The chaos of NHL free agency: What the frenzy is like for Leafs players, agents and GMs

It’s a day that starts with nerves and anxiety for players. It’s spent on and off phones. Part of what happens is within one’s control; most isn’t. The day ends in emotional exhaustion and, hopefully, a multimillion-dollar contract.

It’s called unrestricted free agency. TV calls it “free-agent frenzy.”

“It’s weird, not really knowing who’s going to offer you a deal, or where you’re at,” said Maple Leafs defenceman T.J. Brodie, who went through the process in 2020. “For me it was down to Calgary or Toronto and it was nerve-wracking.

“After all was said and done, it’s a bit of mixed emotions. You’re on to a new chapter, but you’re leaving a bunch of friends and teammates that you’ve been around for a long time.”

NHL’s free agency is back on July 1 for the first time since 2019 as the league returns to its pre-pandemic schedule. It opens at 12 p.m.

It’s quite possibly the busiest day of the year in the league, more so than the trade deadline. All the teams are involved from the shotgun start at noon. All the agents, too.

Free agency began on July 13 last year and teams handed out $735 million (U.S.) to 125 players in the first three weeks. This year, some 215 players and goalies who played at least one game in the NHL last season will be looking for new addresses, big raises or NHL minimums to keep their hockey playing career going.

Brodie only hit unrestricted free agency once. Teammates Luke Schenn and Noel Acciari, who were acquired by Toronto at the trade deadline on expiring contracts and are unrestricted free agents, have gone through it multiple times.

“It depends what kind of season you’ve had,” Schenn said of the process. “Some guys have the best experience ever on July 1. They have a lot of options. And some guys don’t. I’ve been on both sides, (including) where you’re just looking for a job, or just an opportunity.”

The 33-year-old defenceman has signed seven contracts worth $33,425,000 over a career that spans 15 seasons, according to capfriendly.com. Most of his money came early in his career, with his biggest deal an extension signed under Leafs GM Brian Burke for five years and $18 million. He has signed five deals with four teams since then, none for more than $1.25 million a year.

“It’s a crazy thing,” Schenn said. “It’s kind of unpredictable. It depends on the circumstance.”

Sometimes teams don’t have the right amount of cap space. Sometimes a player will take less to play in a particular city. Sometimes he wants to be on a winner.

Acciari signed as an unrestricted free agent with Florida in 2019, and again with St. Louis last year.

“It’s a bit of a whirlwind,” he said, “but at the same time, it’s a confidence booster because you see you see what teams want you, how much they like you, and they tell you how good you are. So they make you feel good about yourself and your game.

“It can also be kind of scary because you don’t know what the next move is and where you’re going.”

The go-between is always the agent. They’re already clued in as to which teams need what kind of players and how much money is available. It Teams often give players and their representatives permission to speak to other teams in advance of July 1, especially if both sides have agreed to move on.

“It’s quite busy that day. We do a lot of work even prior to that day to help get players prepared for it,” said agent Darren Ferris, who represents 12 players with contracts worth an annual value of $40 million, according to puckpedia.com. “Sometimes it can be very … how do I put it … I’ll put it this way: I end up greyer at the end of that day.”

There are plenty of pictures of general managers holding two phones to their ears on big days like the draft. Everyone is doing that July 1.

Teams are sure to call players and agents they’ve targeted right on the dot at noon, so they can say they how much they want them. If they’re targeting more than one, they use two phones, or the assistant general manager will help out. The tight salary cap since the pandemic has made deals even harder to pull off.

“It’s been pretty crazy just because of the crunch with the cap system,” Ferris said. “Most July 1s have been pretty straightforward. We get guys deals with teams that have a little more flexibility.”

But few teams have that flexibility these days. Teams have been trading very good players — Reilly Smith from Vegas to Pittsburgh, Ryan Johansen from Nashville to Colorado — for very little in return, just to create cap space.

“There’s been no cap growth and salaries continue to rise,” Leafs GM Brad Treliving said. “There’s no cap growth. Something’s got to give. And that’s just the reality of it. So teams have had to make hard decisions.”

The players simply have to wait for the deals to come their way.

“There’s a lot of back and forth throughout the day,” Brodie said. “Everyone is waiting to see. Some teams are waiting to see where certain guys go and if they can get them or not. It’s a lot of unknowns.”

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