The NHL playoffs are truly a magical time for us all to experience, but there is a life after the playoffs conclude. The focus shifts from watching the players play, to watching where they end up getting traded to, who they want to play with, and ultimately where they will be playing next season. That shall be the focus in this edition of 'Capped', I'll discuss a few of the UFA players that are expected to hit the open market come the start of the summer.
A UFA, also referred to as an 'Unrestricted Free Agent', is a player that is free to sign with whatever team they wish, meanwhile their former team will receive zero compensation. There are a few types of UFA statuses, I'll give a small breakdown on them.

Group 3 UFA – The most common variant of the UFA status, this occurs when the player has either played through 7 accrued seasons (the skater is on the NHL roster for at minimum 40 games, goalies need to be 30 games), or they at least 27 years old as of June 30^th in the given year.

Group 6 UFA – These players are at least 25 years old, played in at least three seasons of professional hockey (18–19-year-old players play in at least 11 professional games, or a 20+ year old plays in at least 1 or more professional games. Professional hockey is a regular season or a playoff game at the NHL level, AHL, ECHL, or in a professional league overseas.), their contract is set to expire, and has played in a grand total of less than 80 games in the NHL. Goalies need 28 games at the NHL level.

Non-Qualified RFA's – Players reach this status if they are a RFA (Restricted Free Agent) and didn't receive a qualifying offer from their respective team by June 25^th, they then become UFA's and can sign with whatever team they want as of July 1^st in the given year.

Undrafted UFA's – Any player that went undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft, or those that are no longer eligible to be drafted all become UFA's and can sign with whatever team they desire.

With that out of the way and we can see what defines someone as a UFA, let's start looking at some of the upcoming UFA's.

#1) Claude Giroux – RW – Florida Panthers
Contract: $4.1375M (50% retained in the trade that sent him to Florida from Philadelphia)
Roster Percentages: 90.5% ESPN, 82% Yahoo

This is a player that realistically every contending NHL team should be looking at acquiring, he can play all three forward positions, is one of the better faceoff takers in the entire NHL, that 60% win rate looks even better when you factor in that he took over 1200 faceoffs this year, and managed to win over 700 of them. We all know Giroux is going to put up points each year, we just don't know where he is going to sign to. There is reason to believe that he will consider going back to the Flyers given how long he spent in the city of brotherly love, the amount in which he loves the city of Philadelphia, along with the familiarity he has with the staff and players. I don't believe he will go back there, but if Florida goes on a deep run in the playoffs and shows him that they are legit contenders, he may stay there. This was the place that Giroux wanted to get traded to after all, so let's not forget that he can choose wherever he wants to go. Some speculate that he may sign in Ottawa, given that he has family there and spends time there in the summers. The Senators have holes in their forward core going into next year, a player like Giroux can help the young core that the Senators have going forward when it comes to off-ice growth. Whatever team he goes to, expect him to be in the best possible position to contribute offensively, Giroux is a player that should hold his value going into next season regardless of the cap-hit of the contract. This is a player that shouldn't be receiving a long-term deal given his age, and the factor of when will the decline happen, if ever.

#2) Johnny Gaudreau – LW – Calgary Flames
Contract: $6.75M
Roster Percentages: 98.7% ESPN, 98% Yahoo

Fresh off a career year of posting 115 points throughout a full 82 game season, the Flames are hopeful that this level of production can continue into the playoffs. Gaudreau is going to be able to realistically ask for any amount of money that he wants, he has proven that he deserves to have one of the more lucrative contracts in the NHL. I'm not sure how much he is going to be asking for, or what he will receive, but I feel like the initial asking price is going to be very steep for any team. There were rumblings at times throughout his career if he is going to be on the move or not. With Matthew Tkachuk set to become a RFA at the end of this season, with the year that he just had mixed with being four years younger than Gaudreau and the Flames not really losing a whole lot of salary off their books this summer. Gaudreau could end up playing his way out of Calgary given that the most expensive contract expiring for them outside of those two is Nikita Zadorov who makes $3.75-million. There is also Andrew Mangiapane being an RFA and coming off a season that had him score 35 goals. The Flames are going to have decisions to make, and it should start with how they plan to proceed with Johnny Gaudreau. He is still going to be a very effective player regardless of where he ends up.

#3) Filip Forsberg – LW – Nashville Predators
Contract: $6M
Roster Percentages: 96.1% ESPN, 89% Yahoo

The Nashville Predators have an aging core, their two highest paid players at forward are Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen who both make $8M, if I'm the Predators I know going into contract negotiations with Forsberg that I am going to be paying him more than what Duchene and Johansen make. He is their best forward from an overall standpoint, and from the scoring aspect. He was second in scoring for forwards for the Predators this year, only two points back of Duchene while playing in nine fewer games. I like to believe that they won't pay him more than Roman Josi, my rule of thumb is that if you're not the best player on the team, you shouldn't make the most amount of money on said team. Roman Josi is their best player, making just over $9-million per season, and is the team's captain. David Poile (Nashville's General Manager) said a few weeks prior to the NHL deadline that the team aren't looking to move Forsberg and that they want to sign him. While that is all fine and dandy in theory, this team just got swept in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche. Has the dynamic shifted in Nashville now about signing Forsberg? Maybe now he doesn't want to be there given how the season ended, maybe he wants to test a new market seeing how he has been a member of the Predators organization since being traded there by the Capitals in exchange for Martin Erat back in 2013. I'll end it with this, Filip Forsberg is a fantastic hockey player but I'm not as optimistic as others are that this production can continue if he were to go to another team.

#4) Kris Letang – D – Pittsburgh Penguins
Contract: $7.25M
Roster Percentages: 99.7% ESPN, 98% Yahoo

Originally a third-round draft selection by the Penguins in 2005, now a three-time Stanley Cup champion. Kris Letang has certainly had himself a career, in my opinion he is a future hall of famer. At age 35, Letang has managed to put up a career high in points, something that very few people end up doing after they hit 30. There aren't many players out there who play the game the way that Letang has managed to do across his 16 seasons at the NHL level. Letang is poised to reach the 1000 game mark next season, assuming he doesn't hang-up the skates at the end of the playoffs (I doubt he will, just for argument sakes since he is 35 years old). This is a player that has been able to play with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for his whole career, Letang certainly helped elevate those guys, but he also gained a lot from Crosby given his no-nonsense attitude when it comes to preparing for games. There have been rumors that this could end up being the Penguins last year while having the deadly trio of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang. When you get a player like Letang, you're really getting a superstar that people don't talk about enough. Whatever team he goes to (if he leaves the Penguins), you should expect someone who is going to put up points at 5v5, and on the powerplay, isn't afraid to throw his lean frame around given the fact that he set a career high in hits this season, and loves getting in the lanes to block a shot. All of this is done while being a workhorse and playing every key situation imaginable. Letang is a player who may see a dip in overall points if he isn't on the Penguins next year, but realistically this is a player that will find a way to put up points regardless. I think this is like Giroux, I think Letang may be willing to take a dip in pay if it means winning another Stanley Cup.

#5) John Klingberg – D – Dallas Stars
Contract: $4.25M
Roster Percentages: 75.1% ESPN, 74% Yahoo

Since recording 67 points in the 2017-18 season, Klingberg has yet to return to the 50-point club, granted that is a bit hard for a defender to do given the other responsibilities and situations that they play, along with the shortened seasons that we have had in that span certainly haven't helped him. It was rumored that Klingberg has asked for a trade back as early as late December/early January. A lot of people, including myself thought that he would have been moved at the trade deadline, as we all know that didn't happen. The next time that he becomes available to be moved is at the NHL Entry Draft, he has been a member of the Dallas Stars roster since the 2014-15 season, his eighth season with the club will be concluding, and they haven't won a championship with him there. Now the team has Miro Heiskanen who should be given the same freedom that Klingberg was when he was first breaking onto the scene. I don't think a player with the stats that Klingberg has would view themselves as anything other than the team's number one defender. Overall, if Klingberg moves on from the Stars this summer, whatever team gets him is going to be getting a player who can play a lot of minutes, a guy who can quarterback a team's top power play unit, and a guy who is reliable enough to help spark offense from the blueline (an element that is becoming more and more important in today's NHL). Klingberg is due for a huge pay raise and given the amounts that some of the other defenders have gotten recently, expect Klingberg to nearly double in salary.

While there are many UFA's and RFA's out there, I will be doing my best to write about as many of them that I can between now and the start of next season. But for now, let's all enjoy the playoffs while we can!

If you want to have any questions answered or interact with me, please feel free to interact with me on the forums or in the comments of the articles, or on Twitter @JamieMolloy_DH.