Unlike past years, this year’s crop of unrestricted free agents doesn’t have the star power as it normally does.

A year ago, we were speculating about potential big-money deals for the likes of Nazem Kadri, John Klingberg, Darcy Kuemper, Jack Campbell, Johnny Gaudreau, Evander Kane and Filip Forsberg. Most of them signed big-money deals and almost all of them signed with a new team.

While cap leagues see the most immediate impact of these signings, even those not in cap leagues need to be following where a player signs.

Every new contract, no matter how big or small or whether the player stays with his current team or leaves for a new squad, will have a ripple effect in fantasy. A player shifting to a new team means a potential prospect might have to spend another year in the minor leagues. A player signing a big-money deal means less money for another player. A big-name player going to a new team means a boost in value for many players.

Last year, for instance, the signing of Campbell in Edmonton delayed Stuart Skinner‘s potential breakthrough year. Gaudreau signing in Columbus had many expecting big things from potential linemates, with the big debate of who was going to center that top line.

Below are the top 10 interesting UFAs for this offseason with cap information from Cap Friendly.

10. Alex Killorn

Killorn may not be as popular a name as some of the other free agents available, but his 27 goals last year lead all UFAs going into this summer’s free-agent frenzy. He has at least 25 goals in three of the last four campaigns, and the one year he didn’t was the 56-game Covid shortened season. His 65 points this year is also a career high, while his 13 power-play points were only one off. It’s almost a guarantee that Killorn will be with a new team next year, as Tampa only has $450,000 in cap space and about six spots in their lineup to fill.

9. Max Domi

Domi is a hard player to figure out. He’s had a 70-point season, but also a season where he paced for 36 points. His points-per-game mark has increased for the last few years, but he still only paced for 56 points this season, which indicates he is not keepable except for deep leagues or leagues that count PIM. He was awful in Columbus but great in Chicago. He set a career high with 19 power-play points this year, but 18 of those came with Chicago, who had a bottom-five power play, and only one with Dallas, who had a top-five power play. He had seven points in 20 regular-season games for the Stars, but 13 points in 19 postseason games.

8. Michael Bunting

Bunting is in a unique situation. He’s one of the bigger-name UFA names despite playing fewer than 200 games. At 187, the 27-year-old is poised to hit his 200-game breakout threshold next season. Bunting played almost exclusively in a top-six role last year and almost exclusively with elite players. About 74 per cent of his five-on-five shifts were alongside Auston Matthews, and his next three most frequent linemates were William Nylander, Mitchell Marner and John Tavares. Despite all that usage with elite players, he finished with only 49 points. However, he still tied his career high with 23 goals and had 63 points only a year ago.

7. Ivan Barbashev

I’ve seen a few people mention that Barbashev probably made a couple of extra million on his next deal thanks to his outstanding postseason. Of course, that’s only helpful if a general manager looks at his most recent playoff performance. Barbashev had only nine points in 50 postseason games with the Blues, but had 18 in 22 games with Vegas this year. Barbashev is already a tough keeper in many leagues. A year ago, he had 60 points, but this year he dropped down to 45, which is still his second-most productive season. He doesn’t shoot the puck often, but he averages more than two hits per game. He has shown he can be productive when put in a top role with elite linemates, so any team with an elite player who needs a winger would be the best bet fantasy-wise. 

6. Shayne Gostisbehere

Gostisbehere is a little underrated when it comes to fantasy hockey. He had a couple of poor seasons, especially in 2019-20 when he finished with 12 points in 42 games, a 23-point pace. However, for most of his career, he’s been a minimum 40-point player. In Arizona a year ago, he put up 51. This year, he had a 49-point pace with the Coyotes before he was dealt to Carolina. There, his ice time and power-play time were cut tremendously, but he still had 10 points in 23 games. He’s also good for slightly more than a blocked shot per game and can produce on the power play. Since 2015-16, Gostisbehere is 12th in power-play points by a defenseman, ahead of names such as Morgan Rielly, Dougie Hamilton, Alex Pietrangelo and Seth Jones, despite playing fewer games than all of those players. He can still be a decent offensive force as long as he’s given the opportunity to do so.

5. Adin Hill

There are so many questions surrounding Hill’s future. Will Vegas be looking to keep him considering their logjam in net? Can he turn a great three rounds of playoff hockey into a long-term deal? Is there a team that would be willing to make Hill their number-one netminder? Hill, who was in many discussions for the Conn Smythe trophy, has never been a number-one goalie and just set a career high in games played with 27. However, his numbers have been decent the last few years, even in San Jose and Arizona. In Vegas, when given an opportunity, he has succeeded. A year ago, we saw Jack Campbell and Darcy Kuemper sign five-year deals at about $5 million per season, while no one else got more than $2 million, and most of those were one- or two-year deals. With a lack of big-name goalies on the free agent market, which of those groups does Hill fit into?

4. Tyler Bertuzzi

As a Bertuzzi owner in one dynasty league, I am pleading with the Boston Bruins to sign Bertuzzi, who was excellent once he was dealt to the Bruins. He had 16 points in 21 regular season games, including 10 in his last eight. He then had 10 points in seven playoff games, and led the Bruins in PIM, goals, points, power-play goals and power-play points in the postseason. He wound up playing great alongside David Pastrnak, and could get promoted to the top power-play line as well.

3. Tristan Jarry

Jarry is probably the best netminder on the free-agent market, but is there a market for him? A year ago, he had a 34-18-6 record with four shutouts, a 2.42 GAA and a .919 SV%. This season, he struggled with injuries and on the ice, finishing with a 24-13-7 record with two shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV%. There’s still the question of Kyle Dubas running the Penguins’ front office and whether he wants to have a major shakeup to this team. After what he went through in Toronto, does Dubas continue to try to find cheap netminders to save money to spend elsewhere?

2. Max Pacioretty

Only once in the last six years has Pacioretty played more than 70 games in a season, and that was 71 contests in 2019-20. Last year, injuries limited him to 41 games. This year, he saw action in only five matches, where he had three goals and 16 shots. There’s no questioning his goal-scoring prowess (he has six 30-goal seasons), but there is the question of whether he can even play half a season. Teams will be worried about his injuries, but he has the goal-scoring prowess so many teams desire.

1. Patrick Kane

At this stage of his career, it’s all a matter of what he wants to do next. He’s already won three Stanley Cups. He’s made tons of money. He’s played in two giant-media markets. Would he be looking to make the most money possible? Would he rather play close to home? Would he rather try to win another Cup? Would he prefer to play in a relatively quiet market? This year was the first poor season of his career, but Chicago got rid of almost everyone with talent last summer, so Kane was on his own for most of it. While he won’t get $ 10 million again, he could still command a high salary on a one- or two-year deal if that’s what he chooses.