NHL Power Rankings: Top potential free agents for 2022 offseason

In this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings we take a look ahead to the potential 2022 unrestricted free agent class.

Not all of these players will make it to unrestricted free agency as some of them will eventually re-sign with their current team, but quite a few will end up testing the market and ultimately cashing in.

If your team is in the market for a defenseman or starting goaltender you might find the pickings to be slim, but there are quite a few high level forwards that could potentially be available.

You might notice one name missing from the list: Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron. We made the decision to leave him out of the rankings because while his contract is technically expiring, he has made it clear that there are only two realistic options for him: Re-signing with the Boston Bruins or retirement. That does not really make him a fit here with the rest of the players on the rankings.

Which players do make the cut and where do they rank?

1. Johnny Gaudreau. Gaudreau picked a heck of a team to have a career year and be the second-leading scorer in the NHL. Gaudreau is an incredible talent, one of the most productive players in the league, and is still at an age where he should have a lot of productive hockey ahead of him. Whether it is Calgary or somewhere else, he is going to cash in this offseason.

2. Kris Letang. Letang is not only the best free agent defensemen that could be available on the open market, he is still one of the best defensemen in the league. He might be getting into his mid-30s, but he is in fantastic shape and can still play 25 minutes a game and excel in all phases.

3. Nazem Kadri. The pro: He had an incredible season and is a really good two-way player at a premium