A class of true class: Free agency filled to the brim with star power

Last summer, NHL teams were chasing the biggest fish in the history of free agency while wearing hip waders. This summer, they’re going to have to rent a craft and hit the deeper waters. They’ll probably require a bigger net and a bigger boat.

The summer of 2018’s UFA market was all about John Tavares, and after that – not to disparage the likes of James van Riemsdyk and Paul Stastny – the pickings were relatively slim. The summer of 2019 will have plenty of star power to be sure – including winners of the Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder and Conn Smythe Trophies – but it also has very good depth of talent. And part of what makes it so impressive is that, unlike in previous years, there are some seriously good players who will actually make it to the open market on July 1.

In fact, if you were putting together an all-star team of this summer’s top UFAs, you’d have a forward line of Matt Duchene between Artemi Panarin and Mats Zuccarello, a defense tandem of Erik Karlsson and Jake Gardiner and Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. We’re not sure who would actually play any defense on that unit, but there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have to, because it would have the puck all the time.

As we pointed out in our story that begins on pg. 36, Panarin and Bobrovsky are fully expected to hit the market and, depending on what happens with Karlsson in San Jose,will be the crown jewels of free agency. By all accounts, there have been no substantive negotiations between Karlsson and the Sharks, and management has done a good job respecting Karlsson’s need for time to make a decision. Both sides were waiting until the end of the Sharks’ season to start delving more deeply into talks, but as July 1 approaches, the time will be nigh.

Down the middle, there’s some high quality with Duchene and Joe Pavelski. Part of the rationale for the Columbus Blue Jackets acquiring Duchene at the trade deadline was that it gave them an opportunity to have him in the lineup and the city for a good period of time so he could have a chance to experience the lifestyle and get a feel for the organization. Suddenly, what once looked like a slam dunk to Nashville, where Duchene would be able to feed his love for country music, doesn’t seem quite as certain. As far as Pavelski is concerned, it feels like he’s a lifetime Shark, but the organization may, for cap reasons, be forced to choose between him and Karlsson. Complicating matters even more is the fact that, at the age of 34, Pavelski potted 38 goals and continues to be a consistently productive 60-plus point player. As far as goals go, the highest in that department is Jeff Skinner, who scored 40 goals for the Buffalo Sabres but faded badly down the stretch with just four in his final 25 games.

If there is a chink in the armor among this group, it is probably on the blueline. Yes, there is Karlsson, but even with him there are concerns about his long-term health and effectiveness because of his reconstructed ankle. After that, Gardiner was much maligned in Toronto for his defensive play but is a premier point-producer who has the feel of a player who could really flourish in a market where the scrutiny is not so white-hot. Tyler Myers is long removed from his Calder Trophy halcyon days, but he’s a large presence who still has the capacity to eat minutes and play in the top-four. Alexander Edler and the Vancouver Canucks seem tied to each other.

But where this class has real value is in its depth. Who would not want a player such as Zuccarello among its forwards, particularly after he shared the team lead in playoff points for the Dallas Stars with 11, including four goals, in 13 games? Or Jordan Eberle, who led the surprising New York Islanders in playoff points? Speaking of the Islanders, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson can be counted on for goal totals in the mid-20s.

Between the pipes, there’s Bobrovsky, but there’s also Semyon Varlamov, who lost his starting job to Philipp Grubauer but is only a year removed from posting a .920 save percentage and might benefit from a change of scenery.

Aside from the Blue Jackets, the Sharks stand to lose the most from this year’s UFA class with Pavelski, Karlsson, Joe Thornton, Gustav Nyquist and Joonas Donskoi all potentially available. It all makes for arguably the most intriguing July 1 signing day and summer we’ve seen in free agency.