Charles Dickens opened "A Tale of Two Cities" with: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" — or, what the hockey world calls, free agency.
Some of the biggest names in the game will be available come 12 p.m. ET on July 1 as unrestricted free agents. Where they'll land is anyone's guess, but the salary cap rising only $2 million to $81.5 million does impact who can reel in a big fish and who will net a group of minnows.
NHL FREE AGENCY 2019: Complete list of all 31 teams' RFAs, UFAs
Already off the list is one of the biggest fish of them all in defenseman Erik Karlsson, who signed a mega-contract — eight-year, $92 million — to stay in San Jose. Philadelphia also concluded a trade-and-sign with Kevin Hayes, reuniting the forward with his former head coach Alain Vigneault.
As for the restricted free agents, will we see the first offer sheet since 2013? The list of players available consists of the superstars of today and tomorrow — especially in Mitch Marner, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Point and Mikko Rantanen. The only question is whether or not a GM will risk their next four first-round draft picks for one of these surefire stars.
Sporting News has all the top free agent signings for you right here.
NHL free agency tracker: Full list of signings in 2019
Top 50 UFA players available
| Player | Pos. | 2018-19 team(s) | 2019-20 team |
| 1. Artemi Panarin | LW | Blue Jackets | Rangers (7 years, $81.5 million) |
| 2. Matt Duchene | C | Senators/Blue Jackets | Predators (7 years, $56 million) |
| 3. Sergei Bobrovsky | G | Blue Jackets | Panthers (7 years, $70 million) |
| 4. Joe Pavelski | C | Sharks | Stars (3 years, $21 million) |
| 5. Corey Perry | RW | Ducks | Stars (1 year, $1.5 million) |
| 6. Robin Lehner | G | Islanders | Blackhawks (1 year, $5 million) |
| 7. Wayne Simmonds | RW | Flyers/Predators | Devils (1 year, $5 million) |
| 8. Mats Zuccarello | LW | Rangers/Stars | Wild (5 years, $30 million) |
| 9. Marcus Johansson | LW | Devils/Bruins | Sabres (2 years, $9 million) |
| 10. Gustav Nyquist | C | Red Wings/Sharks | Blue Jackets (4 years, $22 million) |
| 11. Tyler Myers | D | Jets | Canucks (5 years, $30 million) |
| 12. Jake Gardiner | D | Maple Leafs | Hurricanes (4 years, $16.2 million) |
| 13. Anders Lee | LW | Islanders | Islanders (7 years, $49 million) |
| 14. Ryan Dzingel | C | Senators/Blue Jackets | Hurricanes (2 years, $6.75 million) |
| 15. Anton Stralman | D | Lightning | Panthers (3 years, $16.5 million) |
| 16. Micheal Ferland | LW | Hurricanes | Canucks (4 years, $14 million) |
| 17. Patrick Marleau | C | Maple Leafs | Sharks (1 year, $700,000) |
| 18. Semyon Varlamov | G | Avalanche | Islanders (4 years, $20 million) |
| 19. Joe Thornton | C | Sharks | Sharks (1 year, $2 million) |
| 20. Petr Mrazek | G | Hurricanes | Hurricanes (2 years, $6.25M) |
| 21. Brett Connolly | RW | Capitals | Panthers (4 years, $13 million) |
| 22. Brandon Tanev | LW | Jets | Penguins (6 years, $21 million) |
| 23. Brian Boyle | C | Devils/Predators | Panthers (1 year, $940,000) |
| 24. Cam Talbot | G | Oilers/Flyers | Flames (1 year, $2.75 million) |
| 25. Justin Williams | RW | Hurricanes | Taking a break from the NHL |
| 26. Dion Phaneuf | D | Kings | |
| 27. Valeri Nichushkin | RW | Dallas Stars | Avalanche (1 year, $20 million) |
| 28. Ron Hainsey | D | Maple Leafs | Senators (1 year, $3.5 million) |
| 29. Derick Brassard | C | Penguins/Panthers/Avalanche | Islanders (1 year, $1.2 million) |
| 30. Pat Maroon | LW | Blues | Lightning (1 year, $900,000) |
| 31. Valtteri Filppula | C | Islanders | Red Wings (2 years, $6 million) |
| 32. Joonas Donskoi | RW | Sharks | Avalanche (4 years, $15.6 million) |
| 33. Jason Spezza | C | Stars | Maple Leafs (1 year, $700,000) |
| 34. Mike Smith | G | Flames | Oilers (1 year, $2 million) |
| 35. Curtis McElhinney | G | Hurricanes | Lightning (2 years, $2.6 million) |
| 36. Andrej Sekera | D | Oilers | Stars (1 year, $1.5 million) |
| 37. Tyler Ennis | LW | Maple Leafs | Senators (1 year, $800,000) |
| 38. Deryk Engelland | D | Golden Knights | Golden Knights (1-year, $700,000) |
| 39. Noel Acciari | C | Bruins | Panthers (3 years, $5 million) |
| 40. Nathan Beaulieu | D | Sabres/Jets | Jets (1 year, $1 million) |
| 41. Thomas Vanek | LW | Red Wings | |
| 42. Luke Schenn | D | Ducks/Canucks | Lightning (1 year, $700,000) |
| 43. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | C | Golden Knights | Avalanche (2 years, $3.6 million) |
| 44. Riley Sheahan | C | Penguins/Panthers | Oilers (1 year, $900,000) |
| 45. Richard Panik | RW | Coyotes | Capitals (4 years, $11 million) |
| 46. Gregg McKegg | C | Hurricanes | Rangers (1 year, $750,000) |
| 47. Ryan Hartman | RW | Predators/Flyers | Wild (2 years, $3.8 million) |
| 48. Jason Pominville | RW | Sabres | |
| 49. Keith Kinkaid | G | Devils/Blue Jackets | Canadiens (1 year, $1.75 million) |
| 50. Michael Del Zotto | D | Blues | Ducks (1 year, $750,000) |
Top 20 RFA players available
| Player | Pos. | 2018-19 team | 2019-20 team |
| 1. Mitch Marner | RW | Maple Leafs | Maple Leafs (6 years, $65.35 million) |
| 2. Jordan Binnington | G | Blues | Blues (2 years, $8.8 million) |
| 3. Mikko Rantanen | RW | Avalanche | Avalanche (6 years, $55.5 million) |
| 4. Sebastian Aho | C | Hurricanes | Offer sheet by MTL; matched by CAR (5 years, $42.27 million) |
| 5. Brayden Point | C | Lightning | Lightning (3 years, $20.25 million) |
| 6. Patrik Laine | RW | Jets | Jets (2 years, $13.5 million) |
| 7. Kyle Connor | LW | Jets | Jets (7 years, $50 million) |
| 8. Brock Boeser | RW | Canucks | Canucks (3 years, $17.625 million) |
| 9. Timo Meier | RW | Sharks | Sharks (4 years, $24 million) |
| 10. Matthew Tkachuk | LW | Flames | Flames (3 years, $21 million) |
| 11. Kevin Labanc | RW | Sharks | Sharks (1 year, $1 million) |
| 12. Jacob Trouba | D | Jets | Rangers (7 years, $56 million) |
| 13. Zach Werenski | D | Blue Jackets | Blue Jackets (3 years, $15 million) |
| 14. Charlie McAvoy | D | Bruins | Bruins (3 years, $14.7 million) |
| 15. David Rittich | G | Flames | Flames (2 years, $5.5 million) |
| 16. Ivan Provorov | D | Flyers | Flyers (6 years, $40.5 million) |
| 17. Ryan Donato | C | Bruins/Wild | Wild (2 years, $3.8 million) |
| 18. Jakub Vrana | LW | Capitals | Capitals (2 years, $6.7 million) |
| 19. Travis Konecny | RW | Flyers | Flyers (6 years, $33 million) |
| 20. Pavel Buchnevich | RW | Rangers | Rangers (2 years, $6.5 million) |