NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs UFAs, and NHL Free Agent Tiers

Quick notes on four Toronto Maple Leafs pending UFAs

The Fourth Period: The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi have a mutual interest and the sides “continue to work at it.”

The Maple Leafs and Max Domi have open dialogue as well.

Defenseman Joel Edmundson told the Maple Leafs that he will test free agency but didn’t rule out a return to Toronto.

The Maple Leafs won’t be bringing T.J. Brodie back.

NHL free agent tiers

Greg Wyshynski of ESPN:  Tiering off almost a hundred unrestricted NHL free agents.

Tier 1: The impact players – “These are established players who can play key roles immediately for a team.”

Jake Guentzel, LW, Carolina Hurricanes
Elias Lindholm, C, Vancouver Canucks
Jonathan Marchessault, RW, Vegas Golden Knights
Brandon Montour, D, Florida Panthers
Brett Pesce, D, Carolina Hurricanes
Sam Reinhart, RW, Florida Panthers
Brady Skjei, D, Carolina Hurricanes

Tier 2: The Steven Stamkos tier

Steven Stamkos, C/LW, Tampa Bay Lightning

Tier 3: The best bets – “These players have shown they’re worth the investment.”

Viktor Arvidsson, LW, Los Angeles Kings
Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Matt Duchene, C, Dallas Stars
Patrick Kane, RW, Detroit Red Wings
David Perron, LW, Detroit Red Wings
Matt Roy, D, Los Angeles Kings
Chandler Stephenson, C, Vegas Golden Knights
Tyler Toffoli, LW/RW, Winnipeg Jets
Nikita Zadorov, D, Vancouver Canucks

Tier 4: The best values – “Under-the-radar gems, analytics darlings and low-cost difference-makers.”

Laurent Brossoit, G, Winnipeg Jets
Dylan DeMelo, D, Winnipeg Jets
Alexandre Carrier, D, Nashville Predators
Brenden Dillon, D, Winnipeg Jets
Max Domi, C/RW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Anthony Duclair, LW, Tampa Bay Lightning
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Florida Panthers
Sean Monahan, C, Winnipeg Jets
Jordan Martinook, LW/RW, Carolina Hurricanes
Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Florida Panthers
James van Riemsdyk, LW, Boston Bruins
Sean Walker, D, Colorado Avalanche

Tier 5: The boom-or-busts – “Players that have the ability to justify the investment — or whose contracts could eventually become an eyesore on Cap Friendly’s successor.”

Jake DeBrusk, LW, Boston Bruins
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Colorado Avalanche
Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Detroit Red Wings
Erik Gustafsson, D, New York Rangers
Dakota Joshua, LW, Vancouver Canucks
Anthony Mantha, LW, Vegas Golden Knights
Jack Roslovic, C/RW, New York Rangers
Anthony Stolarz, G, Florida Panthers
Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Carolina Hurricanes

Tier 6: The rickety investments – “Danger, danger! Familiar names, strong reputations but options that teams might think twice about.”

TJ Brodie, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Adam Henrique, C, Edmonton Oilers
Tyler Myers, D, Vancouver Canucks
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ilya Samsonov, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
Chris Tanev, D, Dallas Stars
Jason Zucker, LW/RW, Nashville Predators

Tier 7: The spackle – “The other free agents available that don’t neatly fall into these tiers.”

Alexander Barabanov, RW, San Jose Sharks
Tyson Barrie, D, Nashville Predators
Anthony Beauvillier, LW/RW, Nashville Predators
Teddy Blueger, C, Vancouver Canucks
William Carrier, C, Vegas Golden Knights
Cal Clutterbuck, RW, New York Islanders
Ian Cole, D, Vancouver Canucks
Pheonix Copley, G, Los Angeles Kings
Nick Cousins, C, Florida Panthers
Casey DeSmith, G, Vancouver Canucks
Matt Dumba, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Joel Edmundson, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Christian Fischer, C, Detroit Red Wings
Warren Foegele, LW/RW, Edmonton Oilers
Zemgus Girgensons, C, Buffalo Sabres
Matt Grzelcyk, D, Boston Bruins
Mike Hoffman, LW, San Jose Sharks
Tyler Johnson, C, Chicago Blackhawks
Martin Jones, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
Kasperi Kapanen, RW, St. Louis Blues
Sam Lafferty, C, Vancouver Canucks
Kevin Lankinen, G, Nashville Predators
Kaapo Kahkonen, G, New Jersey Devils
Dominik Kubalik, LW/RW, Ottawa Senators
Dmitry Kulikov, D, Florida Panthers
Oliver Kylington, D, Calgary Flames
Kevin Labanc, LW/RW, San Jose Sharks
Ilya Lyubushkin, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Matt Martin, LW/RW, New York Islanders
Pat Maroon, RW, Boston Bruins
Alec Martinez, D, Vegas Golden Knights
Colin Miller, D, Winnipeg Jets
Matt Murray, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
Tomas Nosek, C, New Jersey Devils
Kyle Okposo, RW, Florida Panthers
Victor Olofsson, RW, Buffalo Sabres
Max Pacioretty, LW, Washington Capitals
Tanner Pearson, LW, Montreal Canadiens
Antti Raanta, G, Carolina Hurricanes
James Reimer, G, Detroit Red Wings
Mike Reilly, D, New York Islanders
Marco Scandella, D, St. Louis Blues
Justin Schultz, D, Seattle Kraken
Kevin Shattenkirk, D, Boston Bruins
Craig Smith, RW, Dallas Stars
Daniel Sprong, RW/LW, Detroit Red Wings
Brendan Smith, D, New Jersey Devils
Marc Staal, D, Philadelphia Flyers
Cam Talbot, G, Los Angeles Kings
Tomas Tatar, LW/RW, Seattle Kraken
Scott Wedgewood, G, Dallas Stars
Alex Wennberg, C, New York Rangers