Flurry of trades, signings expected before NHL free agency

While Julien BriseBois knows exactly how confident he is about the possibility of re-signing playoff performer Ondrej Palat and veteran defenseman Jan Rutta, he’s not saying.

“Still working on that,” the two-time Stanley Cup-winning general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning said. “Too early to tell.”

He’s also right that it’s too early to tell exactly what NHL free agency will look like when it begins Wednesday. Colorado, which beat Tampa Bay in the Cup Final, is looking to sign postseason standout Valeri Nichushkin among a group of potential free agents, and others such as Calgary MVP candidate Johnny Gaudreau, Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin and Florida trade deadline pickup Claude Giroux could all get new deals to stay rather than hitting the open market.

“It’s not July 13 yet,” BriseBois said. “Those guys may all be signed by then.”

A big star re-upping with his team has already happened a couple of times: the Pittsburgh Penguins signed veteran defenseman Kris Letang for six years and the Nashville Predators signed high-scoring winger Filip Forsberg for eight. Teams have until midnight EDT Tuesday — 12 hours before free agency begins — to get the maximum benefit of signing players for eight years, after which they can only get up to seven.

Still, even that timeline feels like a lifetime away in the hockey world, especially with the bulk of the offseason condensed into less than three weeks.

“We’ve got some time,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said about discussions with several pending free agents. “We know we’re not going to be able to sign everybody. We know that. But we’ve got our priority and then we’ll see. I think some players will test the market and see what’s out there for them and see if they want to come back, but time will tell.”

The Avalanche, who signed goaltender Alexander Georgiev on Sunday after acquiring him from the New York Rangers, could be busy. They have not only Nichushkin but center Nazem Kadri,…