NHL free agency: 5 best players still available
By James Reeve
2. Sonny Milano
The Anaheim Ducks benefitted from Sonny Milano forming a good partnership with Trevor Zegras this past season, and it surprised many to see the team opt not to extend a qualifying offer to him, letting him walk for nothing this summer.
Fast forward a month and Milano is still unsigned, and many wonder what he could offer teams around the NHL. After being selected 16th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2014 Draft, expectations were high for the Massapequa, New York native, but it took him some time to have much of an impact in the league.
He posted seasons of 22 and 23 points in 2017-18 and 2019-20 respectively, but otherwise had featured in just a handful of games during the intervening campaigns, until having his breakout with the Ducks this past season.
In 66 games, Milano scored 14 goals and contributed 34 total points while averaging just over 15 minutes on the ice and the highlight of the campaign came when he batted in the goal set up by Zegras lobbing the puck from behind the Buffalo Sabres’ net back in December.
Many were expecting Milano to be back with the Ducks this season, and that could still be a possibility, but given the team allowed him to hit unrestricted free agency, it’s more than likely we’ll see the 26-year-old join the third team of his career.