There is no sugarcoating this summer’s NHL free agent crop. There will be no hyperbole to drive ratings, or talk about a three-headed monster stalking the top of the list like we’ve had in years past. There will certainly be no Brinks trucks backing up to the house of one newly wealthy individual with $75 or $80 million inside.

Yes, 2023 will likely go down as one of the weakest overall free agent classes in more than a decade. But this class graduates to free agency at a fascinating juncture as the NHL’s salary cap could be increasing in a meaningful way for the first time since 2019.

Beauty will be in the eye of the beholder. Which is why the top available free agent is very much a debate. We’ve ranked Toronto Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting in the No. 1 spot because he’s strung together two very productive seasons – totaling 44 goals and 109 points – on his first one-way NHL contract. There will be no shortage of teams interested after witnessing the success Zach Hyman has achieved in Edmonton upon departing Toronto. New Jersey’s Damon Severson will also be a hot commodity as a steady, right-shooting defenseman who can chew up minutes.

…

Alex Killorn and Vladimir Tarasenko, Stanley Cup winners in their own right, have been productive but there will be hesitancy trying to chart their course on the age curve. There are also question marks about the recent injury histories of Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Zucker, Nick Foligno, Jonathan Drouin and Sean Monahan.

…

Just because there isn’t a big-name, big-money player leading the class doesn’t mean this summer won’t be interesting. There will be value buys to improve rosters. And a weaker free agent class will only turn up the temperature on the trade market, especially if teams have an influx of new cap space available.

Rk	Player	Pos	Age	GP	G	A	Pts	Team	AAV
1	Michael Bunting	LW	27	73	21	25	46	TOR	$950K
2	Damon Severson	RD	28	73	6	23	29	NJD	$4.17M
3	Patrick Kane	RW	34	66	20	33	53	NYR	$10.5M
4	Ryan O’Reilly	C	32	48	15	9	24	TOR	$7.5M
5	Dmitry Orlov	LD	31	59	6	26	32	BOS	$5.1M
6	Alex Killorn	RW	33	75	23	33	56	TBL	$4.45M
7	J.T. Compher	C	28	73	16	32	48	COL	$3.5M
8	Jordan Staal	C	34	72	17	14	31	CAR	$6M
9	Vladimir Tarasenko	RW	31	61	16	28	44	NYR	$7.5M
10	Tristan Jarry	G	28	40	2.98		.908	PIT	$3.5M
11	Max Pacioretty	LW	34	5	3	0	3	CAR	$7M
12	Tyler Bertuzzi	LW	28	42	5	15	20	BOS	$4.75M
13	Semyon Varlamov	G	35	22	2.71		.913	NYI	$5M
14	Vladislav Gavrikov	LD	27	64	4	11	15	LAK	$2.8M
15	Ryan Graves	LD	28	71	6	16	22	NJD	$3.17M
16	Carson Soucy	LD	28	70	2	11	13	SEA	$2.75M
17	Scott Mayfield	RD	30	75	5	16	21	NYI	$1.45M
18	Ivan Barbashev	LW	27	74	14	26	40	VGK	$2.25M
19	Joonas Korpisalo	G	29	34	2.92		.914	LAK	$1.3M
20	Matt Dumba	RD	28	72	4	9	13	MIN	$6M

Chytil is in the midst of a career year. The 23-year-old has 22 goals and 42 points in 66 games, far surpassing his previous best of 23 that he set during his first two seasons. He followed that up by a pair of 22-point campaigns, so he’s been consistent. Still, this year’s breakout is more like what the Rangers were hoping for after taking him 21st overall in 2017.

At 5-on-5, Chytil’s 17 goals sits one behind Artemi Panarin for the team lead. He’s also fourth in points with 32 and is second behind Panarin (2.55) with 2.34 points-per-game among full-season Rangers.

Born in Czechia, Chytil has represented his country at all major international levels outside of the Olympics. He won gold at the 2016 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and has four goals and eight points in 20 games over three World Championships.

Currently in the final year of a $2.3 million AAV deal, Chytil is a big 6-foot-3 forward that uses his speed and strength to his advantage. In open space, the center can absolutely fly, and he’s strong enough to win puck battles consistently along the boards.