Back in November, we took a look at some of the potential Group VI free agents that could hit unrestricted free agency early this offseason. Of that group, Josh Leivo was extended and Stefan Noesen eclipsed the number of games played needed to stay with the New Jersey Devils organization. Now, CapFriendly has compiled a complete list of players still at risk of becoming free agents early, including how many games they need. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:
- The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
- The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
- The player has played less than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.
The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.
*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency
Anaheim Ducks:
Arizona Coyotes:
F Freddie Hamilton*
G Scott Wedgewood*
F Tyler Gaudet
Boston Bruins:
F Kenny Agostino
F Austin Czarnik*
Buffalo Sabres:
F Seth Griffith*
D Casey Nelson
G Adam Wilcox
G Jason Kasdorf
Calgary Flames:
F Garnet Hathaway*
F Marek Hrivik
D Tyler Wotherspoon
Carolina Hurricanes:
F Patrick Brown
D Philip Samuelsson
D Brenden Kichton
Chicago Blackhawks:
Colorado Avalanche:
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Dallas Stars:
D Reece Scarlett
D Andrew O’Brien
Detroit Red Wings:
F Turner Elson
G Jared Coreau*
Edmonton Oilers:
F Grayson Downing
F Ty Rattie
F Brian Ferlin
D Joey LaLeggia
D Keegan Lowe
D Dillon Simpson
G Laurent Brossoit
Florida Panthers:
F Connor Brickley*
F Alexandre Grenier
F Chase Balisy
Los Angeles Kings:
F Andrew Crescenzi
F Michael Mersch
D Kevin Gravel*
Minnesota Wild:
F Kurtis Gabriel
F Kyle Rau
F Zack Mitchell
D Viktor Loov
Montreal Canadiens:
F Daniel Carr*
F Kyle Baun
Nashville Predators:
F Mark McNeill
D Petter Granberg*
G Matt O’Connor
New Jersey Devils:
F Blake Coleman*
F Ben Thomson
New York Islanders:
G Christopher Gibson
G Kristers Gudlevskis
New York Rangers:
F Daniel Catenacci
D Ryan Sproul
Ottawa Senators:
Philadelphia Flyers:
D Mark Alt
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Vancouver Canucks:
Vegas Golden Knights:
F Tomas Nosek*
D Chris Castro
G Maxime Lagace*
Washington Capitals:
Winnipeg Jets:
Kenny Agostino, Rocco Grimaldi and Alex Broadhurst are the 3 guys who I could see making some sort of NHL impact as soon as next season if put in the proper environment. Add Daniel Carr too if he becomes a UFA. I still believe Seth Griffith could be useful as a 4th liner/PP specialist but I don’t think any teams will be willing to give him that shot.