Among the 13 remaining restricted free agents are several notable youngsters coming off their entry-level contracts including defensemen Noah Hanifin, Josh Morrissey, and Darnell Nurse plus forwards William Nylander and Sam Reinhart. It isn’t just prominent players still needing to sign, however, as there are also some that will likely be settling for two-way deals, headlined by goalie Eric Comrie as well as forwards Michael McCarron and Matt Puempel.
While some will certainly put pen to paper on a new deal in the next couple of weeks, there are typically some that see their cases drag out into the exhibition season and one or two that will remain unsigned into October. Last summer, a pair of players were unsigned as the calendar turned to October with Josh Anderson settling just before the regular season got underway while Andreas Athanasiou didn’t come to terms until October 20th when he signed a one-year deal. (He was much quicker to sign this summer though, inking a two-year pact in early July.) Two years ago, three players weren’t under contract when the puck dropped on the regular season in defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Jacob Trouba plus forward Rickard Rakell.
With September and the start of training camps on the horizon, will there be another holdout situation? Make your picks for who you think will still be unsigned when the regular season gets underway on October 3rd in the poll below; you can select as many players as you like.
Coyotes RFA goaltender Marek Langhamer is not included in the poll as it’s believed that he will once again play overseas in 2018-19.
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