Top 2021-22 NHL All-UFA Team: Landeskog, Hall, Hamilton, More

2021 is a big year for Unrestricted Free Agents in the NHL. With names like Taylor Hall (again), Dougie Hamilton, and Gabriel Landeskog, there’s potential for teams to add several key pieces and make the jump to the next level. Some of these players will inevitably stay where they are. Others will move on. Some will be signed for bigger deals than expected, some will take discounts.

For no other reason than personal interest, I’ve put together a new team: The 2021 All-UFA Team. The lines aren’t necessarily based on chemistry, but rather the highest-skilled players from each position. Of course, this is just my opinion, so it’s certainly up for debate. Join the coversation on Twitter; let us know if you would add/change anything.

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I did not include players who are fully expected to either stay with their same team or retire, such as Alex Ovechkin, Tuukka Rask, and Pekka Rinne. I also moved some Left-Wingers to the right, as the righties were a little sparce.

So, without further ado, here is your 2021 All-UFA Team:

LW-Gabriel Landeskog	C-Phillip Danault	RW-Joel Armia
LW-Taylor Hall	C-David Krejci	RW-Jaden Schwartz
LW – Zach Hyman	C-Blake Coleman	RW-Kyle Palmieri
LW-Brandon Saad	C – Joe Thornton	RW-Barclay Goodrow
LD-Ryan Murray	RD-Dougie Hamilton
LD-Alec Martinez	RD-Neal Pionk
LD-Jamie Oleksiak	RD-Tyson Barrie
G-Philipp Grubauer
G- Frederik Andersen
Extras:
F-Marcus Johansson	D-David Savard	G-Antti Raanta

Honourable Mentions:

Forwards- Paul Stastny, Patrick Marleau, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, Travis Zajac, Nick Foligno, Tomas Tatar

Defensemen– Adam Larsson, Zdeno Chara, Alex Goligoski, Nick Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Ian Cole, Brandon Montour, Sami Vatanen

Goalies– Devan Dubnyk, Mike Smith, James Reimer, Petr Mrazek, Jonathan Bernier

Once again, these are just my opinions as to the top Unrestricted Free Agents at each position. At any rate, the market is packed with high-end talent with lots of stars looking for new homes.

What to Expect From the UFA Market This Year

We’ll likely see a few players sign long-term, low-dollar contracts, such as the 8-year, $41-million contract signed by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins less than two weeks ago. Nugent-Hopkins’ contract guarantees that he will receive the full $41 million, effectively making it “Buyout-Proof”. We can expect to see lots of similar contracts in the near future, as everyone wants to guarantee their long-term wealth in these uncertain times. It’s also likely that we see lots of contract with big signing bonuses: once again, to guarantee that the player receives as much of that money as possible in the event that they don’t play the full term of their contract. Nugent-Hopkins’ contract gave him $5.75 million up front.

Here’s what’s crazy with this little Free Agency exercise I’ve done: If this were a real NHL team, it would be in contention for the Stanley Cup. It’s possible for teams to add several top-tier players- several game-changers. Even if a team missed the playoffs last year, Free Agency could make them contenders this year.

Free Agency begins on July 28th, shortly after both the Expansion Draft and the Entry Draft. Rosters around the league will be changing rapidly throughout the month of July, so get out your popcorn and kick back in your recliner- it’s going to be a show!

13 days until the NHL expansion draft.

15 days until the NHL entry draft.

20 days until NHL free agency.#CBJ

— Jackets Updates (@jacketsupdates) July 8, 2021

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