Fansided

25 top NHL free agents teams will be dying to sign in 2018

By David Rouben

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders battle for the puck during their game at the Barclays Center on October 30, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders battle for the puck during their game at the Barclays Center on October 30, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 15: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during warm-ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 15: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during warm-ups against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /

18. Petr Mrazek

The first restricted free agent on this list, but it’s hard to imagine the Philadelphia Flyers will give Petr Mrazek a qualifying offer. Despite giving up two conditional draft picks for him at the trade deadline, he played a grand total of 31 minutes in the playoffs despite Brian Elliott’s struggles.

Nobody could’ve envisioned Mrazek’s career would end up like this. It seemed as if he was going to be the Detroit Red Wings’ goaltender of the future after putting on some showstopping performances in the playoffs. But once they fell to the basement, he was unceremoniously shipped off and didn’t find his footing with the Flyers.

Why he’s in demand: Because he’s still just 26 and can rediscover his old form if he’s put in a favorable situation. And after the Flyers straight up forgot about him in the playoffs, he’ll be motivated to come back stronger. Nonetheless, Mrazek can still put up at least a .910 save percentage and help a team with goaltending needs steer the ship in the right direction.

Teams with the best chance to sign him: The Edmonton Oilers need a goalie that can take the load off Cam Talbot and play well in his absence. Laurent Brossoit couldn’t do that, but perhaps Mrazek could.

The Carolina Hurricanes enter every season as the dark horse team to make the playoffs but come into this offseason with more turmoil than ever, after making every player except for Sebastian Aho available. They tried to address their goaltending problem last offseason by signing Scott Darling, but he struggled mightily in his first season. Mrazek could either claim the starting spot in Carolina or give Darling some genuine competition in order to elevate his game.

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