has gone through the drain with multiple head injuries and has prepared for more than 60 games in a season just once in his career. Talent is there, but how much will a team commit to knowing health issues?
Ilya Samsonov
Injuries and inconsistency undermined Samsonov’s time with the Capitals, who finally decided it was time to move on.
Samsonov doesn’t have a great NHL history, as he has only achieved a .903 savings percentage in 94 career games. That said, he is tall, athletic, has a good pedigree as in the No. 22 team in 2015 and is still quite young at 25 years old. Samsonov can see a UFA teammate like Jack Campbell as proof of concept of how he is a highly promoted goalkeeper. who has lost a little can regain his career.
Samsonov could be an interesting bet as number 2, especially considering how many teams are looking for help in the goalkeeping market.
Victor Mete
Mete was once an analyst darling who got good results from Montreal’s third pair. However, he fell into disgrace in Quebec and has been unable to increase his actions in the country’s capital, where he fought largely for senators.
However, a fresh start could help the soft, small skater find the kind of consistent, positive form that made him a solid two-way presence with Canadians.
The key with Mete is to identify if it is misunderstood and undervalued or if it was the product of a strong system in Montreal. Some would say that teams only see it as a record engine with a limited offensive advantage and that they overlook their usually strong two-way numbers because it is stereotyped for their smaller stature. Others would say that his work without the record is really a concern and that his underlying positive results are overrated and the result of a favorable environment in Montreal where many defenses had good numbers.
We’ll have to wait to see which field is right, but for now, Mete remains an intriguing depth option for a club that wants to add mobility and disc movement skills.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel
After practicing his craft in the minors for parts of four seasons, Aube-Kubel finally became an NHL player every day for the Flyers in the 2019-20 season. It was an instant success, offering a secondary score, strong defensive value and a non-stop engine. Aube-Kubel had penalty issues in 2020-21, which eroded the confidence he had built up, and this year he was handed over to the Colorado Avalanche.
The 26-year-old right winger is a fighter, fast and an excellent foresighted man. He participated with 11 goals and his ability to recover from records has led to positive results in two-way driving. Aube-Kubel doesn’t kill penalties and can be inconsistent, but it would be worth throwing the dice as a fourth-line collaborator who can climb to the third line in a pinch for teams playing a pre-rhythm control style. .
Jonathan Dahlen
Dahlen can score and offers real potential, but there are flaws in his game that make him fit a big key.
The Sharks rookie came out of the door with a heater, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 26 games in mid-December. From there, he suffered multiple injuries, including upper body disease and a concussion, and was placed twice on the COVID-19 protocol. He was never able to regain his pace, scoring just eight points in 34 games as of Jan. 1, and it was also a healthy scratch. He finished the season with 12 goals and 22 points in 61 games.
Dahlen protrudes down and can finish, but he’s slow, small, and not the most reliable two-way player. Is he the kind of tweener who has talent but doesn’t have enough skill to play a half-consistent role of six and is too one-dimensional to offer value below the lineup? Or were his struggles in the second half primarily the result of the injuries he will be able to leave behind?
The 24-year-old is still young enough to take a step back so it is worth betting on a club under reconstruction that has open places to offer opportunities.
Ryan Donato
Think of Donato as a discounted version of Kubalik. He has a fantastic shot that allows him to score goals for groups, but he is a polarizing player for his one-dimensional profile. Donato will score 16 …