As the 2021-2022 regular season looms near, there are a ton of NHL free agents still looking to sign with teams. While some key players come with speculation about signings, others could go just about anywhere and be valuable additions to many an NHL team.
Key players from every position are still available, and could make huge impacts with new clubs and teams, or sign significant contracts to remain with their current teams. That said, check out our list of the best NHL free agents still available for the 2021-2022 season.
Kyle Palmieri
After being traded to the New York Islanders from the New Jersey Devils, Palmieri became an integral part of the Isles’ deep playoff run. He was traded as a rent-a-player, but speculation suggests he is working on a long term contract with Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders. As the salary cap is expected to rise to $82.5 million in the 2022-2023 season, this could give the Isles some wiggle room to sign the winger to a fairly decent, long term contract, and still give them room to sign Casey Cizikas.
Palmieri seemed to gel with Islanders superstar Mathew Barzal in the playoffs, which makes him attractive to the Isles and pretty much any team that needs offensive help. Other speculation notes that he could be a good fit in Carolina, or even return to New Jersey, making him one of the most interesting NHL free agents on the market.
Tyler Bozak
The problem in St. Louis is that the club isn’t exactly getting a lot of interest in their major free agent, Tyler Bozak, nor in the power forward who wanted to be traded, Vladimir Tarasenko. While Bozak had a $5 million cap hit and a modified no trade clause with the Blues, he had 17 points in 31 games, with a -3 rating. In the playoffs, he had 2 points in the team’s 4 game sweep loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
