NHL Free Agents 2020: Top Players on Market Following Stanley Cup Final

Nearly a full year after it started, the 2019-20 NHL season concluded Monday night. It was a campaign like no other, featuring a five-month shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic and an expanded 24-team postseason that didn't begin until August and was held in two hub cities without fans in attendance.

Will things be back to normal during the 2020-21 season? That remains unclear. And it's still not known when the new season will get underway. It would typically start in October, but that's not going to happen given the Tampa Bay Lightning only hoisted the Stanley Cup on Monday. And there's still offseason business to take care of.

Free agency begins Oct. 9, and the talented players set to hit the market have to decide whether they want to sign new deals with their current teams or join new ones. And while the pandemic will have an impact on teams' financial situations (the salary cap for 2020-21 will remain at $81.5 million), some franchises will find ways to bring in the premier free agents.

Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded and the focus has shifted to the offseason, here's a look at several of the top players set to be on the market.

Top Available Free Agents

Alex Pietrangelo, D

After captaining the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019, things didn't go as well this postseason for Alex Pietrangelo and his team. They were upset by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs. And it's possible that was the end of Pietrangelo's time in St. Louis.

The blueliner has spent his first 12 NHL seasons with the team and has been the captain since 2016. In addition to leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup, the 30-year-old is a three-time All-Star who has played at least 70 games in nine of the past 10 seasons (with the only lower mark coming during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign).

Toward the end of September, it didn't sound like negotiations were going well between the Blues and Pietrangelo, who told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford that the sides "hadn't really made much progress."

"We just think right now, with where things are at, that maybe it’s best for both sides to see what’s going on in free agency, what the team can explore, what I can explore and if there are better fits for each side," Pietrangelo told Rutherford.

If that's the case, there should be plenty of teams with interest in pursuing Pietrangelo. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights seem like strong fits, but their cap situations aren't conducive to bringing in a big-ticket free agent ($7.8 million and $5.8 million, respectively, per Spotrac). But anything can happen during free agency, and who knows? Maybe Pietrangelo will end up heading back to St. Louis for 2020-21 after all.

Taylor Hall, LW

The Arizona Coyotes had a disappointing end to the season, losing successive games 7-1 to the Colorado Avalanche to exit the playoffs in the first round. That was after an impressive qualifying-round showing against the Nashville Predators despite John Chayka stepping down as the team's general manager the week prior.

Before Chayka resigned, one of his biggest moves was trading for former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to boost the team's offense. Now, will new GM Bill Armstrong try to find a way to bring back the 28-year-old left wing?

"It'd have to be very creative to keep him [in Arizona]," Armstrong said recently, according to NHL.com's Brian Compton. "That's something we're going to explore. We're never going to turn our eye to talent like that. He's a heck of a player, but we've got to explore."

Over 44 games with the Coyotes between the regular season and postseason, Hall had 12 goals and 21 assists. He proved he's still a strong offensive player after injuries limited him to 33 games in 2018-19. So if Arizona can't find a way to retain Hall's services (Spotrac details the team has just $381,098 in cap space), he should have plenty of suitors.

Could Hall return to the New Jersey Devils? Would a strong team like the Avalanche consider adding even more offensive talent by pursuing Hall?

Torey Krug, D

Like Pietrangelo, Torey Krug is a pending free-agent defenseman who has spent his entire NHL career with one team. The 29-year-old has played the past nine seasons for the Boston Bruins and has been a strong presence for them throughout that time, tallying at least 44 points in each of the past five seasons.

According to TSN's Frank Seravalli, the Bruins' most recent offer to Krug was a six-year, $39 million deal, but there have been teams with "significant interest" in trading for the defenseman's rights. So it's possible that Krug's time in Boston could be coming to an end before free agency begins.

If there are teams that don't believe they will be able to land Pietrangelo, then it could be a smart option to try to trade for Krug's rights and sign him to a deal instead. Not only is he a solid player, but he's also a veteran who has been on some successful Bruins teams and knows what it takes to win.

In order for a team to be able to sign Krug, though, it will need to offer the blueliner security. Krug said in early September that he was "very opposed" to signing a short-term deal, per NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin, adding that he believes his value is at its peak and that he wants to "make the most of it."