July 1 had some fireworks despite this year\u2019s weak free-agent class. There were plenty of motivated buyers, both in signings and on the trade market.<\/p>\n
Most of the true difference makers are off the free-agent board, but there are still intriguing names available. Expectations just have to be tempered \u2014 these aren\u2019t top-six players or top-four defenders who will be core pieces, they\u2019re solid supporting-cast and depth options.<\/p>\n
Here are eight of the most attractive targets left. Just close your eyes and pretend that these names are from 2019 and it\u2019ll feel a whole lot more exciting.<\/p>\n
Are the Sharks why the Blackhawks traded for Bowen Byram?<\/p>\n
Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and more<\/p>\n
Anthony Mantha<\/p>\n
Anthony Mantha was one of the best bargain signings of free agency last year, scoring 33 goals at an inexpensive $2.5 million cap hit. That production was even more valuable considering most of it came at even strength; his 25 five-on-five goals were tied with Nikita Kucherov, Mark Scheifele, Jason Robertson, Martin Ne\u010das, Adrian Kempe and Cutter Gauthier for sixth most among NHL players. Mantha\u2019s one-shot scoring ability in the middle six ensured that the Pittsburgh Penguins were no longer a one-line offensive team as they had been at times in recent seasons.<\/p>\n
It was a dream bounce back after he missed all but 13 games of the 2024-25 campaign due to a torn ACL.<\/p>\n
Mantha\u2019s top-level speed and 6-foot-5 frame are a tantalizing combination, but his longstanding inconsistency makes him a frustrating player. The 31-year-old was a playoff ghost, registering just a lone assist in the Penguins\u2019 six-game defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers. Mantha drove just a 40.9 percent share of expected goals in the playoffs, and the Penguins were outscored 4-1 with him on the ice at five-on-five. He has zero goals in 20 career postseason games.<\/p>\n
Between Mantha\u2019s career-long inconsistency, playoff warts and the one-dimensional nature of his game, there are red flags. Tack on the likelihood of some shooting percentage regression next season (he shot 21.7 percent in 2025-26 versus his career average of 13.8 percent), and clubs should tread carefully with how much money and term they offer. At the right price, however, there\u2019s no question he can meaningfully boost a team\u2019s middle-six offense<\/p>\n
Patrick Kane<\/p>\n
Patrick Kane will turn 38 in November, but he still racks up points and provides legitimate secondary offense. The iconic American scored 57 points in 67 games, which translates to a 70-point pace prorated over 82 games. He\u2019s still a prolific producer at both even strength \u2014 his 2.03 points per hour at five-on-five ranked second best among Detroit Red Wings forwards \u2014 and on a team\u2019s first-unit power play due to his vision, hands and creativity.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a decent chance his even-strength production will taper off a bit next season; his line scored on 12.1 percent of its shots at five-on-five, which is unlikely to repeat itself. He\u2019s also a drag defensively, which needs to be factored in. He still has plenty of game left to help a team offensively, however, provided the lineup and power-play fit are right.<\/p>\n
Logan Stanley<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re a fan of jumbo defensemen with mixed on-ice results or not, the truth is Logan Stanley is the kind of player teams always covet and overpay for.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-7 left-shot defenseman gradually improved his puck play and secondary offense over the years in Winnipeg, which culminated in the Buffalo Sabres paying a premium to acquire him at the deadline. The playoffs, however, were a reminder why he\u2019s a polarizing player. Stanley is prone to big mistakes because of his limited mobility and questionable reads, which led to him averaging just 13:04 of ice time across eight playoff games for the Sabres.<\/p>\n
Stanley would be a solid third-pair defenseman in the right situation, but there\u2019s a risk someone is going to pay him too much based on his size.<\/p>\n
Claude Giroux<\/p>\n
Claude Giroux isn\u2019t as dynamic as he used to be, but there\u2019s still a lot to like about him as a top-nine winger. No, he can\u2019t drive a line like in his prime years \u2014 Corey Sznajder\u2019s tracking data shows that he isn\u2019t very involved in transporting the puck up ice or as a solo offensive creator \u2014 but he\u2019s smart and crafty enough to complement other top players. Giroux scored 49 points and won a staggering 63.1 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\n
Critically, the 38-year-old didn\u2019t drag the rest of his line\u2019s ability to control two-way play as some aging veterans do: The Ottawa Senators controlled over 55 percent of expected goals and had a plus-14 goal differential with Giroux on the ice at five-on-five.<\/p>\n
Giroux could be a savvy pickup for the right team on a one-year deal.<\/p>\n
John Klingberg<\/p>\n
John Klingberg would be a reasonable target for a team that needs depth puck moving and offense from the back end at a reduced price. He\u2019s a complete liability in his own zone, as his defensive metrics are some of the worst in the league, but there\u2019s still some offense left in the tank.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old right shot scored 10 goals and 27 points in 56 games for the San Jose Sharks last season. Fit will be extremely important, as he\u2019d ideally just be a sheltered third-pair defenseman with some secondary power-play time.<\/p>\n
Vladimir Tarasenko<\/p>\n
Vladimir Tarasenko had an encouraging bounce-back season with the Minnesota Wild, producing 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games while averaging roughly 15 minutes per night. Any interested team needs to understand and accept his limitations, though: He\u2019s a slow skater, below average defensively and more of a complementary piece on a line than a driver.<\/p>\n
If you can live with those shortcomings, you\u2019re looking at a high-end finisher who can fill the net. Tarasenko\u2019s 16 five-on-five goals ranked No. 3 among Wild players behind Kirill Kaprizov and Boldy.<\/p>\n
Patrik Laine<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve sensed a theme in this article, it\u2019s that a few of the players on this list are limited and somewhat flawed defensively but still have scoring potential. Patrik Laine is the most extreme example of that.<\/p>\n
He can\u2019t drive play, his defensive metrics are awful, and he\u2019s a bit of a tweener in that he\u2019s not quite productive enough to play among the top six forwards on most teams yet also doesn\u2019t fit as a prototypical bottom-six player. For most teams, he doesn\u2019t make sense as a target. If a club needs a cheap, high-end power-play scoring specialist, though, the upside could be appealing.<\/p>\n
Laine scored 20 goals in 52 games during the 2024-25 season (a 31-goal rate prorated over 82 games) for the Montreal Canadiens, and 15 of those were tallied on the power play. He missed all but five games this season due to injuries, which makes him eligible for a low-risk, bonus-laden contract.<\/p>\n
Michael Bunting<\/p>\n
Michael Bunting has bounced around five teams in the last four seasons. His post-deadline run with the Dallas Stars didn\u2019t go well, as he notched just two points in 13 games, which led to him appearing in just one playoff game.<\/p>\n
In the big picture, though, Bunting has produced 0.55 points per game over the last three seasons, which is a bona fide middle-six rate. He\u2019s a high-energy pest who\u2019d be best served as the puck retriever on a line, in addition to having the knack for drawing a lot of penalties.<\/p>\n
Correction: An earlier version of this article included Marcus Johansson on the list. He signed a deal with a team in Sweden last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 1 had some fireworks despite this year\u2019s weak free-agent class. There were plenty of motivated buyers, both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-774423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}