No Mitch Marner. No Aaron Ekblad. No Brad Marchand.
No frenzy?
With a majority of the NHL's top-projected free-agent talent already off the market, the 32 teams face relatively slim pickings entering the league's annual signing period opening Tuesday at noon EDT.
A record 7.5 million jump in the NHL's salary cap led to many teams locking up their own talent to long-term deals in advance of free agency.
The Vegas Golden Knights proved the big winners , acquiring Marner in a sign-and-trade deal agreed to Monday with Toronto to land free-agency's most prized player. And the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers took Ekblad and Marchand off the board by re-signing each to a lengthy contract.