{"id":846474,"date":"2026-08-05T02:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T02:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/846474\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T02:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T02:48:10","slug":"evaluating-notable-available-free-agents-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/846474\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating Notable Available Free Agents \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

With July now in the rear view, it\u2019s time to look at five unrestricted free agents who remain unsigned. There\u2019s a mix of younger players who are unexpectedly still up for grabs, along with aging veterans patiently waiting for the right situation. To cover every positional need, rather than simply going off the top five overall, a hypothetical lineup is built from the best available in each area. That\u2019s not to say that an elite lineup is hiding in plain sight on the open market here in early August, however, there\u2019s quality still out there for teams\u2019 shopping lists.<\/p>\n

Eeli Tolvanen \u2013 Right Wing<\/p>\n

Once a hyped prospect in Nashville who never found his footing, Eeli Tolvanen<\/a> proved his worth in Seattle despite missing a high-end distributor to play with. The middle-six sniper who scored 67 goals in 288 games with the Kraken would be elevated with premier linemates, should he finally get the opportunity wherever he lands next.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes wingers with Tolvanen\u2019s offensive traits are a black hole in other areas, but that\u2019s not the case for the 27-year-old who added a physical edge to his toolbox. Tolvanen averages over two hits a game.<\/p>\n

We at Pro Hockey Rumors looked into Tolvanen\u2019s profile nine days ago<\/a>, listing the Red Wings among his best fits. They\u2019ve already been linked<\/a> to the former first rounder. 33-year-old Viktor Arvidsson<\/a> has been their only addition<\/a> to help out a 22nd ranked offense, and considering who else in Hockeytown has either already left<\/a>, or is one foot out the door<\/a>, Tolvanen would be a sneaky signing to excite Detroit fans with upside to surpass his career-best 23 goals (2024-25).<\/p>\n

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Vladimir Tarasenko \u2013 Right Wing<\/p>\n

A right winger like Tolvanen, Vladimir Tarasenko<\/a> is technically cheating in building a hypothetical lineup, but still gets the mention considering his status as a steady producer. Bouncing around the past several years, the once face of the Blues likely fell victim to the numbers game in Minnesota, after a strong 47-point campaign as a beloved veteran. Back in May, the sentiment reportedly<\/a> was that the Wild would like to have him back, but that the price would \u201chave to be right\u201d. Coming off a $4.75MM cap hit, it\u2019s only speculation, but suggests that the Russian wasn\u2019t willing to take a serious pay cut to stick around.<\/p>\n

Saving their remaining $4.7MM for who could be the 2026-27 edition of last season\u2019s Jack Roslovic<\/a>, the Oilers might as well make the 34-year-old their next hired gun. Looking elsewhere, Buffalo still has $5MM sitting around in case Patrick Kane<\/a> was meant to be. Why not seek out another 2010s superstar to complete their forward group?<\/p>\n

John Klingberg \u2013 Defense<\/p>\n

A former top-pairing star in Dallas who now has played for six different teams in the past five years, it\u2019s not shocking to see John Klingberg<\/a> on our list, but to his credit the righty turned back the clock in San Jose with 27 points in 56 games. Able to stay mostly healthy, Klingberg skated over 20 minutes a night and contributed on the power play, doing more than anybody expected.<\/p>\n

Going off the board a bit, Nashville could use a righty who is able to take offensive work load off Roman Josi<\/a>. They\u2019d also offer the veteran a chance to be moved to a contender if things aren\u2019t on the up next spring. To make it work though, they would have to move out someone like the recently re-signed<\/a> Justin Barron<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anaheim is an obvious fit for a reunion given their needs, but they\u2019d be forced to dump a valued leader like Alex Killorn<\/a> to open up cap room. Chasing a Stanley Cup, Klingberg fits on several playoff teams, depending on his willingness to accept another team-friendly one-year deal. It\u2019s unfortunate considering that he passed on a lucrative long term extension in Dallas<\/a> five years ago before becoming a journeyman.<\/p>\n

Logan Stanley \u2013 Defense<\/p>\n

Acquired by Buffalo at the deadline<\/a> for a hefty price during his breakout campaign, it seemed like the pieces were coming together for Logan Stanley<\/a> to earn a sticker-shocking contract in early July. Nothing has materialized yet, and the 6\u20197\u201d lefty may have to lower his ask on term or value. Putting up a career-best 26 points in 76 games across Winnipeg and Buffalo, to go with a huge increase up to 128 penalty minutes on a serious mean streak, teams often highly value such players to the point of debate, with Stanley\u2019s status being an outlier for the time being.<\/p>\n

The Sharks could finish off their revamped blue line with the 28-year-old, seeming to need one more body with $3.3MM remaining. Sticking out west, the Ducks are again an obvious fit, besides seeming to lack the salary room to make it happen. Finally, a return to Winnipeg isn\u2019t out of the question, fitting on paper, although the Jets picked up<\/a> Mario Ferraro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Philipp Kurashev \u2013 Center<\/p>\n

It was already a thin center market this summer, and any team still prioritizing a big addition in that position would be best working the trade phones. 26-year-old Philipp Kurashev,<\/a> who put up 54 points in Chicago just two seasons ago, technically stands out as the best pivot available.<\/p>\n

Listed as a center who took 45 draws in 43 games as a Shark last season, Kurashev did not receive an extension offer despite a respectable 20 points. He\u2019s not quite trusted enough to hold down a bottom-six center role, lacking the ability to win face-offs reliably and not being physically imposing, therefore stuck between roles.<\/p>\n

A youngster hoping to regain his groove from playing alongside Connor Bedard<\/a>, any contender needing to round out depth and offering occasional placement alongside star power makes the most sense. The Golden Knights are $8.6MM over the cap, but if they can somehow wiggle out with enough room to squeeze in Kurashev on a small salary which would appease him, it would be a nice fit. Assuming that can\u2019t be done, the Oilers also stand out, with general manager Stan Bowman<\/a> already showing an affinity for his former Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

Cam Talbot \u2013 Goaltender<\/p>\n

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39-year-old Cam Talbot<\/a> is the best remaining goaltender at this point, certainly the most proven with over 500 career NHL games including 34 in Detroit last season. Things didn\u2019t come easily for the undrafted veteran, struggling with an .883 save percentage and a -13.1 saves above expected, seventh worst in the league, per Moneypuck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tough market for Talbot, with the annual musical chairs of backup goaltenders game largely played out. Carolina would be a great landing spot nearing the end of his career depending on Pyotr Kochetkov<\/a>\u2019s status. Speaking of teams with injury-prone goalies, the Canucks also could take a flyer, although Thatcher Demko<\/a> seems to be trending toward a return<\/a> by next fall.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images (Tarasenko), Nick Wosika-Imagn Images (Talbot)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With July now in the rear view, it\u2019s time to look at five unrestricted free agents who remain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,2368,82],"class_list":["post-846474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-pro-hockey-rumors-originals","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}