from Joshua Clipperton of the CP at the Toronto Star,

STAR FREE AGENTS COULD HIT OPEN MARKET

John Tavares had the hockey world on the edge of its collective seat ahead of the opening of free agency last summer before deciding to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This year’s unrestricted free agent class could include Erik Karlsson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, Artemi Panarin and Jeff Skinner. A secondary group is led by Jake Gardiner, Wayne Simmonds, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Myers and Semyon Varlamov, among others, meaning that Canada Day could be even more of a free-agent frenzy than last year.

OFFER SHEETS ON THE HORIZON?

No team has signed a restricted free agent to an offer sheet since the Calgary Flames inked Ryan O’Reilly on Feb. 28, 2013 — a contract that was matched by the Avalanche and kept the centre in Colorado. But with loads of young, high-end talent potentially hitting the market this summer, is there a team willing to try the little-used tactic in an effort to land a star? Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen, Matthew Tkachuk, Brayden Point and Brock Boeser are just some of the names that might attract offer sheets if unsigned by their current clubs on July 1. The price can be heavy — up to four first-round picks go to the team losing the player — but there’s a chance a general manager or two might think it’s worth it.

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