'Unpredictable' free agency is on tap around the NHL as part of a fast-tracked offseason

NHL free agency opens Monday, less than a week since Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers.

The offseason comes at you fast, and with all of it packed into a short period of time and more extra money to spend since before the pandemic, general managers are not quite sure what's to come when the free agent frenzy gets underway.

“It's going to be unpredictable, really," San Jose general manager Mike Grier said Saturday on NHL Network. “It’ll be interesting. Every team’s trying to get better, and there’s only so many seats at the table.”

Sixteen seats at the playoff table, but nearly all of the league's 32 teams will make a signing of some sort, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be committed to players this week. This summer marks the first big salary cap increase since 2019 — a $4.5 million bump to $88 million — and there is no shortage of top players who will cash in as part of a free agent class headlined by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Cup champion Patrick Kane.

More trades are also in the offing, after Detroit GM Steve Yzerman called some of the activity at the draft over the weekend “eye opening” and moves he didn't see coming.

“Every team’s got a little bit more cap space,” Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille said. "And we’re seeing where things are going to be (going up) in the next two or three years. We expect some movement, and it should be exciting.”

So much that at least a couple of teams' front offices are staying in Las Vegas following the draft to handle free agency from there. That includes the Washington Capitals, who have been one of the busiest teams lately, trading for center Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson among a bevy of moves.

“We’re retooling and adding prospects and competing,” GM Brian MacLellan said, adding he “maybe” has some more up his sleeve by way of trade or free agency, particularly to change up his defense. “We’re going to shop around and see what we can find.”

Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, fresh off helping the Panthers win their first title in franchise history, are among the experienced defensemen available, along with Brady Skjei, three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez and Sean Walker, a trade deadline pickup by Colorado. Brett Pesce, a longtime teammate of Skjei's with Carolina, has been linked to New Jersey after the Devils cleared room for him.

The pool of forward talent available is stronger, even if Sam Reinhart stays with Florida following his 57-goal season and Jake Guentzel signs with the Lightning after they acquired the high-scoring winger's rights. Kane alone, even at age 35, could have a half-dozen or more suitors after being nearly a point-a-game producer last season for Detroit, and a reunion with New York Rangers cannot be ruled out among his many options.

Similar interest should materialize for Marchessault, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights who is coming off scoring a career-best 42 goals. There may not be room left for him after the team added $6.7 million-a-year center Tomas Hertl and $7.35 million defenseman Noah Hanifin in March, though GM Kelly McCrimmon was unwilling in the big picture to speculate about how free agency will unfold.

“It’s not completely in any club’s control,” McCrimmon said. “We have a real good handle on what that market is, what that landscape is, what it looks like and we’ll make our decisions accordingly. But it takes two parties to come to an agreement, and free agency is free agency. You’re never quite sure. We’ll see what plays out.”

The goaltending market has been playing out for some time now, with the Devils acquiring Jacob Markstrom, the Kings getting Darcy Kuemper and Boston sending '23 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo and more. Plenty more teams need help in net, including Detroit and Toronto.

The Maple Leafs, joining the Capitals remaining in Vegas for the free agent festivities, are willing to roll the dice that they can find a solution.

“How concerned am I of the goalie market? Well, we’ll see what the goalie market is,” GM Brad Treliving said. “We’ve been poking around in it, and we know we’ve got to shore that up on our end but we’re confident that we can.”

AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow and freelancer writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos moves the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, March 23, 2024, in Los Angeles. Stamkos is still on course to become a free agent even after the Lightning cleared significant salary cap space with trades made at the NHL draft. General manager Julien BriseBois and agent Don Meehan independently confirmed their stances have not changed with respect to Stamkos signing a new contract with the club before free agency opens Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) skates with the puck as Buffalo Sabres' Owen Power (25) defends with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) in the second period of an NHL hockey game April 7, 2024, in Detroit. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Stanley Cup champion Kane. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

FILE - Vegas Golden Knights' Jonathan Marchessault controls the puck in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane and 2023 playoff MVP Marchessault. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sidestepped a new set of Second Amendment fights Tuesday, declining to hear a challenge to an assault weapons ban in Illinois and sending other gun cases back to lower courts, including a challenge to the law used to convict Hunter Biden.

The moves came after the justices upheld a gun law intended to protect victims of domestic violence, the first guns rights case following a landmark ruling two years ago that expanded gun rights. The court still has another firearm case on its docket for the fall, weighing a Biden administration appeal overregulation of difficult-to-trace ghost guns.

The justices left for another day questions about other state and federal gun restrictions that have arisen in the wake of the 2022 ruling known as Bruen, which said that gun laws must be grounded in historic tradition to stay on the books.

Justice Samuel Alito disagreed with the high court's decision not to hear a challenge to then Illinois assault weapons ban in the fall. Justice Clarence Thomas referred to the law as “highly suspect” and wrote in a statement that he hopes to take up the case after lower courts reach a final judgment.

The law passed after a mass shooting at a 2022 Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburbs left seven people dead. Ten states and the District of Columbia now have bans on semiautomatic guns often referred to as assault weapons, according to the gun control group Brady, which tracks the legislation.

Another gun case challenging the law used to convict Hunter Biden was sent back to lower courts for another look after the high court's June decision in the domestic-violence-related gun case.

The justices told the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to take another look at their ruling that struck down a longstanding ban on drug users having guns. Hunter Biden's defense attorneys have cited the ruling as they fight the case filed against him for buying a gun during a period when he was addicted to drugs.

The Supreme Court also sent back to lower courts several cases challenging a law against people having guns after they are convicted of crimes. That includes the case of Bryan Range, a Pennsylvania man convicted of misstating his income to get food stamps for his family in 1995. An appeals court decided a lifetime gun ban violated his Second Amendment rights.

The justices also sent back a case challenging a gun law in New York, the same state that gave rise to the high court’s Bruen ruling.

New York passed a new measure after the justices struck down its strict concealed carry law. It opened the door to more people getting licenses while putting restrictions on where guns could be carried, including playgrounds, schools, theaters, places that serve alcohol and buses.

An appeals court blocked parts of that measure but allowed the state to continue banning firearms in certain “sensitive” locations and denying gun licenses to dangerous people.

The Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)