While most of the big names have already found a home, some free agents be it unrestricted or restricted have yet to put pen to paper. Here's the best of what's left out there.
Jake Gardiner
Leafs fans might have ganged up on him last season for his frequent defensive lapses but he remains the biggest name out there blue line wise. Coming off a season in which he got 30 points in 62 games, Gardiner is no doubt looking for a pay rise. He commanded a cool $4 050 000 M last year so any contracts he signs will be quite sizeable. With under 4 M left in cap space and still having to sign Mitch Marner, chances are the Leafs cannot afford to keep Gardiner or perhaps they don't even want to.
Dion Phaneuf
I'm putting him on the list for his name, he used to be a good player but the new NHL is quite simply not for him. Fresh off being bough out by the LA Kings, I very much doubt he'll be able to find a gig in the NHL without taking a significant pay cut. His last contract gave him $7 M per season which was a gross overpayment. Is there still room in this league for a 34 year old who once scored 60 points but gathered a total of 6 points in 67 games last season?
Ben Hutton
Yet another left d-man who remains without a home. This one is younger though, just 26 year old but the Canucks elected not to give him a qualifying offer. He managed to reach the 20 points mark this season for the second time in 4 years (to be fair, in one of the other two years he did get 19 points). While it's true that a player's plus/minus doesn't tell the whole story, it still remains that he's yet to do better than -9 in a single season. His last contract paid him 2.8 M for two years and he's probably the cheapest defence option out there.
Mitch Marner
What is there to say about him that hasn't already been said? The Leafs' top scorer last season with 94 points was ahead of big money signing John Tavares by 6 points while Auston Matthews was third with 74 points (in 68 games). Is it any wonder that he wants to be paid accordingly? With both Matthews and Tavares making at least $11 M, it's quite clear what Marner is looking for. But the magic number might not be the money so much as the term. Matthews managed to get a 5 year contract giving him full UFA status at the end of the 2023-2024 season and Marner will surely want to emulate that. After all, Aho also managed to sign for just 5 years (thanks to the Habs' offer sheet) and young players appear to be less and less willing to give up on years in which they could be UFA. One thing's for sure though, if Dubas wants to keep him, he'll have to crunch some serious numbers considering the very little space he has left on the cap.
Brayden Point
Multiple sources reported that Point was the Habs' first target of choice but that he refused to sign an offer sheet. Apparently, Point just wants to be in Tampa Bay and not elsewhere but the Lightning only has under 6 M left in cap space and Julien BriseBois will have to get creative to manage this signing. Point was smart not to sign the offer sheet though, it's fair to assume that Yzerman's successor will have learnt from the former number 19 and wouldn't have taken kindly to that strategy.
Mikko Rantanen
The Avs have got plenty of cap space but how much can they afford to give the youngster coming off his entry level contract when Nathan MacKinnon is "only" making 6.3 M until 2022-2023 after which he'll be an UFA? To be honest, Joe Sakic would more than likely be happy to see an offer sheet being signed by the Finn. he could then pay him what he's worth without worrying about the fact that he's making so much more than his other stars.
And last but not least:
Brock Boeser
Just as young as Rantanen, the Canucks' prized possession is also coming off his ELC but unlike the Avs, the Canucks are not rolling in cap space. With 4 RFAs still left to sign, they have $5 569 296 left in cap space and an offer sheet would make matters a lot worst for them. Just like both Marner and Rantanen, he also plays right wing a position at which the Canadiens got worst by trading Andrew Shaw (unless of course a influx of young prospects at centre results in one of them being put on the right wing). That being said though, he's yet to reach the 60 points mark and it would be rather surprising to see a team throw a crazy offer sheet his way.
Think the Habs will pounce on any of these guys? I personally don't, the remaining left Ds all come with sizeable downside and after one failed offer sheet, I doubt Marc Bergevin will be willing to come back for more. I'll admit that I'd love to see him offer sheet Marner though, just for the sheer drama of it all. But if I'm honest, I really think any further addition to the Canadiens' roster will come via trade (if it comes). Go on Bergevin, prove me wrong, I'd love it!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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