Sticky divorce on tap? Steven Stamkos leads Top 75 Free Agents on Canada Day
There will be fireworks on Canada Day, that much is for damn sure.
The board changed in a blink over the weekend. No. 1 ranked free agent Sam Reinhart signed an eight-year deal to stay with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers minutes before the midnight deadline to do so. And sources say Jake Guentzel, previously ranked No. 2, agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Lightning across the Sunshine State on a massive, seven-year after they acquired his rights from Carolina earlier on Sunday.
Now, in the wake of Guentzel’s whopper new deal, all eyes on are Steven Stamkos to see if the Lightning will be moving on from their captain and franchise Mount Rushmore player when the market opens on Monday.
Stamkos, 34, is the new No. 1 free agent available heading into Monday’s free-for-all. The relationship has been strained between the two-time champion and two-time league leader in goals with his team – despite both saying all the rights things at season’s end in April. Stamkos is coming off another 40-goal, 80-plus point season. And the Lightning seem unwilling to commit.
We’ve seen this story before, and Stamkos and the Lightning ultimately reconciled after he interviewed with teams during the legal courting period in 2016. So a return can’t firmly be ruled out, but the friction is real. Are the Lightning really going to squeeze him out? Are they making a mistake with the heart and soul of their team?
If Stamkos makes it market, sources say the Vegas Golden Knights are positioning themselves to take a run at him. They said goodbye to original Golden Misfit and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault on Sunday, opening up precious cap space for Stamkos.
But the Bolts won’t be alone. Sources say the Nashville Predators were considered a real possibility for Stamkos on Sunday, along with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils, among others.
Below is our final Top 75 Free Agents ranking, with contract projections courtesy of @AFPAnalytics:
Daily Faceoff’s Top 75 Free Agents
| Rank | Player | Pos | Age | Team | Cap Hit | GP | G | PTS | AFP Projection |
| 1 | Steven Stamkos | LW/C | 34 | TBL | $8.5M | 79 | 40 | 81 | 3 x $6.15M |
| 2 | Jonathan Marchessault | RW | 34 | VGK | $5M | 82 | 42 | 69 | 3 x $6.3M |
| 3 | Brady Skjei | LD | 30 | CAR | $5.25M | 80 | 13 | 47 | 5 x $7.5M |
| 4 | Brandon Montour | RD | 30 | FLA | $3.5M | 66 | 8 | 33 | 6 x $7.7M |
| 5 | Chandler Stephenson | C | 30 | VGK | $2.75M | 75 | 16 | 51 | 5 x $5.63M |
| 6 | Elias Lindholm | C/RW | 30 | VAN | $4.85M | 75 | 15 | 44 | 5 x $6.78M |
| 7 | Matt Roy | RD | 29 | LAK | $3.15M | 81 | 5 | 25 | 5 x $5.85M |
| 8 | Nikita Zadorov | LD | 29 | VAN | $3.75M | 75 | 6 | 20 | 5 x $5.32M |
| 9 | Brett Pesce | RD | 30 | CAR | $4.03M | 70 | 3 | 13 | 5 x $6.3M |
| 10 | Matt Duchene | C/RW | 33 | DAL | $3M | 80 | 25 | 65 | 3 x $4.83M |
| 11 | Tyler Toffoli | RW | 32 | WPG | $4.25M | 79 | 33 | 55 | 4 x $6M |
| 12 | Sean Walker | RD | 30 | COL | $2.65M | 81 | 10 | 29 | 3 x $4.65M |
| 13 | Jake DeBrusk | LW | 28 | BOS | $4M | 80 | 19 | 40 | 5 x $5.8M |
| 14 | Shayne Gostisbehere | LD | 31 | DET | $4.13M | 81 | 10 | 56 | 3 x $5M |
| 15 | Viktor Arvidsson | RW | 31 | LAK | $4.25M | 18 | 6 | 15 | 3 x $4.75M |
| 16 | Jonathan Drouin | LW | 29 | COL | $825K | 79 | 19 | 56 | 4 x $5M |
| 17 | Chris Tanev | RD | 34 | DAL | $4.5M | 75 | 2 | 19 | 3 x $4.5M |
| 18 | Teuvo Teravainen | LW | 30 | CAR | $5.4M | 76 | 25 | 53 | 4 x $5.25M |
| 19 | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | 29 | TOR | $5.5M | 80 | 21 | 43 | 4 x $5.25M |
| 20 | David Perron | RW | 36 | DET | $4.75M | 76 | 17 | 47 | 2 x $3M |
| 21 | Sean Monahan | C | 30 | WPG | $2M | 83 | 26 | 59 | 4 x $5.3M |
| 22 | Jeff Skinner | LW | 32 | BUF | $8M | 74 | 24 | 46 | 1 x $3.1M |
| 23 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | LD | 33 | FLA | $2.25M | 80 | 9 | 32 | 3 x $4.1M |
| 24 | Brenden Dillon | LD | 34 | WPG | $3.9M | 77 | 8 | 20 | 2 x $2.9M |
| 25 | Nate Schmidt | LD | 32 | WPG | $5.95M | 63 | 2 | 14 | 2 x $2.4M |
| 26 | Vladimir Tarasenko | RW | 33 | FLA | $5M | 76 | 23 | 55 | 2 x $4.15M |
| 27 | Laurent Brossoit | G | 31 | WPG | $1.75M | 23 | 2 | 0.927 | 2 x $2.2M |
| 28 | Alex Wennberg | C | 30 | NYR | $4.5M | 79 | 10 | 30 | 4 x $3.87M |
| 29 | Anthony Duclair | LW | 29 | TBL | $3M | 73 | 24 | 42 | 3 x $4.33M |
| 30 | Yakov Trenin | LW/C | 28 | COL | $1.7M | 76 | 12 | 17 | 3 x $2.55M |
| 31 | Anthony Stolarz | G | 30 | FLA | $1.1M | 27 | 2.02 | 0.925 | 2 x $2.22M |
| 32 | Anthony Mantha | LW | 29 | VGK | $5.7M | 74 | 23 | 44 | 3 x $4.75M |
| 33 | Adam Henrique | C | 34 | EDM | $5.83M | 82 | 24 | 51 | 3 x $4.3M |
| 34 | James van Riemsdyk | RW | 35 | BOS | $1M | 71 | 11 | 38 | 1 x $1.2M |
| 35 | Warren Foegele | LW | 28 | EDM | $2.75M | 82 | 20 | 41 | 3 x $3.9M |
| 36 | Jason Zucker | LW | 32 | NSH | $5.3M | 69 | 14 | 32 | 2 x $3.7M |
| 37 | Stefan Noesen | RW | 31 | CAR | $763K | 81 | 14 | 37 | 3 x $3.2M |
| 38 | Michael Amadio | RW | 28 | VGK | $763K | 73 | 14 | 27 | 3 x $3.1M |
| 39 | Jani Hakanpaa | RD | 32 | DAL | $1.5M | 64 | 2 | 12 | 1 x $1.5M |
| 40 | Matt Dumba | RD | 30 | TBL | $3.9M | 76 | 4 | 12 | 3 x $3M |
| 41 | Ryan Suter | LD | 39 | DAL | $3.65M | 82 | 2 | 17 | 1 x $1.75M |
| 42 | Matt Grzelcyk | LD | 31 | BOS | $3.7M | 63 | 2 | 11 | 3 x $3.25M |
| 43 | Jordan Martinook | LW | 32 | CAR | $1.8M | 82 | 14 | 32 | 3 x $2.77M |
| 44 | Mattias Janmark | LW | 31 | EDM | $1M | 71 | 4 | 12 | 1 x $1M |
| 45 | Alec Martinez | LD | 36 | VGK | $5.25M | 55 | 4 | 17 | 1 x $1.25M |
| 46 | Erik Gustafsson | LD | 32 | NYR | $825K | 76 | 6 | 31 | 3 x $3.85M |
| 47 | Daniel Sprong | RW | 27 | DET | $2M | 76 | 18 | 43 | 3 x $4.1M |
| 48 | Kevin Stenlund | C | 27 | FLA | $1M | 81 | 11 | 15 | 2 x $1.3M |
| 49 | Cam Talbot | G | 37 | LAK | $2M | 54 | 2.5 | 0.913 | 1 x $1.8M |
| 50 | Craig Smith | RW | 34 | DAL | $1M | 75 | 11 | 20 | 1 x $1.1M |
| 51 | Jack Roslovic | RW | 27 | NYR | $4M | 59 | 9 | 31 | 3 x $3.1M |
| 52 | Erik Brannstrom | LD | 24 | OTT | $2M | 76 | 3 | 20 | 2 x $2.5M |
| 53 | Brandon Duhaime | LW | 27 | COL | $1.1M | 80 | 5 | 13 | 3 x $1.8M |
| 54 | Ilya Samsonov | G | 27 | TOR | $3.55M | 40 | 3.13 | 0.89 | 1 x $2.35M |
| 55 | Anthony Beauvillier | RW | 27 | NSH | $4.15M | 60 | 5 | 17 | 1 x $900K |
| 56 | Vincent Desharnais | RD | 28 | EDM | $763K | 78 | 1 | 11 | 1 x $1.1M |
| 57 | Ian Cole | LD | 35 | VAN | $3M | 78 | 2 | 11 | 1 x $2.1M |
| 58 | Tyson Barrie | RD | 33 | NSH | $4.5M | 41 | 1 | 15 | 1 x $1.75M |
| 59 | Kaapo Kahkonen | G | 28 | NJD | $2.75M | 37 | 3.64 | 0.898 | 2 x $2M |
| 60 | Tony DeAngelo | RD | 28 | CAR | $1.68M | 31 | 3 | 11 | 2 x $1.75M |
| 61 | Sam Carrick | C | 32 | EDM | $850K | 77 | 10 | 16 | 2 x $1.47M |
| 62 | Tyler Johnson | RW | 33 | CHI | $5M | 67 | 17 | 31 | 1 x $1.7M |
| 63 | Victor Olofsson | RW | 28 | BUF | $4.75M | 51 | 7 | 15 | 1 x $1M |
| 64 | Kevin Labanc | RW | 28 | SJS | $4.73M | 46 | 2 | 9 | 1 x $893K |
| 65 | Mike Hoffman | RW | 34 | SJS | $4.5M | 66 | 10 | 23 | 1 x $1.15M |
| 66 | Joel Edmundson | LD | 31 | TOR | $3.5M | 53 | 1 | 6 | 2 x $1.65M |
| 67 | Scott Wedgewood | G | 31 | DAL | $1M | 32 | 2.85 | 0.899 | 1 x $1.8M |
| 68 | Casey DeSmith | G | 32 | VAN | $1.8M | 29 | 2.89 | 0.896 | 1 x $1.65M |
| 69 | Oliver Kylington | LD | 27 | CGY | $2.5M | 33 | 3 | 8 | 1 x $1.1M |
| 70 | Noah Gregor | LW | 25 | TOR | $775K | 62 | 6 | 12 | 1 x $1.36M |
| 71 | Jake Bean | LD | 26 | CBJ | $2.3M | 72 | 4 | 13 | 1 x $1.95M |
| 72 | Jacob Bryson | LD | 26 | BUF | $1.85M | 36 | 1 | 8 | 2 x $1.02M |
| 73 | Jack Campbell | G | 32 | EDM | $5M | 5 | 4.50 | .888 | 1 x $775K |
| 74 | T.J. Brodie | LD | 34 | TOR | $5M | 78 | 1 | 26 | 2 x $3.65M |
| 75 | Max Pacioretty | LW | 35 | WSH | $2M | 47 | 4 | 23 | 1 x $1.5M |
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