No doubt by now you’ve heard that the July 1 unrestricted free agent market is a little lean this year, especially if you’re looking for goals.Only eight pending UFAs scored 20 or more goals this past season. They are:Alex Tuch (33), Anthony Mantha (33), Alex Ovechkin (32), Bobby McMann (29), Viktor Arvidsson (25), Vladimir Tarasenko (23), Darren Raddysh (22) and Jack Roslovic (21).Tuch and Raddysh are the top two names on The Athletic’s Chris Johnston’s UFA big board. They’re getting a lot of attention. On Tuch, everything was status quo as of Wednesday afternoon: no doors closed on potentially staying with the Buffalo Sabres, but still likely that he will head to market, same as it stood last week.The Washington Capitals, meanwhile, continue to wait patiently on Ovechkin.Flyers trade Samuel Ersson, Emil AndraeKevin Kurz and Madison EadesBut what of Mantha, McMann, Arvidsson, Tarasenko and Roslovic?Mantha, 31, put up a career-high 33 goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins after playing just 13 games a season earlier with the Calgary Flames. He did have 23 goals in 2023-24 between the Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights, but staying healthy has been the issue over the years for the 2013 No. 20 pick. The Penguins would have brought him back on another one-year deal, but that’s not happening. Mantha’s camp, led by agent Olivier Fortier, will bring his client to market and likely look for a four-year deal. There should be solid interest, given the lack of goals available on the UFA market. I could see Mantha net between $5 million and $6 million per year.McMann, 30, had a career-high in goals between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken, scoring 10 in 18 games with the Kraken. He also had 20 goals in 74 games with the Leafs two seasons ago and 15 goals in 56 games the season before that. So his late-bloomer ascension has been consistent. But what does a raise over his current $1.35 million salary look like? His agents, Brian and Scott Bartlett, continue to have discussions with the Kraken. There’s mutual interest, and the sides have agreed to keep talking to see if they can find common ground over the next 10 days or so.Arvidsson, 33, seemed reborn with the Boston Bruins this past season, putting up his best offensive output in three seasons. His agent, Kurt Overhardt, remains in dialogue with Boston as July 1 approaches. My sense is that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney very much would like Arvidsson back. I wonder if the sides can get comfortable on term, though.Tarasenko, 34, was a decently productive player for the Wild this past season, especially given how little power-play time he got. He had a tough start to the season but got hot in March and April. There are still a lot of moving parts in Minnesota, so Tarasenko staying put is not completely out of the question. But the likeliest outcome is that he goes to market.Roslovic is the youngest of this group at 29 and can also play center. He’s bounced around playing for four teams in the past three seasons. He ended up with the Edmonton Oilers in an Oct. 8 signing after spurning a better offer from the Oilers back on July 1 last year. The Oilers really like Roslovic, but at the moment, he’s also likely headed to market.One thing I would say for some of these guys is that there are teams that have interest in them, but first want to see if they can get younger scorers via the trade market. That part of it will play out over the next seven to nine days, with the draft on June 26 and 27 fueling certain trades because of the picks involved. But some teams will strike out on the trade market and come circling back to these UFAs to find their offensive upgrade.With less than two weeks to go before July 1, there’s still no extension done between pending UFA Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers. (Megan Briggs / Getty Images)Bobrovsky, Panthers split?There’s still no resolution on Sergei Bobrovsky as July 1 approaches. It’s a head-scratcher to me. And I have no idea how it’s going to end up.Does the veteran Russian netminder really want to leave South Florida, where he won two Cup titles? He turns 38 in September. The Panthers have been consistent in wanting him back, but there’s still no extension done with less than two weeks to go before July 1.If Florida can’t re-sign him, I wonder about Connor Hellebuyck as a potential trade target if Winnipeg is actually willing to move on that front. Hellebuyck’s end-of-season comments to the media in Winnipeg certainly gave the impression that he would be open to change, and TSN colleague Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that the Jets are listening on him and that a potential return might revolve around Winnipeg getting a second-line center plus other assets.I would venture to guess that Florida would try to get into that conversation if possible, though the price might be too rich.What does Kane want?Pending UFA Patrick Kane definitely wants to play another season, his agent Pat Brisson said on Wednesday. That’s all Brisson would share.Kane, 37, put up 57 points in 67 games this past season, a solid 0.85 points per game average. My understanding is that the Red Wings do want Kane back and have made that clear. What remains undetermined is whether Kane wants to return.He certainly might, but he’s mulling things over at the moment about whether to stay put or head to market.Shea likely to hit marketRaddysh is the No. 1 defenseman on the UFA market, to be sure, but another name generating attention is Ryan Shea.Like Raddysh, there’s some late-bloomer action to the 29-year-old Shea, a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. He plays up and down the D pairings and also plays both sides. Because of his age, the roster-in-transition Penguins can’t get into the kind of term he will command.Shea’s agent, Matt Keator, is obviously looking to get his client a healthy raise from the $900,000 he made this past season.Kesselring tradeI loved the Michael Kesselring pickup by the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. It cost the Sharks seven spots in the bottom third of the opening round of the draft. That’s not nothing. For sure, the Buffalo Sabres see value in having moved up those seven spots from 27 to 20. They likely get access to a player there that would not have dropped to 27. But for a 26-year-old, right-shot D who is 6-foot-5? That’s the kind of move you look back on in six months, when Kesselring might be thriving on the Sharks’ blue line, and wonder why more teams weren’t in on that.Per league sources, Kesselring asked for a change of scenery out of Buffalo after a tough year battling knee and ankle injuries and never moving up the lineup. He appeared in only one playoff game. Which is why I get the move from Buffalo’s perspective, as well — especially when one considers that Kesselring is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He could have gotten a one-year deal in arbitration and bridged himself to UFA next year, in which case Buffalo would no longer have had a tradeable asset.So the Sabres felt they had to act now.Greer open to stayingA.J. Greer is very likely going to market but is still open to signing in Florida if the Panthers can find the cap space to afford him.Greer, 29, had a career-high 17 goals this past season, taking advantage of higher usage because of all the injuries in Florida. His physical attributes are of interest to teams, for sure. He made $850,000 in 2025-26. Understandably, he’s looking to finally get a substantial payday.I know a lot of people see the Montreal Canadiens as a fit for the native of Joliette, Quebec. His physical size would be a welcome addition. But I also think the Canadiens have a lot of players on their roster and would need to move things around to consider him. So I’m not sure they’re the likeliest fit.According to GM Chris MacFarland, Andrew Brunette will remain the coach in Nashville. (Rob Gray / Imagn Images)Brunette returningNew Nashville Predators GM Chris MacFarland dropped some news on his NHL Network radio appearance on Tuesday, saying Andrew Brunette and his entire coaching staff will be back for next season.Brunette has one more year on his contract, plus an option year for 2027-28.I have always believed a new GM should keep that coaching-change bullet in the chamber as long as they can. You only get so many coaching changes during a GM tenure.Cassidy out of options?With Brunette staying put, Jim Hiller hired in Toronto, and Edmonton focused on hiring Mike Babcock, unless the NHL’s investigation prevents them from doing so, there may not be any more coaching openings left for Bruce Cassidy.Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon revealed to local media on Wednesday that the Golden Knights gave permission to Cassidy to speak with one team midway through the playoffs. I think that team was Toronto, but I know for a fact that the Maple Leafs and Cassidy never did speak, so they must have chosen not to have the conversation for some reason.Vegas owes Cassidy $5 million next season on the last year of his contract. Now, there’s always the chance a team sees Cassidy available and makes a change later this summer, but for the moment, all the spots looked filled depending on what happens in Edmonton.Team Canada GMAnd finally, it has been three months since Doug Armstrong stepped down as Team Canada’s men’s Olympic GM. Hockey Canada is currently looking at naming his replacement in January or February of 2027, which would be a year or so before the next best-on-best event, the February 2028 NHL-NHLPA World Cup of Hockey in Edmonton, Calgary and Prague.Kyle Dubas, Julien BriseBois, Jim Nill and Don Sweeney are obvious candidates. All worked with Armstrong in the Team Canada Milan management team. What remains undecided is whether it will be the same person for the World Cup and the 2030 Winter Olympics or if those are separate jobs.