The 2021 NHL free–agent market is scheduled to begin at noon ET on July 28. Here is a look at the top 40 defensemen who will be available on the market. Players sorted by their 2020-21 point totals.
There are some quality NHL defensemen available. Tyson Barrie bet on himself with his one-year deal with the Oilers and he could be looking for a larger payday. Dougie Hamilton is coveted by every team in the league and there are some veteran defensemen who could come in at an affordable for teams looking for some depth.
Largest targets this off-season:
- Dougie Hamilton
- Alec Martinez
- Tyson Barrie
- Codi Ceci
- Mike Reilly
| Player | Team | Type | Age | Height | Weight | Shoots | GP | Goals | Assists | Points | 2020-21 Cap Hit |
| Tyson Barrie | EDM | UFA | 30 | 5′ 11″ | 197 | R | 56 | 8 | 40 | 48 | $3,750,000 |
| Dougie Hamilton | CAR | UFA | 28 | 6′ 6″ | 229 | R | 55 | 10 | 32 | 42 | $5,750,000 |
| Alec Martinez | VGK | UFA | 34 | 6′ 1″ | 209 | L | 53 | 9 | 23 | 32 | $4,000,000 |
| Mike Reilly | BOS | UFA | 28 | 6′ 1″ | 200 | L | 55 | 27 | 27 | $1,500,000 | |
| Alex Goligoski | AZ | UFA | 36 | 5′ 11″ | 185 | L | 56 | 3 | 19 | 22 | $5,475,000 |
| Brandon Montour | FLA | UFA | 27 | 6′ 0″ | 189 | R | 50 | 7 | 11 | 18 | $3,850,000 |
| Cody Ceci | PIT | UFA | 27 | 6′ 2″ | 210 | R | 53 | 4 | 13 | 17 | $1,250,000 |
| Ryan Murray | NJD | UFA | 28 | 6′ 1″ | 206 | L | 48 | 14 | 14 | $4,600,000 | |
| Jamie Oleksiak | DAL | UFA | 28 | 6′ 7″ | 255 | L | 56 | 6 | 8 | 14 | $2,137,500 |
| Michael Del Zotto | CBJ | UFA | 31 | 6′ 0″ | 195 | L | 53 | 4 | 9 | 13 | $700,000 |
| Erik Gustafsson | MTL | UFA | 29 | 6′ 0″ | 197 | L | 29 | 1 | 11 | 12 | $3,000,000 |
| Derek Forbort | WPG | UFA | 29 | 6′ 4″ | 219 | L | 56 | 2 | 10 | 12 | $1,000,000 |
| Jordan Oesterle | AZ | UFA | 29 | 6′ 0″ | 182 | L | 43 | 1 | 10 | 11 | $1,400,000 |
| Marc Staal | DET | UFA | 34 | 6′ 4″ | 209 | L | 56 | 3 | 7 | 10 | $5,700,000 |
| Brendan Smith | NYR | UFA | 32 | 6′ 2″ | 200 | L | 48 | 5 | 5 | 10 | $4,350,000 |
| Adam Larsson | EDM | UFA | 28 | 6′ 3″ | 208 | R | 56 | 4 | 6 | 10 | $4,166,666 |
| Patrik Nemeth | COL | UFA | 29 | 6′ 3″ | 228 | L | 52 | 3 | 7 | 10 | $3,000,000 |
| Jordie Benn | WPG | UFA | 34 | 6′ 2″ | 199 | L | 39 | 1 | 9 | 10 | $2,000,000 |
| Zdeno Chara | BOS | UFA | 44 | 6′ 9″ | 250 | L | 55 | 2 | 8 | 10 | $795,000 |
| Travis Hamonic | VAN | UFA | 31 | 6′ 2″ | 205 | R | 37 | 2 | 7 | 9 | $1,250,000 |
| Ian Cole | MIN | UFA | 32 | 6′ 1″ | 225 | L | 54 | 1 | 7 | 8 | $4,250,000 |
| Alexander Edler | VAN | UFA | 35 | 6′ 3″ | 212 | L | 51 | 7 | 7 | $6,000,000 | |
| David Savard | TBL | UFA | 30 | 6′ 2″ | 229 | R | 54 | 1 | 5 | 6 | $4,250,000 |
| Sami Vatanen | DAL | UFA | 30 | 5′ 10″ | 185 | R | 39 | 2 | 4 | 6 | $2,000,000 |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | AZ | UFA | 34 | 6′ 3″ | 197 | L | 41 | 5 | 5 | $5,000,000 | |
| Ben Hutton | TOR | UFA | 28 | 6′ 2″ | 206 | L | 38 | 1 | 4 | 5 | $950,000 |
| Jon Merrill | MTL | UFA | 29 | 6′ 3″ | 195 | L | 49 | 5 | 5 | $925,000 | |
| Steven Kampfer | BOS | UFA | 33 | 5′ 11″ | 198 | R | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | $800,000 |
| Andy Greene | NYI | UFA | 38 | 5′ 11″ | 190 | L | 55 | 1 | 4 | 5 | $700,000 |
| Jason Demers | AZ | UFA | 33 | 6′ 1″ | 195 | R | 41 | 4 | 4 | $3,937,500 | |
| Erik Gudbranson | NSH | UFA | 29 | 6′ 5″ | 217 | R | 45 | 1 | 3 | 4 | $4,000,000 |
| Kevan Miller | BOS | UFA | 33 | 6′ 2″ | 210 | R | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | $1,250,000 |
| Dmitry Kulikov | EDM | UFA | 30 | 6′ 1″ | 204 | L | 48 | 4 | 4 | $1,150,000 | |
| Zach Bogosian | TOR | UFA | 31 | 6′ 2″ | 200 | R | 45 | 4 | 4 | $1,000,000 | |
| Luke Schenn | TBL | UFA | 31 | 6′ 2″ | 227 | R | 38 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $800,000 |
| Mark Pysyk | DAL | UFA | 29 | 6′ 1″ | 196 | R | 36 | 3 | 1 | 4 | $750,000 |
| Jani Hakanpaa | CAR | UFA | 29 | 6′ 5″ | 218 | R | 57 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $750,000 |
| Nikita Nesterov | CGY | UFA | 28 | 5′ 11″ | 181 | L | 38 | 4 | 4 | $700,000 | |
| Jake McCabe | BUF | UFA | 27 | 6′ 1″ | 204 | L | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | $2,850,000 |
| Greg Pateryn | SJS | UFA | 31 | 6′ 3″ | 220 | R | 13 | 3 | 3 | $2,250,000 |
