Training camp is calling.
Plenty of NHLers have already returned to their hockey homes.
And yet (nearly) two handfuls of restricted free agents remain twisting in the wind.
The last of the unsigned have plenty in common.
None have celebrated their 24th birthday. None had arbitration rights. All are eligible to sign an offer sheet, essentially their only leverage outside of not reporting for camp or threatening to take their services overseas.
Here’s where things stand with the remaining RFAs of 2022.
Let’s play hardball.
1. Jason Robertson
Age: 23
Position: Left wing / Right wing
2021-22 salary cap hit: $795,000
What’s the deal? A major reason Jim Nill opted not to re-sign defenseman John Klingberg is because the Dallas Stars GM is seeking to invest a greater portion of his limited cap space in youth.
Starting goalie Jake Oettinger was bridged on Sept. 1 with a three-year, $12-million contract, shifting all eyes to Robertson.
The 2021 Calder Trophy runner-up has been a godsend, establishing himself as a top-line threat and picking up slack from aging leaders Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
Nill faces a compelling question: Try to lock up as much of Robertson’s prime now in hopes he looks like a bargain later, the way he did with a young Klingberg and 2021 RFA Miro Heiskanen? Or go with a bridge deal and risk handing Robertson increased leverage down the road?
With injured goaltender Anton Khudobin buried on LTIR, Nill has roughly $7 million to work with here.
“These RFA deals will often sit and wait, that’s kind of the nature of it,” Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said on the The Cam & Strick Podcast. “We’ve got the cap space sitting, waiting for these guys. And so no, we’re not concerned about it.
“Those conversations are happening. I can’t tell you that a deal is imminent.”
Gaglardi seems to love the player but hate the trend.
“A kid in the third year of his entry-level (deal) puts up 40 goals, and now he wants to make $7 million,” Gaglardi said. “If you want a term with that player, he’s going to take you higher than that… The stars are taking all the money, and the guys in the middle are getting squeezed.”
Wonder what Gaglardi thinks of the Tage Thompson and Tim Stützle extensions.
2. Sean Durzi
Age: 23
Position: Defense
2021-22 salary cap hit: $809,166
What’s the deal? A wonderful return piece from the Jake Muzzin trade, Durzi made noise in 2021-22 as a rookie contributor for the Los Angeles Kings.
Scoring three goals and adding 24 assists in 64 games for the playoff team, the Mississauga, Ont., native proved that patient AHL development can pay off.
Durzi’s playmaking juiced the Kings’ power play, particularly when Drew Doughty went down to injury, and the right shot seized most of his NHL opportunities, averaging 19:35 of ice time.
GM Rob Blake moves in silence, but he is reportedly engaged in talks with Durzi’s agent. The deal remains a work in progress.
3. Alex Formington
Age: 22
Position: Left wing
2021-22 salary cap hit: $747,500
What’s the deal? Formenton entered the summer hot off a breakout platform campaign in which he erupted for 18 goals and 32 points, proving he can contribute lower down the lineup as a first-time full-time NHLer.
The offensively minded winger’s two-way game still needs improvement, however.
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion — one of the undisputed stars of the off-season — has the cap room to sign Formenton to a longer deal if he chooses, but the executive is said to still be poking around for more help on the blue line.
During a radio appearance with TSN 1200 on Aug. 26, Dorion said he was engaged in positive talks with Formenton’s agent and expects the forward will be signed prior to camp’s opening later this month.
4. Barrett Hayton
Age: 22
Position: Center / Left wing
2021-22 salary cap hit: $894,167
What’s the deal? Unlike most franchises with players on the unsigned list, the Arizona Coyotes have cap space to spare.
GM Bill Armstrong can’t cry poor when negotiating with 2018’s fifth-overall pick, and with young talent essential to get things on track in the desert, this one should be a no-brainer.
“I don’t think the sides are far apart. Should get done before camp,” tweeted long-serving Coyotes insider Craig Morgan.
Hayton has been slow to pop for a top-five pick but is trending in the right direction, posting career highs in games played (60), goals (10) and assists (14) last season.
We’d suggest a bridge, believing Hayton has more to prove. But the Coyotes have a track record of handing terms to guys in their early 20s (Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, Jakob Chychrun), hoping those deals will look like bargains down the road.
5. Mikey Anderson
Age: 23
Position: Defense
2021-22 salary cap hit: $925,000
What’s the deal? LA’s Blake has had discussions with Anderson’s camp and the sides have “exchanged various proposals,” according to Kings insider John Hoven.
The Kings have roughly $4 million to get both Anderson and Durzi on the ice. For a franchise looking to build off 2021-22’s turnaround, keeping a couple of promising young defensemen in the fold is key.
Fun fact: Of all the remaining RFAs, Anderson is the only one to average more than 20 minutes of ice time in 2021-22. He doesn’t wow offensively (eight points in 57 games), but Anderson posts positive underlying metrics and took a significant step in upping his physicality on the back end.
6. Rasmus Sandin
Age: 22
Position: Defense
2021-22 salary cap hit: $894,167
What’s the deal? “Negotiations are going nowhere,” Lewis Gross, Sandin’s agent, told us on Aug. 17.
Why the standstill?
“I can’t answer that. You know I don’t usually say much (publicly) anyway. But they’re just going nowhere right now.”
Gross declined to dive into the details of the Maple Leafs’ final unsigned RFA.
“Negotiating contracts via the media have an adverse impact on player (and) team reputation and traditionally do not create resolutions to private matters,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas texted when informed of Gross’s comments.
Multiple factors — money, term, and Sandin’s role in a crowded defense corps — are at play.
With training camp not set to open for a few more weeks, Gross said it was too early to discuss whether Sandin would participate without a contract in place.
The belief is that Sandin was offered a deal similar to Timothy Liljegren’s two-year, $2.8-million bridge contract.
With so many veteran left-shot defenders under contract — Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, TJ Brodie (who plays the right), and Mark Giordano — it remains unclear where Sandin immediately fits into a lineup he didn’t crack in the post-season after. rehabbing a knee injury.
“They’re massive parts of our future,” Dubas said at the draft, lumping Liljegren into an answer on Sandin’s negotiation. “They’re significantly younger than the other full-time members of our defense corps. And we need them to continue to take steps.
“In Rasmus’s case, one of the major focuses is on trying to set him up to continue to be healthy all the way through the year and putting the proper resources into him to arm him to do that.”
7. Nicolas Hague
Age: 23
Position: Defense
2021-22 salary cap hit: $791,667
What’s the deal? Hague has accrued 42 points and 142 games of NHL experience over the past three seasons in Vegas, establishing himself as a big-league contributor.
In late August, GM Kelly McCrimmon stated that his top priority before camp would be getting Hague under contract, even though Ben Hutton will be ready to take Hague’s shifts if the 23-year-old digs in.
Goalie Robin Lehner’s shift to long-term injured reserve should provide McCrimmon with the wiggle room to bridge Hague.
That said, McCrimmon did go longer term with young D-men Brayden McNabb (four years) and Zach Whitecloud (six years) out of their ELCs, securing each of their services for less than a $2.9 AAV.
8. Ryan McLeod
Age: 22
Position: Centre
2021-22 salary cap hit: $834,167
What’s the deal? Concern over getting a McLeod signed in Edmonton is reportedly minimal.
“He will be. In fact, he may already have a deal in principle and the Oilers are just waiting for the move that creates the requisite cap space for his deal,” Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal wrote on Sept. 3. “Don’t be surprised if he ends up in the $800k one-year range.”
More reason not to fret: McLeod has already joined the boys for informal team practices in Alberta.
With spendy Ken Holland tight to the cap after splurging on UFAs Jack Campbell, Evander Kane, Brett Kulak and Ryan Murray, there have been whispers that a roster player like Warren Foegele, Jesse Puljujarvi, or Tyson Barrie are potential trade candidates to alleviate cap space. .
9. Adam Ruzicka
Age: 23
Position: Center / Right wing
2021-22 salary cap hit: $801,666
What’s the deal? Here’s a question: Do the Calgary Flames view Ruzicka as a full-time NHLer at this stage in his career? Or does Brad Treliving see the forward as a ‘tweener only worthy of a two-way contract?
If it’s the latter, Calgary may consider signing a more established UFA vet (Evan Rodrigues?) to a short-term contract or PTO, giving Ruzicka an obstacle to hurdle over for a sport in the bottom six.
The big Slovak (six-foot-four, 220 pounds) skated more for Calgary (28 games) than the AHL Heat (16 games) last season, posting a respectable five goals, five assists and a plus-eight rating.
No one believes Ruzicka has reached his ceiling yet.