Top 5 NHL UFA defensemen still available

With NHL training camps opening in a month, teams are examining their rosters and determining whether they think they’ll be ready to start the 2024-25 regular season.

But like every camp and preseason, injuries will occur, players will fall short of expectations, and openings will become available for the unsigned. Even now, in mid-August, there are still defenders who played a regular shift in 2023-24 who aren’t signed and could provide some depth for a team looking for a veteran presence.

Here’s a look at five free-agent defenseman teams that may end up signing to one-year deals or inviting to training camp on professional tryouts (PTOs) ahead of the regular season.

Tyson Barrie

Between 2014-15 and 2018-19, Barrie was one of hockey’s most dynamic blueliners, hitting the 50-point mark three times and helping the Colorado Avalanche be one of the most successful power-play units. He found that production again in 2022-23 with the Edmonton Oilers before being traded to the Nashville Predators in the Mattias Ekholm trade.

The 2023-24 season was a disappointment, as the Victoria, B.C., native was a healthy scratch for a good chunk of the year, not getting the first power-play unit minutes he’s accustomed to.

Barrie isn’t the defensive defenseman teams look for when trying to build depth in their group, and how often do we see players like him get healthy scratched when we reach the post-season?

That being said, there’s 32 teams in the league, and at some point, one of them will need a veteran, right-handed blueliner to eat up minutes in their lineup. Someone will give him a one-year deal; it just might not be a Stanley Cup contender.

Justin Schultz

A Stanley Cup champion? Check. A two-time Stanley Cup champion? Check. Someone who can confidently play third-pair minutes and play adequately in their own end? Ehhhh, we’re not so sure. Let’s double-check the numbers on that.

Yes, in 12 NHL seasons, Justin Schultz has scored over 300 points in 700 games and provided reliable power-play production while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. And yes, there’s a case to be made that defenders who average nearly 35 points a season over the course of their careers are worth signing, even as low-pair defenders.

But the 2023-24 campaign was a struggle for Schultz, who, in 70 games with the Seattle Kraken, had a team-worst minus-23 rating, despite being seventh on the team in average ice time for defensemen with at least 36 games played. To be frank, a third-pair defender who had the worst plus-minus on a non-playoff team isn’t the most enticing player to add; right-handed shot be damned.

If someone wants him before the preseason, he’s all theirs.

Marco Scandella

Like Schultz, Marco Scandella had a difficult 2023-24 season. Playing 65 games with the St. Louis Blues, Scandella averaged just 12:28 a game, a full five minutes below his previous career low over a full season, and nearly nine minutes below his career average of 19:02.

When it comes to finding diamonds in the rough, or at least a cubic zirconia, there’s defenders who don’t play a ton of minutes but can still play adequately in their own end. However, in his last four seasons, Scandella hasn’t recorded an even-strength corsi over 44 percent, and if you stayed up to watch a Blues game, the best you could hope for was a third-pair defenseman who could fire the puck high and off the glass.

But in 2024-25, that might be asking too much for the 34-year-old Scandella.

Kevin Shattenkirk

Kevin Shattenkirk is a solid puck-moving defenseman who can still provide some offensive jam for an NHL club. Another question is just how much jam he can provide.

Through the first 13 seasons of his career, Shattenkirk averaged well over 20 minutes a game, and was a reliable second-pair defender who could play some power play minutes. But he took a step back with the Bruins in 2023-24, with his ice time dropping to 15:47 and his 24 points being the lowest total he’s recorded over a full NHL season.

Like most of the defenders on this list, if you’re only looking for depth on your blue line, Shattenkirk is worth a shot. Don’t expect the dynamic offensive defenseman we saw during his time with the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Calen Addison

Calen Addison might be the most intriguing option on this list. Taken in the second round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he’s bounced around with the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks, and now finds himself an unrestricted free agent at 24.

Addison finished fifth in voting in the NHL’s All-Rookie Team among defenders in 2022-23, where he produced 29 points in 62 games with the Wild. However, a slow start with Minnesota in 2023-24 led to him being traded to the Sharks, where in 72 total games between the two teams, he only scored one goal and 16 assists for 17 points. After the season, Sharks’ General Manager Mike Grier said the team would not qualify Addison, making him an unrestricted free agent.

I don’t expect any Stanley Cup-contending squads to ink the 24-year-old, but the former Lethbridge Hurricane could be worth taking a shot on in a two-way deal, as some time in the AHL might be needed to refine his game. Addison possesses plenty of offensive talent, but the key will be whether he can sharpen the defensive part of his skillset against the best players in the world.