Months before the dam breaks open on the 2025 class of free agents, there’s already been a number of the top names who have come off the board.
Twice traded this year, Mikko Rantanen has been locked up long-term by the Dallas Stars, Jakob Chychrun got his big extension from the Washington Capitals and Carter Verhaeghe will remain in Florida. The likes of the top free-agent netminders — Igor Shesterkin, Linus Ullmark, Adin Hill — have all inked extensions with their respective teams.
It’s not to say there aren’t big names at the top, whom Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli dove into on Thursday, and none bigger than Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner. His story in The Six is well-documented, with the latest big news piece in which the team asked him if he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause in a deal that could’ve sent Rantanen to Toronto.
Marner’s projected contract, according to AFP Analytics, could see him land a deal worth $12.6-million on an eight-year contract.
Other names rounding out the top five are Brock Boeser (seven years, $9.1-million projected AAV), John Tavares (three years, $8-million projected AAV), Matt Duchene (three years, $6.4-million projected AAV) and Neal Pionk (six years, $7-millon projected AAV).
These aren’t players the Oilers will likely be in the market for, but other names like Sam Bennett (six years, $6.3-million projected AAV), Aaron Ekblad (seven years, $6.9-million projected AAV), Jamie Benn (two years, $5.5-million projected AAV), and Ryan Donato (two years, $2.4-million projected AAV) all could make sense.
A trio of Oilers found their way on Seravalli’s top 50 list in Trent Frederic, Corey Perry and Jeff Skinner. While Frederic hasn’t laced up the skates for the Oilers yet, Perry’s mark on the team has been significant, and Jeff Skinner is starting to find his game.
Frederic, coming in at No. 27, is projected for the largest contract of the bunch, slated to earn a deal in the range of four years and $4.1-million per year. Perry’s projected for a deal similar to the one he’s on now, at a one-year, $1-million deal, while Skinner will come in the range of a one-year, $2.4-million deal.
The Oilers have other unrestricted free agents to make decisions on this summer that didn’t come in on Seravalli’s list: forwards Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen, and Derek Ryan, as well as defenceman John Klingberg, and a handful of AHL players on the 50-man roster, too.
There’s restricted free agents to deal with, too, in defencemen Evan Bouchard and Ty Emberson, as well as netminder Olivier Rodrigue.
Edmonton is projected to enter the offseason with $13.5-million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, and it’s possible the team will look to free up more money off their books to attack a free agent class that has more than a few interesting names.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
