The top NHL free agents available as offseason winds down

With all the frenzy that ensued around the opening of the free trade market at the beginning of July, one might have thought that every FA would have signed a new deal by this point. However—like in every offseason—there are a handful of players at every position that are still unsigned.

It’s a big handful at that. According to the free agent tracker on Spotrac.com there are currently 211 players still available on the free agent market: 136 forwards, 57 defensemen and 17 goaltenders.

Not to say that these UFAs couldn’t find new homes some time in late-July, early August. But the deals definitely become fewer and far between—not to mention, less likely to predict.

Here is a look at the current state of the NHL free agent market as we near what is typically a quiet final stretch of the NHL offseason.

Goaltenders: It was netminder James Reimer that kicked off Free Agent Friday when he signed a five-year deal with the Florida Panthers in what will likely be a starting role when the upcoming season starts up. But not every goalie got such a nice payday this summer.

There was a bevy of great goaltending talent headed for the market this offseason, and goalie signings easily highlighted the first weekend the market was open. But, as discussed earlier in the offseason, there were not as many teams looking to fill that void as there were available netminders. After teams like the Calgary Flames beefed up their tandem between the pipes, there are still netminding suitors such as Ben Scrivens and Jhonas Enroth—two upstanding backups—who have yet to be signed by a team.

Defensemen: Some teams that are a bit too close to the salary cap are opting to see how the blue-liners coming up through their AHL franchises might fit instead of spending a ton of money building up their d-corps with free agents. Because of that, some more seasoned defensemen such as Kyle Quincey and Barret Jackman are still available as well.

Of course, the most notable free agent d-man out there is Kris Russell, who made many top 10 lists ahead of the opening of the market, but has yet to sign anywhere.

Forwards: There are a couple interesting notes about the large class of free agent forwards. For starters, many of the top picks are all older, seasoned veterans—Jiri Hudler is one of the younger players at 32, in a grouping of unsigned forwards, including centers Brad Richards (36) and Matt Cullen (39). At a time where many players seek long-term contracts, it can be difficult for teams to be wooed by a player whose career could be on a downturn. For example, Hudler’s numbers weren’t as strong in 2016 after a colossal 2014-15 season. Was it just one less-than-outstanding campaign or a sign that his numbers are taking a permanent dip?

Another similar characteristic is that some of these UFAs are expected to make final decisions on teams to go to in the coming month, when there is arguably the least activity across the league. The best example of this is Radim Vrbata—another veteran UFA, 35 years old—who was reportedly talking to four teams this past week. Could he be the start of several big UFA signings in the month of August?