It is officially September and we're about two weeks out from the official start of NHL training camps. That said, it's difficult to remember when a more star-filled crop of restricted free agents were still unsigned this close to the beginning of the regular season. This list of names includes many that are poised for long, successful NHL careers, including Colorado's Mikko Rantanen, Toronto's Mitch Marner, Winnipeg's Patrik Laine, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point, Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk, Vancouver's Brock Boeser, Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov and many, many others.
The consensus among insiders is that players and their agents are waiting for someone big to be the first to sign, and the rest will drop like dominoes. The name pointed out most often as potentially setting the market is Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs' winger who had a career-year last season playing most of it along side centre John Tavares. Marner and his agent have already spoken to a European team about the prospect of the 22-year-old training and/or possibly playing with the team should contract negotiations stretch on. So that begs the question: if RFAs are waiting for Marner to sign to set the market, what happens if he ends up sitting out the first part of the regular season? Could we end up seeing several RFAs miss the first couple of weeks of regular season games? Could it stretch into the first couple of months?
One thing is certain, RFAs have until December 1st to sign a new deal, or they sit out the entire season. It's a safe bet that the real losers, should that happen, will be the fans, as they'll be missing the plays of some exciting young stars. However, it's also worth noting that, should this happen, many will likely sour on the negotiation process and the young stars themselves. While NHL players make less than those in other leagues, in many cases, they are being paid millions to play a game that they love. September is bound to be an interesting month, with or without progress on the RFA market. No progress could be a real sign of what's to come as younger star players get closer and closer to dominating the NHL.
-
