BRHL 2020 UFAs & Takeaways

Preparing for 2020 UFA

This free agency might not be the deepest, but it’s one of the most star studded. Forwards are definitely the strength of this crop, but you can get anything you’re looking for if you have the money to spend.

 

Top 5 Forwards:

Brad Marchand (BOS)

Patrice Bergeron (BOS)

Evgeni Malkin (CAR)

Nicklas Backstrom (BOS)

Alexander Radulov (VGK)

Other Notables: Krejci (PIT), Oshie (MTL), J. Staal (TBL)

 

Whether you’re looking for two-way centres, scoring centres, two-way wingers, scoring wingers, this crop has it all. There are plenty of other middle 6 forwards not listed, as well. Massive money will be spent on the top guys, maybe even more than usual.

 

Top 5 Defensemen:

Kris Letang (BOS)

Ryan McDonagh (COL)

Ryan Suter (COL)

PK Subban (DET)

Erik Johnson (ANA)

Other Notables: Anton Stralman (ANA), Alex Goligoski (LAK)

 

The D crop isn’t quite as star studded, but there are a number of very capable defensemen in this group. If you’re looking for 45 points and a high DF rating, this is a perfect group for you. These guys will likely be overpaid (more so than usual) due to the lack of superstars headlining the class.

 

Top 5 Goalies:

Tuukka Rask (LAK)

Pekka Rinne (VGK)

Thomas Greiss (CAR)

Jaroslav Halak (NYI)

Henrik Lundqvist (NJD)

Other Notables: Jimmy Howard (NYR)

 

Rask will likely garner the most attention due to pedigree and currently situation, but there will once again be two or three great goalies available for ludicrous one year deals. There will be a few teams in the hunt for a goalie, but there will likely be enough this year to get everyone by. Whether or not GMs get their original target or not is another story. Expect a very similar goalie UFA to past years.

 

A handful of things I noticed when doing this research:

-          HOLY SHIT are the Bruins ever going to get destroyed by UFA this year. They will be losing two # 1 centres, one of the best wingers in the game & a top pairing D. My memory isn’t the greatest, but I can’t remember a top team ever losing so much. On top of that, Blake Wheeler and Freddie Andersen are UFAs in 2021. If this team doesn’t completely get it together soon, Greg will have some serious decisions to make.

-          As previously mentioned, the top-tier forward crop is INSANE.  There will likely be a few Ovechkin-type contracts handed out this year.

-          The goalie crop is strangely similar to previous years. A pair of veteran # 1 goalies, and a couple candidates for ridiculous re-rates. Greiss being back in the pool again this year obviously strengthens that point.

-          Bryce loses a pair of top defenders after this season that will need to be replaced.

-          Pittsburgh forward group takes a sizeable hit.

-          The Ducks lose a lot of depth

-          The Canes lose two MASSIVE pieces that will be tough to retain/replace. Decisions to be made in Carolina soon.

-          Vegas loses a lot of solid depth, may have to take a step back next year. There are obviously ways to work around that.

-          Will be interesting to see the term given to Rinne/Rask and if their contracts become disasters.

 

This season will once again be extremely interesting leading up to the deadline in a few months, with loads of activity to come. Who will sell? Who will buy? Who will ride it out? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, 2020 UFA will be as crazy as ever.

Thanks for reading.

Marshit may be a must have for the Caps
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