from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

It's normally quiet in the NHL in August. Many GMs are at their Canadian cottages and so are the media types north of the border who specialize in transactional rumors. But the sense around the game is an avalanche of news is coming.

What makes this summer unusual is the cadre of restricted free agents who remain unsigned and are looking for big money out of their entry-level contracts. Too many teams simply can't make moves until they get these situations squared away, and some of the outcomes figure to leak into training camp and perhaps beyond.

Look at the names here: Toronto's Mitch Marner, Winnipeg's Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point, Vancouver's Brock Boeser, Boston's Charlie McAvoy, Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk, Colorado's Mikko Rantanen, Columbus Zach Werenski, Minnesota's Kevin Fiala and Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov.

continued