NHL Free Agency: Kadri, Klingberg top list of best available UFAs

We are a week into the NHL’s Free Agent signing period, and even though most of the top players have already found new homes there are still some pretty good players (and relatively big names) remaining on the market.

Let’s take a look at 10 of the most significant.

1. Nazem Kadri. It is a little surprising that Kadri is still available as he was one of the top players to the UFA market. Coming off a career-year offensively and playing a major role on the Avalanche’s run to a Stanley Cup, Kadri figured to be one of the big earners in free agency. And he still probably will be. It is just taking some time. There was a report over the weekend that Kadri is wanting to play for a contender and might need some teams to clear salary cap space before signing him. We will see if that ends up being true. As good as Kadri is, he is not without his risks on a free agent contract. He is already 32 years old, and for as good as his 2021-22 season was there is no guarantee he repeats that production, especially on a team that is not as loaded as Colorado’s is offensively.

2. John Klingberg. After Kris Letang re-signed in Pittsburgh it made Klingberg that top defenseman on the open market, and arguably the only top-pairing defenseman. And he remains unsigned more than a week in. That is odd, and might suggest that the market for him is not as strong as originally thought. If teams think they can add a top-pairing defenseman, they are going to jump at that chance.

3. Nino Niederreiter. This one is also a little surprising. Niederreiter is an excellent middle-six forward that drives possession and will score 20-25 goals for you over the course of an 82-game season. Not a superstar, but a heckuva player that will make any line (and team)