Gaudreau, Kadri, Kuemper among potential UFAs set to cash in this summer
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It has been a great year for a lot of the NHL’s pending unrestricted free agents as some perfectly time career years (and some players displaying continued excellence) should result in some major paydays over the coming weeks and months.
Even though some of these players might end up re-signing with their current teams they are still positioned to cash in.
Let’s take a look at 10 players who have done the most for themselves on their next contracts.
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
The Flames’ great season is going to come at a significant cost this summer as they not only have to deal with the restricted free agency of Matthew Tkachuk, they also have to figure out if there is a way to keep Gaudreau. They have been the NHL’s most productive forward duo this season, absolutely dominating their opponents. Both players have topped the 100-point mark and are among the NHL’s top scorers. They are going to cost a fortune.
Gaudreau is the fascinating one because players like him, coming off of a season like this do not typically enter the open market. Not only because most teams tend to keep elite scorers, but also because players do not typically have seasons this good going into free agency. You have to go all the way back to Brad Richards in 2010-11 to find the last time a top-10 scorer entered the unrestricted free agent market. Gaudreau has been a top-scorer before but this season represents a massive jump from what he did the past two seasons, while he turns 29 this offseason. Elite talents tend to maintain a lot of their production into their 30s, so he should still have a few great years ahead of him (especially if he stays in Calgary with Tkachuk). He could get $9-10 million on the open market.
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
There was some discussion as to whether or not Nashville would trade Forsberg before the trade deadline, but that clearly did not happen as the Predators push toward a playoff spot. Forsberg has had a career year by topping the…
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Source : yahoo
