Team officials are still fine-tuning their rosters as training camps get underway in the next few days. Some teams have not completed their rosters, however, as nine compensated free agents are still out of contract in the NHL.
There's no doubt that all nine of these teams would like to see their young players start training camp, but there's no rush at the moment. They have until December 1st to come to an agreement with their players. After that date, they will not be able to play in the NHL this season.
The best thing to do would be to reach an agreement in order to keep the two sides on the same page and, above all, not to create a distraction at the beginning of the season.
The last one to wait at the deadline was William Nylander of the Toronto Leafs. He had agreed to terms with the Ontario outfit at the deadline on December 1, 2018, before putting his signature on the bottom of a six-year contract worth $41.77 million. He had subsequently had a season below expectations, accumulating only 27 points in 54 games.
