Exploring the upcoming unrestricted free agency

As the NHL season remains suspended, effective back to March 12th amidst the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, it's unknown when and how the 19-20 NHL season will return.

While there's much to be sorted out, including finishing the regular season, seeing through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and awarding a Stanley Cup Champion, once the dust is settled, there will be a whole new headline to follow.

NHL free agency.

Though it may not be July 1st, as the hockey world has become accustom to, there are set to be 287 players released into unrestricted free agency following the end of the 19-20 season. While some are lower tier players, this years free agency will also feature some big names up for grabs.

See all 287 UFA's below;

Anaheim Ducks (13);
Kevin Boyle,
Cam Carrick,
Kyle Crisculo,
Michael Del Zotto,
Patrick Eaves,
Jani Hakanpaa,
Matt Irwin,
Justin Kloos,
Ryan Miller,
Chris Mueller,
Blake Pietila,
Andrew Poturalski,
Chris Wideman

Arizona Coyotes (6);
Beau Bennett,
Taylor Hall ** (acquired prior to 19-20 trade deadline from New Jersey),
Markus Hannikainen,
Brad Richardson,
Robbie Russo,
Carl Soderberg ** (traded from Colorado in June of 2019)

Boston Bruins (8);
Zdeno Chara ** (Team captain since 2006),
Ryan Fitzgerald,
Jaroslav Halak,
Torey Krug ** (has spent entire career with Bruins organization),
Maxime Legace,
Kevan Miller,
Joakim Nordstrom,
Alex Petrovic

Buffalo Sabres (12);
Michael Frolik,
John Gilmour,
Zemgus Girgensons,
Andrew Hammond,
Matt Hunwick,
Johan Larsson,
Casey Nelson,
Wayne Simmonds ** (acquired from New Jersey prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Dalton Smith,
Vladimir Sobotka ,
Jimmy Vesey,
Scott Wilson

Calgary Flames (15);
TJ Brodie,
Austin Czarnik,
Derek Forbort,
Byron Froese.
Jon Gillies,
Erik Gustafsson ** (acquired from Chicago prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Travis Hamonic,
Ryan Lomberg,
Alan Quine,
Tobias Rieder,
Zac Rinaldo,
Buddy Robinson,
Michael Stone,
Cam Talbot ** (acquired from Edmonton in trade for Mike Smith prior to 19-20 season),
Rinat Valiev

Carolina Hurricanes (7);
Joel Edmundson ** (acquired from St. Louis in trade for Justin Faulk in Sept. of 2019),
Anton Forsberg,
Brian Gibbons,
Max McCormick,
Trevor Van Riemsdyk,
Sami Vatanen,
Justin Williams **(former Hurricanes captain, won Stanley Cup with team in 2006)

Chicago Blackhawks (4);
TJ Brennan,
Joseph Cramarossa,
Corey Crawford ** (career Blackhawk, two-time Stanley Cup champion),
Anton Wedin

Colorado Avalanche (9);
Mark Alt,
Mark Baberio,
Antoine Bibeau,
Kevin Connauton,
Michael Hutchinson,
Jayson Megna,
Vladislav Namestnikov,
Matt Nieto,
Colin Wilson

Columbus Blue Jackets (2);
Dillon Simpson,
Doyle Somerby

Dallas Stars (11);
Gavin Bayreuther,
Martin Hanzal,
Dillon Heatherington,
Mattias Janmark,
Anton Khudobin ** (signed with Dallas in 2018 to serve as backup to Ben Bishop),
Michael Mersch,
Oula Palve,
Corey Perry ** (Stanley Cup Champion, four-time NHL All Star, signed with Dallas July 1st, 2019),
Roman Polak,
Reece Scarlett,
Andrej Sekera

Detroit Red Wings (10);
Kyle Brodziak ** (contract traded to Detroit in exchange for a Mike Green, longtime career likely over due to chronic back injuries),
Trevor Daley,
Turner Elson,
Jonathan Ericsson,
Sam Gagner,
Cody Goloubef,
Johan Franzen,
Jimmy Howard ** (has spent entire professional career with Red Wings organization),
Matt Puempel,
Chris Terry

Edmonton Oilers (13);
Josh Currie,
Tyler Ennis ** (acquired from Ottawa prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Markus Granlund,
Mike Green,
Gaetan Haas,
Tomas Jurco,
Keegan Lowe,
Brad Malone,
Brandon Manning,
Patrick Russell,
Riley Sheahan,
Mike Smith (acquired in trade with Calgary for Cam Talbot prior to 19-20 season),
Shane Starrett

Florida Panthers (10);
Brian Boyle ** (signed with Florida in Oct. 2019),
Evgenii Dadonov ** (signed with Florida July 1st, 2017),
Ryan Haggerty,
Erik Haula ** (acquired from Carolina in trade for Vincent Trochek),
Mike Hoffman ** (holds Panthers consecutive game point streak, 17),
Joel Lowry,
Danick Martel,
Mark Pysyk,
Jack Rodewald,
Paul Thompson

Los Angele Kings (6);
Ben Hutton,
Paul Ladue,
Trevor Lewis,
Kevin Poulin,
Joakim Ryan,
Tim Schaller

Minnesota Wild (9);
Sam Anas,
Matt Bartkowski,
Colton Beck,
JT Brown,
Alex Galchenyck ** (acquired prior to 19-20 trade deadline from Pittsburgh in exchange from Jason Zucker),
Mikko Koivu ** (first round draft pick for Minnesota in 2001, team captain since Oct. 2009),
Michael Liambas,
Kyle Rau,
Carson Soucy,

Montreal Canadiens (3);
Christian Folin,
Keith Kinkaid,
Dale Weise

Nashville Predators (10);
Colin Blackwell,
Daniel Carr,
Matt Donavan,
Frederick Gaudreau,
Mikael Granlund,
Troy Grosenick,
Dan Hamhuis,
Korbinian Holzer,
Craig Smith,
Yannick Weber

New Jersey Devils (8);
Brandon Baddock,
Fredrik Claesson,
Zane McIntyre,
Julian Melchiori,
Dakota Mermis,
Kevin Rooney,
Brian Strait,
Ben Street

New York Islanders (10);
Derick Brassard,
Jared Coreau,
Chris Gibson,
Andy Greene (Former New Jersey Devils' captain, acquired prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Thomas Greiss,
Seth Helgeson,
Tom Kuhnhackl,
Matt Martin,
Jordan Schmaltz,
Dillon St. Denis

New York Rangers (9);
Matt Beleskey,
J-F Berube,
Nick Ebert,
Jesper Fast,
Steven Fogerty,
Michae Haley,
Vinni Lettieri,
Greg McKegg,
Danny O'Regan

Ottawa Senators (11);
Craig Anderson ** (No. 1 goaltender),
Mikkel Boedker,
Mark Borowiecki,
Ryan Callahan,
Ron Hainsey,
Morgan Klimchuk,
Hubert Labrie,
Clarke MacArthur,
Matthew Peca,
Scott Sabourin,
Jordan Szwarz

Philadelphia Flyers (10);
Justin Braun,
Brian Elliott,
Kurtis Gabriael,
Derek Grant,
Alex Lyon,
Tyler Pitlick,
Chris Stewart,
Nate Thompson,
Andy Welinski,
Reece Wilcox

Pittsburgh Penguins (8);
Riley Barber,
Thomas DiPauli,
Adam Johnson,
Patrick Marleau ** (former San Jose Sharks captain, acquired prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Kevin Roy,
Justin Schultz,
Conor Sheary,
Philip Varone

San Jose Sharks (10);
Jonny Brodzinski,
Brandon Davidson,
Aaron Dell,
Anthony Greco,
Tim Heed,
Melker Karlsson,
Stefan Noesen,
Dalton Prout,
Lukas Radil,
Joe Thornton ** (former Boston and San Jose captain, former first overall draft pick in 1997, has played with San Joss since 2005)

St Louis Blues (8);
Andreas Borgman,
Jay Bouwmeester ** (Stanley Cup Champion, long-term injured reserve following cardiac episode during 19-20 season),
Troy Brouwer,
Joey LaLeggia,
Nick Lappin,
Jordan Nolan,
Alex Pietrangelo,
Michael Vecchione

Tampa Bay Lightning (11);
Zach Bogosian,
Cory Conacher,
Mike Condon,
Cameron Gaunce,
Patrick Maroon **(Stanley Cup champion, signed with Tampa Bay prior to 19-20 season),
Spencer Martin,
Jan Rutta,
Luke Schenn,
Patrick Sieloff,
Kevin Shattenkirk,
Scott Wedgewood

Toronto Maple Leafs (12);
Tyson Barrie ** (acquired prior to 19-20 season in trade for Nazem Kadri),
Cody Ceci,
David Clarkson,
Kyle Clifford,
Tyler Gaudet,
Kevin Gravel,
Nathan Horton,
Kasimir Kaskisuo,
Matt Lorito,
Miikka Salomaki,
Jason Spezza ** (signed with Toronto July 1st, 2019, former second overall draft pick),
Garrett Wilson

Vancouver Canucks (9);
Richard Bachman,
Louis Domingue,
Oscar Fatenberg,
Tyler Graovac,
Josh Leivo,
Jacob Markstrom,
Ashton Sautner,
Chris Tanev,
Tyler Toffoli (acquired from Los Angeles prior to 19-20 trade deadline)

Vegas Golden Knights (10);
Oscar Dansk,
Derek Engelland,
Robin Lehner (acquired from Chicago prior to 19-20 trade deadline, 2019 Bill Masterton Memorial award),
Jaycob Megna,
Curtis McKenzie,
Jon Merrill,
Tomas Nosek,
Ryan Reaves ** (rumored to be working out two-year deal to remain in Vegas),
Garret Sparks,
Valentin Zykov

Washington Capitals (7);
Brenden Dillon (acquired from San Jose prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Radko Gudas,
Brayden Holtby (Stanley Cup champion, has spent career with Washington),
Ilya Kovalchuk (acquired from Montreal prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Tyler Lewington,
Liam O'Brien,
Colby Williams

Winnipeg Jets (16);
Nathan Beaulieu,
Anthony Bitetto,
Gabriel Bourque,
Laurent Brossoit,
Dustin Byfuglien (contract mutually terminated April 2020),
Andrei Chibisov,
Dylan Demelo,
Cody Eakin (acquired from Vegas prior to 19-20 trade deadline),
Seth Griffith,
Dmitry Kulikov,
Mark Letestu,
JC Lipon,
Luca Sbisa,
Cameron Schilling,
Logan Shaw,
Nick Shore

With no shortage of UFA's ahead of the 20-21 season, expect to see some familiar faces in unfamiliar places.

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