The O'Reilly trade made headlines on Free Agency Day/Canada Day. Yet, the Blues July 1 signing of David Perron, a forward who returned to St. Louis after playing for the Vegas Golden Knights during their inaugural season, turned out to be a huge move too. Perron notched seven goals and nine assists during the Blues' run to the title.
St. Louis native and long-time NHL veteran Patrick Maroon also signed as a free agent with his hometown club July 9. He scored the series -winning goal double overtime of Game 7 versus the Dallas Stars, advancing the Blues to the Western Conference Final.
When the phone calls among players, agents and NHL general manager commence Monday morning, some big names will be in play. One of the league's top goalies, Sergei Bobrovsky, is reportedly getting courted by the New York Islanders, who are looking at the move as a way to get deeper into the playoffs, and Florida Panthers, who have made their intent to spend to the cap and stock a playoff-ready roster for new head coach Joel Quenneville very clear.
Artemi Panarin, who was Bobrovsky's teammate in Columbus, is another top unrestricted free agent being courted by teams looking to sign the high-scoring forward. Known affectionately as "Bread Man," Panarin has averaged just under a point-per-game throughout his four NHL seasons, notching 320 points (116 goals and 224 assists) in 322 career games played.
The New York Rangers and the Panthers (Quenneville coached Panarin for two seasons in Chicago) have been identified as major suitors in the media, but Rangers GM Jeff Gorton and Panthers GM Dale Tallon will find out their fate on Monday along with the rest of the hockey world.
Nashville, which cleared salary cap by trading all-star defenseman P.K. Subban during the 2019 Draft, is considered a front-runner for yet a third big-name free agent, center Matt Duchene. Duchene has also visited with Montreal Canadiens officials.