Could a top NHL restricted free agent sit out the start of the season?

Posted in IYH Forums by alicia at 09:05, Aug 12 2017

$6 million contract. Trouba,Back in November of last year, defenseman Jacob Trouba ended his stalemate with the Winnipeg Jets by signing a two-year, a restricted free agent at the time, missed the beginning of the season while pressuring the Jets into more favorable terms. Both sides eventually compromised on a bridge deal.

while the original team retains the right to match any deal. In theory,Restricted free agency can be a tricky situation. In between the team-friendly entry-level contracts and player-friendly unrestricted free agency, there’s the middle ground of restricted free agency. Players are allowed to field offer sheets from other teams, this should give players more leverage, but the lack of offer sheets has cut into that.

the only leverage left is to sit out games. Both sides have up until early October to reach an agreement,So for some players, like Trouba, but if one doesn’t come together, an RFA can always threaten to refuse to sign and sit out.

Is there anyone who could do that this year?

there are 20 restricted free agents who are still unsigned,adidas Jonathan Drouin jersey,Right now, per Cap Friendly. At the top are Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Boston’s David Pastrnak,adidas Victor Hedman jersey, two of the best young players in the league.

Here’s the complete list: Draisaitl, Alexander Wennberg,adidas Nikita Kucherov jersey, Sam Bennett, Bo Horvat, Nikita Zadorov,adidas James Van Riemsdyk jersey, Robbie Russo, Tyler Wotherspoon, Connor Brown,adidas Auston Matthews jersey, Damon Severson, Andreas Athanasiou, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gaunce, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Brett Kulak, Pastrnak, Anthony Duclair, Jean-Sebastien Dea, and Petteri Lindbohm.

per Cap Friendly. The Bruins,For most of the teams involved here, cap space for the upcoming season isn’t a huge issue. The Oilers still have $16.8 million in space to re-sign Draisaitl, Blue Jackets, and Devils all have at least $10 million. Those teams have the flexibility to get deals done without issue.

but GM Ken Holland reportedly plans to make other moves before the season in order to get the Red Wings cap compliant for opening day.,But not every team is in such a rosy position. The Red Wings are already nearly $4 million over the cap without Athanasiou and Russo under contract. Placing Johan Franzen on long-term injured reserve will get Detroit near the salary cap

so you can assume they’ll trade or waive at least one player there. But if Athanasiou wants to play hard ball with the Red Wings,Detroit won’t carry nine defensemen on its roster,Authentic Jonathan Drouin jersey, who appear to be aiming for a two-year bridge deal, then it could further complicate an already tricky situation for Holland.

and Wotherspoon as RFAs. The big name there is obviously Bennett,Authentic Victor Hedman jersey,The Flames are another team that still has a lot to sort out. They have just $7.17 million in cap space with Bennett, Kulak,Authentic Nikita Kucherov jersey, the No. 4 overall pick from the 2014 NHL draft. Bennett hasn’t been amazing over the past two years with 63 points in 158 games, so it’s not like he’s going to command some massive long-term commitment.

so the Flames are presumably treading lightly with Bennett’s cap hit.,But that deal will likely push them much closer to $75 million with the need to add at least two more players to the roster

Outside of the Red Wings,Authentic James Van Riemsdyk jersey, but we’re getting to that point in the summer where the pressure begins increasing and the staredowns begin., none of these teams will need to make moves just to re-sign RFAs

What if Draisaitl,Authentic Auston Matthews jersey, Ryan Johansen get $8 million per year, having seen teammate Connor McDavid get $12 million per year, decides he won’t sign for less than $8 million annually? The Oilers could afford that, and Evgeny Kuznetsov get $7.75 million per year, but they may hesitate to with so much money already tied to McDavid and others. It’s already being suggested the inflated market for star RFAs is making negotiations more difficult.

There’s nobody among the current RFAs who seems likely to go that route, but the Red Wings could make moves to ensure re-signing him isn’t an issue., at least from what we’ve heard in reports. Athanasiou seems like the best candidate

So we probably won’t see a Trouba-like contract stalemate again this year, the door is open. It’ll be interesting to see how all these situations get resolved (or not resolved) by the start of the 2017-18 season., but with 20 players still unsigned