Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
According to Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan the Capitals’ priority for The 2023 off-season is to upgrade their forward corps, given that they would like to win another Stanley Cup before Alex Ovechkin retires. This article examines the top unrestricted free agent forwards to see if they would be good options for the Capitals to sign.
One obstacle for signing any marquee free agent forward is the fact that the Capitals have just $6,524,167 in cap space available for free agent signings and some of that amount will be needed to sign defenseman Martin Fehervary, who is a restricted free agent. This amount assumes that the Capitals don’t unload any of their current contracts, such as Anthony Mantha or Evgeny Kuznetsov in a trade.
This year’s crop of free agents at forward is a relatively weak crop, given that most of the forwards on this list have already celebrated their 30th birthday and/or have injury concerns.
Asked an NHL team exec about the 2023 unrestricted free agent class:
“It’s fucking awful.”
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 15, 2023
The following list discusses the top available free-agent forwards who are expected to play next season. It omits Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Zach Parise, who either plan to re-sign with their current teams or retire.
Ivan Barbashev – Barbashev, who turns 28 in December, had a career-high of 26 goals during the 2021-22 season. He did not equal that high last season but scored 16 goals for his second-best season ever. As a two-time Stanley Cup champion, he will likely require a raise from the $2.6 Million he made this past season.
Michael Bunting – Bunting, who turns 28 before the start of the 2023-24 season, has scored 20 goals in each of the last two seasons, becoming a full-time NHL player in 2021-22. He will likely require a raise from his relatively minimal cap hit of $950K, but can probably be signed for a relatively reasonable price. The biggest negative is the fact he got suspended for three games during the playoffs this past season.
J.T. Compher – Compher is 28-years-old and made a reasonable $3.0 million last season. He has yet to reach the 20-goal threshold but has come close in each of the last two seasons. Last season, he reached a career-high in assists with 35. He is versatile in that he can play both center and wing.
Photo: Getty Images
Max Domi – Domi, who turns 29 in early March, scored 20 goals last season while playing for two teams. His salary from last season is also reasonable at $3.0 million. His productivity in goals and points has been variable, plus he has been somewhat of an NHL nomad, playing for several different teams.
Eric Haula – Haula’s best season was the 2017-18 season when he scored 29 goals and recorded 26 goals for the Las Vegas Knights. He has not approached that total since. He scored 14 goals during 2022-23 and 18 goals in 2022-23. His salary last season was $2.5 million. Haula is also 32 years old, which would work against the Capitals’ desire to get younger. His inconsistent productivity also works against him.
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Patrick Kane – Kane is one of the biggest names on the market. The long-time Chicago Blackhawks right wing has had a very productive career with over 450 career goals. However, his age and health are working against him. He turns 35-years-old this November. In addition, he just had hip resurfacing surgery which will keep him out for 4-6 months. This is the same type of surgery that Nicklas Backstrom underwent after last season and Backstrom was only the second player to successfully return to play in the NHL after that. Given that he would miss at least the first two months of the 2023-24 season, signing him would be too risky even if he signed for a much lower salary than his previous cap hit of $10.0 million.
Alex Killorn – Killorn had the most points overall and was tied for scoring the most goals among the free agent forwards. His salary last season was a reasonable 4.45 million. The main disadvantage is signing him is that he turns 34 before this season starts. Perhaps his age could lower his asking price and/or contract term. There is also the possibility that he would prefer to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Photo: Getty Images
Sean Monahan – Monahan, who turns 29 in October, had two seasons in the past where he scored 30 or more goals. However, his productivity has gone down due to numerous injuries, including a hip injury and a broken foot. He only played in 25 games during 2022-23 due to injury. Overall, he would help the team on offense, provided he were healthy. He earned $6.375 million per year in his last contract. With his questionable health, he will likely earn less, but it will probably be more than what the Capitals can afford.
Ryan O’Reilly – O’Reilly, formerly the St. Louis Blues’ captain, scored 16 goals this past season, a season where he missed time due to a broken wrist. He has generally been a perennial 20-goal scorer. However, he will turn 33 midway through the 2023-24 season. His most recent cap hit is $7.5 million which the Capitals could not afford. Even a $5 million salary would be too high.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Tarasenko had multiple seasons of scoring 30 or more goals. On the downside, he has undergone multiple shoulder surgeries. He is also 31 years old. His prior annual cap hit was $7 million. While he would be a great fit for the Capitals, skill-wise, his salary requirements and desired contract term are likely more than what the Capitals can afford.
Tomas Tatar – Tatar scored 20 goals last season. For his career, he generally has 20 goals during seasons. He will turn 33 this season and will likely not require much of a raise, if any, over the $4.2 million he made with his last contract.
Jason Zucker – Zucker’s goal-scoring rebounded last season as he scored 27 goals, after a down season in 2021-22. His cap hit last season was $5.2 million and he will likely expect a raise, given that he had his strongest season since 2017-18. It would be difficult for the Caps to afford him at his current salary. Given his salary and the fact that he turns 32 midway through the season, it would be difficult to fit him on the Capitals’ roster and hard to justify paying for a long contract for a player who is over 30 and whose productivity has been inconsistent from year to year.
Others
Other than the players discussed, the most notable unrestricted free-agent forwards include Jordan Staal, Alex Kerfoot, and Jonathan Toews. But they are either relatively old and/or would not be an upgrade.
Overall
As many pundits have remarked, this is a relatively weak crop of free-agent forwards. Any upgrade of forwards would be more likely to come through trade than via free agency.
2023 NHL Free Agents – CapFriendly – NHL Salary Caps
By Diane Doyle