ESNY

Steven Stamkos and David Backes headline the NHL Free Agency class of 2016.

Despite the cream-of-the-crop, Steven Stamkos, being a franchise scorer, the 2016 NHL Free Agency class promises to be a relatively barren one.

That means that role players and depth blueliners will be the biggest currency of the day when the free agency window opens in north of a month. That also means that teams in the market for a starting netminder will consider the trading block (both Jaroslav Halak and Marc-Andre Fleury will likely be available).

Here are some of the names your team may consider:

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Justin Weiss is a staff editor at Elite Sports New York, where he covers the New York Islanders and Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2016, he received a Quill Award for Freelance Journalism. He has written for the Long Island Herald, FanSided and YardBarker.