The Stanley Cup final has ended, ushering in the upcoming free-agency filled off-season. Among these free agents though, multiple right-shooting defensemen will be at the top of many teams most wanted lists.
They’re always in demand. And there are some fascinating right-shot defensemen likely to come available when the NHL’s 2024 free-agent market opens on July 1.
We have already seen a couple of significant names come off the board, with Dylan DeMelo opting to stay in Winnipeg while Tyler Myers re-upped for three more years in Vancouver.
A couple of weeks ago, we also got a good reminder of how valuable these players are when undrafted 28-year-old Jalen Chatfield signed for three years at a $3 million cap hit after spending the last three seasons working his way up the depth chart of the Carolina Hurricanes.
With the 2024-25 salary cap increasing by a record-setting $4.5 million ahead of next season, other depth defensemen could also cash in as Chatfield did.
Some much bigger names also appear to be on their way to the open market on Monday, including one of Chatfield’s teammates.
Here are the top five, listed as they appear on THN’s Free Agency Top 50 Ranking.
3. Brandon Montour - Age 30, 2023-24 cap hit $3.5 million
After a relatively low-profile start to his career in Anaheim and Buffalo, Brandon Montour got a major glow-up after Bill Zito acquired him for a mere third-round pick at the 2021 trade deadline.
Montour quickly signed a three-year extension to stay with the Florida Panthers, then blossomed into an all-round, minute-munching defenseman who could bring a strong physical game and put points on the board — to the tune of 16 goals and 57 assists in 2022-23.
Shoulder surgery kept him out of the lineup for the first 16 games of this season, and his production dipped to 33 points. But his 104 hits were the most of his career and now, he’s a Stanley Cup champion.
As the Panthers have improved, their players’ price tags have spiked. Zito won’t be able to keep all his free agents, and it’s expected that Montour will make a splash with a juicy new contract elsewhere on Monday.
6. Brett Pesce - Age 29, 2023-24 cap hit $4.03 million
Here’s Chatfield’s teammate — the homegrown Hurricane who has been an anchor on Carolina’s blue line for the last decade.
Pesce is a committed shot-blocker and penalty-killing ace who thrives in a stay-at-home role. His absence in the playoffs left a gaping hole on Carolina's defense after he was knocked out with a fractured fibula early in Round 1 against the New York Islanders.
As they look to tighten up defensively under new coach Sheldon Keefe, the New Jersey Devils are one team that’s rumored to be circling around Pesce. He’d be a tremendous mentor for promising youngsters Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec.
22. Chris Tanev - Age 34, 2023-24 cap hit $4.5 million
When Tanev signed for four years in Calgary in 2020, there were concerns that his fearless enthusiasm for getting in front of pucks would leave his body held together by band-aids and tape by the end of the deal.
Instead, as he remained as committed as ever to shot-blocking, his legend grew. Now, Tanev is getting his due as a great teammate with a ridiculously high pain threshold who will do anything to keep pucks out of the net.
After acquiring him at the trade deadline, the Stars are trying to keep him in the fold, but they’ve got competition. The Maple Leafs have been interested for a while, and a return to Vancouver is also a possibility.
23. Sean Walker - Age 29, 2023-24 cap hit $2.65 million
After going the college route and spending a year in the AHL, Walker didn’t sign his first NHL contract until 2018, when he was 23 years old.
After five quiet seasons in Los Angeles, he levelled up after arriving in Philadelphia as part of the return in the three-way deal that saw Ivan Provorov go to Columbus.
At the trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche gave up a first-round pick to add Walker for more defensive depth during their playoff run. But the Avs had trouble keeping the puck out of their net before their second-round exit.
Walker’s time with the Flyers offered a snapshot of what he can bring in the right circumstances, on both sides of the puck. He won’t command the same money as Montour or Pesce, but he'll be a valuable commodity for teams with tighter budget constraints.
37. Matt Roy - Age 29, 2023-24 cap hit $3.15 million
Also coming out of the Kings organization, Roy’s physicality is his biggest calling card. Last season, he hit career highs of 152 hits and 197 blocked shots while also serving as the No. 1 guy on the Kings’ second-ranked penalty kill.
At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Roy is a big body who has developed into an effective shutdown man, and likely still has room to grow.
Despite his physical playing style, he has been durable, missing just one game over the past two seasons.
Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that the Kings and Roy’s camp had hit an impasse on a new deal. If that doesn't change, he'll have plenty of suitors waving stacks of cash when free agency opens on Monday.