Hello. Below I will breakdown some facts about the upcoming UFA class.

Strenghts:

- Starpower

- Forwards

- Quantity of starting goalies

Weaknesses:

- Quantity of depth defensemen

- See above

- There aren't many

Headliner Forwards:

- Patrick Kane

- Blake Wheeler

- Sidney Crosby

- Anze Kopitar

- Steven Stamkos

Headliner Defensemen:

- Jeff Petry

- Mark Giordano

- John Carlson

- Ryan Suter

- Alex Edler

Headliner Goalies:

- Jaroslav Halak

- Frederik Andersen

- Ben Bishop

- Marc-Andre Fleury

- Philipp Grubauer

Forward Notes: Wow. I was shocked when I went through and found this many elite forwards. There's usually a couple, but there's an exceptional amount this year. On top of the five listed above, Kopitar (high end #1 C), Killorn (great two way top-six winger), Silfverberg (see Killorn) join the list of free agents amongst MANY other HIGH quality forwards not mentioned. Obviously the teams losing these players will try and replace them, but there should be plenty of forwards available for those in need.

Defenseman Notes: The five listed above are some of the very best rated defensemen this year. Unfortunately, there aren't many more high quality defensemen in next year's crop. There are certainly a handful of top four guys, but not a ton to go around. I expect there to be a few Suter-like contracts handed out again next year.

Goalie Notes: Obviously it depends how next season goes, but it's a pretty good year to be in need of a goalie. Of the top five listed, four are unlikely to be retained. Anaheim (losing Halak & Andersen) should expect a rebound year from Gibson and won't likely try and retain either player. Dallas (losing Bishop) has Shesterkin waiting to take over and have a handful of RFAs to give raises to. Pittsburgh (losing Fleury) will almost certainly let him walk without question. There are a couple other goalies in next year's UFA core that may also have starter or 1B rates.

Other Notes:

- Is Vegas window closing? Golden Knights will lose Edler, Carlson, Silfverberg, Fast. Raises due for Eichel, Horvat, Provorov & Forsberg.

- Monteal losing big. Stastny, Killorn, Toews, Petry, Dekeyser will all be lost to UFA.

- Islanders, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Senators, Stars, Golden Knights, Canadiens among top teams losing elite pieces. Can any of them retain their players somehow in UFA, or will the league start to balance out?

Note that RFAs were not included in this article. It is going to be one hell of a FA period next year - and I can't wait!