Top 10 unrestricted free agent right wingers: Patrick Kane an intriguing target

For a good long while, we peered at the potential UFA class of 2023 and placed a right winger at the top of the charts.

I mean, where else would you slot a three-time Stanley Cup winner who has both regular season and playoff MVP trophies to his credit?

But from the word go, something was off with Patrick Kane’s season last year. The conversation about whether he would actually ask the Chicago Blackhawks to trade him ahead of becoming a UFA morphed into a more layered discussion about whether the 34-year-old was fully healthy. Kane played through the pain after a move to the New York Rangers, but at the beginning of June we finally got clarity around his injury situation as Kane underwent hip-resurfacing surgery in the hopes he can get back to feeling — and moving — like his old self.

That certainly adds a wrinkle to his standing on the open market, but the expectation is Kane should be ready to go by December next year, and maybe even a month or so earlier.

The shifty American is the most notable forward available on the starboard side, but by no means is Kane the only intriguing right winger headed to the open market. Here’s a look at the top 10 RWs about to field some calls.

Top 10 FAs at each position: C | LW | D | G

Patrick Kane
Age: 34
2022-23 Cap Hit: $10.5M (Blackhawks, Rangers)

Though he didn’t want to come right out and say it, it became increasingly obvious during the course of last season that Kane was playing at something far less than 100 percent. He didn’t score his fifth goal of the year until his 32 second game, just a few days before Christmas.

Kane was in full control of his situation thanks to a no-movement clause and he ultimately steered things toward a trade with the Rangers. He put up 12 points in 19 contests with New York and had six more in the Rangers’ seven-game, first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Obviously his surgery is a complicating factor, but nobody looking to get into the Kane business is sweating out games in November, December and January. Unless a Buffalo homecoming is in his future — and, good lord, wouldn’t that be fun — you would expect Kane to be joining a contender that only wants to know he’ll be ready to go come the stretch run and post-season.

Could he and the Rangers kick the can with a one-year deal and a hard wink-wink understanding that, assuming all goes well, there’s a large extension waiting for him in 2024 when the salary cap finally spikes?

Vladimir Tarasenko
Age: 31
2022-23 Cap Hit: $7.5M (Blues, Rangers)

This should be really interesting. Tarasenko has missed about 40 per cent of his team’s games dating back to the start of 2019-20. He had a massive bounce-back in 2021-22 with 34 goals, but failed to reach the 20-goal barrier last season in 69 games split between the St. Louis Blues and the Rangers.

At 31, the Russian is obviously pretty far removed from the days where you penciled him in for 35 goals. But he’s still a determined competitor with a great shot. Could he join a contender on a team-friendly deal to try and win a second Cup? Tarasenko popped 11 goals in 26 playoff games for the 2019 champion Blues.

Connor Brown
Age: 29
2022-23 Cap Hit: $3.6M (Capitals)

The last time Brown played a full schedule of games he scored at a 30-goal pace for the Ottawa Senators. That was two years ago, in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Last year, Brown’s debut season with the Washington Capitals lasted just four games before he injured his right knee versus the Vancouver Canucks and required ACL surgery.

Brown, who had a 20-goal season with his hometown Leafs in 2016-17, is still only 29 years old. You could easily see a team talking themselves into his upside with the understanding he’s a responsible player who could potentially fit in on any one of your top three lines.

Blake Wheeler
Age: 36
2022-23 Cap Hit: $8.25M (Jets)

Wheeler is a classic example of how your opinion of a player changes drastically when you shift the context. A first-line guy making more than $8 million against the cap? Pass. A savvy vet offering secondary offence in a six-foot-five body for less than half that dough? Let’s talk this out.

Wheeler, who turns 37 in August, scored at a 75-point pace two seasons ago and still registered 55 points this past year. His playmaking skills are still there and you have to think the former Winnipeg Jets captain could be a solid addition to somebody’s top-nine forward group while skating on the second power-play unit.

Jesper Fast
Age: 31
2022-23 Cap Hit: $2M (Hurricanes)

Fast netted 10 goals in the regular season for the Carolina Hurricanes last year, then popped half a dozen in 15 playoff contests. Not a bad way to enter free agency.

Nobody is going to ink Fast expecting him to fill the net. But he’s a heady, hard-working player who uses his speed to be an effective forechecker. The 31-year-old Swede also has 80 post-season games on his resume during a career spent with the Canes and Rangers.

Pierre Engvall
Age: 27
2022-23 Cap Hit: $2.25M (Maple Leafs, Islanders)

Engvall just turned 27, so part of what he’s got going for him is he’s the youngest guy on this list. After his trade from the Leafs to the New York Islanders he put up nine points in 18 contests and he’s coming off 15- and 17-goal campaigns the past two seasons. Sure, you’re never going to see him run anybody over with that six-foot-five frame, but he’s still a big guy who moves well and gets his goals.

Garnet Hathaway
Age: 31
2022-23 Cap Hit: $1.5M (Capitals, Bruins)

Unlike Engvall, Hathaway very much uses his large body to push opponents around. There are probably a handful of teams that fell short in the post-season who are looking at Hathaway and thinking he can help win them a couple more battles come playoff time, while still popping a goal here and there.

Ryan Reaves
Age: 36
2022-23 Cap Hit: $1.75M (Rangers, Wild)

Everyone walks a little taller when Reaves is on the fourth line. The Wild have signaled they’d like to bring the 36-year-old tough guy back, but that might be easier said than done because a couple teams still figure to be vying for the unique package Reaves brings.

Oskar Sundqvist
Age: 29
2022-23 Cap Hit: $2.75M (Red Wings, Wild)

Sundqvist showed a little something in Minnesota, netting seven points in 15 games following a trade with the Red Wings. He was, however, a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. He’s 29, six-foot-three and played a meaningful role on the Blues team that won the 2019 title.

Phil Kessel
Age: 35
2022-23 Cap Hit: $1.5M (Golden Knights)

Gotta get that fourth Cup, right? The NHL’s Ironman has no intention of stepping away now and a goal-starved squad might want to carve out some space for a guy people just seem to love having around.