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With this year’s free agent frenzy pretty much over, with the exception of a few decent UFA’s remaining and the exciting controversy of RFA Steven Stamkos heating up, the beginning of a long dreaded summer is starting to kick in. Throughout July and August we will see some trades and signings here and there, but the true anticipation is waiting for September to come and training camps to open. Until then, I decided to look ahead towards next summer’s free agent frenzy and speculate on some potential UFA’s and RFA’s that may break the bank or be of interest to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Although 2013 is being looked at as the best potential free agent market in the last decade with names such as Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf all being UFA eligible (although they are likely going to re-sign), the 2012 class as it stands looks to be fairly good as well. Keep in mind that many of these players that are going to be mentioned will resign with their current club, however it is inevitable that most will not, so time to fuel the speculation.

2012 will mark the end of an era in terms of a few key veteran UFA’s. First up is defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom who recently re-upped with Detroit for 1 more year. Although he is still as effective as ever, I am sure 2012 will be the year he finally hangs them up. Another player… or goalie I should say who has never even hit the free agent market is Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. Next year at 40 years of age, and a decreasing level of play may mark the end for his tenure as well. Lastly Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes and soon to be something else may also decide to move on from the team that has nurtured him for so long. Doan will be 35, so I still see some more time left in his career, meaning teams looking for leadership and a great veteran presence will be lining up at the doorstep for his services come July 1, 2012. Sticking with the veterans, next year’s market will also see some key players who may be looking to move on for one more contract. They include: Brian Rolston, Daymond Langkow, Milan Hejduk, Saku Koivu, Sami Salo, and Ryan Smyth.

As well as a solid group of veterans set to hit the free agent market next season, there also lies a core group of young UFA’s at only 26 years of age who will surely garner much attention if still available on July 1, 2012. The likes of allstar defencemen Brent Burns and Ryan Suter lead the pack. Both are yet to hit their prime and will definitely rake in some big money on the open market. After these 2 come a 2nd tier class which include: Matt Carle, Matt Hunwick, Andrei Kostitsyn, Torey Mitchell, Brayden Coburn, and Toronto’s own Jonas Gustavsson, all of whom are solid players and would definitely make an impact on any team’s roster.

With a balance of both youth and experience present in 2012′s free agent class, there is an abundance of talent that will please teams on either side of the spectrum looking to pick up players from either one of these categories.

Now to the exciting part… I am going to rank the top 30 free agents available regardless of age or team loyalty, or anything of that nature which may impact where they sign prior or post July 1, 2012.

1. Alexander Semin

2. Patrick Sharp

3. Pekka Rinne

4. Ales Hemsky

5. Nicklas Lidstrom

6. Ryan Suter

7. Brent Burns

8. Dustin Penner

9. Mikhail Grabovski

10. Nicklas Kronwall

11. Shane Doan

12. Kristian Huselius

13. Brad Boyes

14. John-Michael Liles

15. RJ Umberger

16. Chris Kunitz

17. Jiri Hudler

18. Andrei Kostitsyn

19. Milan Hejduk

20. Johnny Oduya

21. Dennis Wideman

22. Francois Beauchemin

23. Olli Jokinen

24. Tuomo Ruutu

25. Ray Whitney

26. Michal Rozsival

27. Richard Peverley

28. Matt Carle

29. Tomas Holmstrom

30. Brayden Coburn

So that is my top 30 2012 UFA list as it stands today. As you can see there is tons of talent set to be available, with all of these 30 players being large impact players who would definitely be an asset to any team going forward.

Personally I do not like talking much about RFA’s because 95% of them will resign with their current team before they are set to be free agents. However, with that said I must make note that 2012 will see many key RFA’s contracts expire. If you do the math correctly, yes that means 5% of these RFA’s will likely switch teams via trade or the ever so rare “offer sheet”. Some huge names already established in the NHL who are set to become RFA’s include: John Tavares, Carey Price, Mike Green, David Krejci, Victor Hedman, Erik Johnson, David Perron, Sam Gagner, James Van Riemsdyk, Tyler Myers, and Toronto’s own Nikolai Kulemin.

As noted before, many of the unrestricted and restricted free agents listed above will resign with their current team before next year’s free agent frenzy. However, it is always fun to speculate and analyze who may become available. In my personal opinion the names on this years top 30 list blow this current year’s (2011) list out of the water. If over half of these UFA names are still on the list come July 1 2012, I can confirm that we are surely in for an exciting frenzy! Much to look forward to over the next year; and as a fan of player movement around the NHL, let us hope these names stay on the board when the market opens and have new teams by this time next year.