"Once hailed as the most exciting off-season day on the National Hockey League calendar, unrestricted free agency has seen the sizzle fizzle in recent years.

So while hockey fans will cuddle up — as per usual — to their TV sets at noon ET on Friday for the much-anticipated kickoff, once the name Brad Richards gets ticked off, they'll be reaching for the bucket of Red Bull to keep upright.

It's the second straight year the unrestricted free agent cupboard has offered up few tasty goods.

Rogers Sportsnet's Hockeycentral analyst Nick Kypreos says the reason is simple.

"Teams are smart. Their top talent is being tied up for multi years. They don't let it get to this point, because you just end up overpaying," said the former NHLer.

"This might be one of the stranger ones we've seen in a while. It's not like we've got a ton of big names."

And the trend will continue, says former NHL general manager and current TSN analyst Craig Button."