NHL Free Agency 2020: Latest Predictions for Taylor Hall, Top Forwards

After a handful of trades and contract extensions in February and March, the 2020 NHL free-agent market has become clearer.

Taylor Hall is still expected to be the most wanted player, especially given teams have fewer options available now that Chris Kreider and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are locked into long-term extensions.

Defensemen Alex Pietrangelo, Torey Krug and Tyson Barrie, as well as goalie Braden Holtby, are all expected to draw plenty of attention, but there is a drop off between Hall and the other free-agent forwards.

Florida Panthers pair Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman could be brought in at reasonable prices, but their availability could be dependent on their team's plans.

Predictions For Free-Agent Forwards

Taylor Hall

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Any team with significant salary-cap space should make a run at Hall, who is the best forward about to become an unrestricted free agent.

Hall has 52 points in 65 games between the Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils this season, and he has seven 50-point campaigns in his career.

The Coyotes moved the forefront of negotiations by acquiring Hall for three players and a pair of draft picks in December. Coyotes general manager John Chayka told The Athletic's Craig Morgan that "both sides are gathering information and having some discussions" when it comes to the former NHL MVP.

Just because Arizona will have the first shot at negotiations does not mean it will get the deal done.

The Coyotes are in fifth place in the Western Conference wild-card race, and they would need to make up four points on the Nashville Predators while fending off two competitors just to make the playoffs. Since he struggled to qualify for the postseason when he was with the Devils—and only got there on the back of his MVP-caliber performance—Hall may be more intrigued to land with a contender.

Of the franchises with the most salary-cap space next season, the Colorado Avalanche are best positioned to be a long-term contender. Colorado is projected to have the fifth-most cap space behind the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Devils.

If the Avalanche can maneuver a deal for Hall, it would pair him with Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and others in one of the top forward groups in the league.

Prediction: Hall lands with Colorado.

Evgeni Dadonov

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If teams are priced out in the Hall sweepstakes, they could turn to Dadonov to fill a scoring void.

The 31-year-old has reached the 25-goal mark in each of the past three seasons, and he hit 70 points last season for the Panthers.

His age, combined with a points decrease from 70 to 47, should make him a cheaper alternative to Hall.

Dadonov is earning $3.6 million this season on the back end of the three-year, $12 million contract he inked with the Panthers in 2017. Florida has $25.4 million in cap space to work with this offseason, so if it wants to bring back Dadonov, it could make that happen.

However, the Panthers could be inclined to start fresh with new talent since they are on the outside of the Eastern Conference wild-card race. If they fail to qualify for the postseason, the Panthers would still have made just one playoff appearance since 2012 despite their free-agent splash in the 2019, which saw them make Sergei Bobrovsky the second-highest-paid goaltender on the planet.

If the Devils are out on Hall or want to go after one of the more expensive defensemen set to become available, they could shift their focus at forward to someone like Dadonov.

New Jersey has cap flexibility, as it has $30 million to work with, and it could use some scoring depth around its young core.

Prediction: Dadonov leaves Florida for New Jersey.

Mike Hoffman

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Hoffman could find himself in the same situation as Dadonov when the 2019-20 season concludes.

If Florida does not want to move ahead with its current core, Hoffman could be an intriguing option for a few teams. The Canadian winger has produced at least 56 points in each of the past five seasons with the Panthers and Ottawa Senators.

A season ago, Hoffman earned a career-high 36 goals, and he has put up 30 assists in every season during the aforementioned five-year span. He may not be capable of topping the league-wide charts in the key offensive stat categories, but he can be a solid second or third scorer.

The 30-year-old could come at a higher rate than Dadonov since he is making $5.6 million this season and has a longer track record of consistency. Therefore, Hoffman's market could depend on how much he wants in free agency. He signed a four-year deal worth $20.7 million with Ottawa in 2016.

He could be a good piece for a contender like the Edmonton Oilers or New York Islanders. Both teams have around $14 million in cap space and could benefit from adding another veteran scorer.

The Islanders are an intriguing fit since they already acquired Pageau from the Senators at the trade deadline and need plenty of firepower to keep up with the top teams in the Metropolitan Division just to get into the playoffs.

Prediction: Hoffman lands with the New York Islanders.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Hockey Reference. Contract information obtained from Spotrac.