It's July. It's summertime. Which means it's not really hockey season, right?

Wrong.

In fact, the opposite is true considering Monday was the opening of the NHL's free-agency frenzy and a number of recognizable names came off the board in the first few hours.

However, we are future-focused at B/R, so instead of mulling over today's roster of UFAs and where they might wind up, we're looking into the crystal ball at next year and considering the players who'll be entering the brave new world of unrestricted status come July 1, 2025.

Trust us, there are a lot of big ones. And unless their teams manage to extend their deals at some point in the next 12 months, they'll be particularly popular targets for new suitors.

So, our team has put its heads together and considered the seven best players on target to become the next set of high-profile free agents, presenting them here in alphabetical order by last name.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments.

Sidney Crosby

It's been a pretty good 12 years, no?

Sidney Crosby was a fresh-faced 24-year-old with "only" one Stanley Cup on his resume when he signed his name to a $104.4 million extension with then-general manager Ray Shero in July 2012.

He's added a couple more Cups and become a sure-fire Hall of Famer over the course of the prolonged deal, which makes it hard to fathom that it will have run its course come July 2015.

Now, we don't expect there to be a bidding war. And no, we don't expect Crosby to finish his career anywhere other than in Pittsburgh, but there's always a chance.

So, if you're making a list of the best players on track to be free agents next summer, he has got to be on it.

Your move, Kyle Dubas.

Leon Draisaitl

It's the million-dollar question these days in Edmonton.

Or, perhaps the $68 million question.

Though he was still largely unproven on the NHL level upon signing an eight-year deal with the Oilers in 2017, to say Leon Draisaitl has proved worthy of the windfall is an understatement.

An MVP, a scoring title, three 50-goal seasons and a just-completed trip to the Stanley Cup Final, all while far exceeding players at his salary level, seem to indicate the German is ready for a big raise

Can Edmonton afford him? Does he want to stay there?

Those answers will go a long way toward determining whether the final-round appearance was a one-off or whether the Robin to Connor McDavid's Batman will help his crusading teammate finish the job.

Victor Hedman

It's a brave, new world for Victor Hedman.

And an unfamiliar one, too.

Now that the Tampa Bay Lightning have essentially replaced Hedman's longtime teammate and friend, Steven Stamkos, with the newly acquired and extended Jake Guentzel, it'll be interesting to see how the defenseman's situation shakes out.

The eight-year, $63 million deal the Swede, now 33, signed in 2016 will expire next summer, when he will be the same age Stamkos was when he and the Lightning were unable to agree to terms that would keep him on the Gulf Coast for the rest of his career.

Hedman's cap hit now is just $625,000 less than the former captain's, so we'll see if his continued high-end production (76 points, plus-18 rating, team-high 24:48 average ice time) will be enough to warrant keeping another member of the old guard around until the jersey-retirement party.

Mitchell Marner

It's the hottest new sports drama in the Toronto area: "Will He Stay or Will He Go: The Mitch Marner Story."

The intrigue surrounding the future of the 27-year-old winger has captivated Maple Leafs fans since it began, and the suspense figures to pick up daily until the franchise makes the call on whether to fish or cut bait before his six-year, $65.4 million deal expires on June 30, 2025.

Marner is one of four Toronto forwards making at least $10 million annually, and though he's been a point-per-game player for six straight NHL seasons, the fact that the team hasn't sniffed postseason success with such a big-ticket lineup spurs the thought it'll be dismantled.

Both Auston Matthews and WIlliam Nylander have multiple years left on their eight-figure contracts, which makes Marner a likelier candidate to be moved out for some assets unless or until the team can reach a long-term number that's agreeable to both sides.

Mikko Rantanen

Mikko Rantanen is a terrific NHL player.

Still, he serves as a barometer of the depth of a person's fandom, because in all likelihood, those who only casually follow the sport might have no idea who he is.

That's largely because he plays for a Colorado team that boasts reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and recent Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, two superstars who played a significant role in the Avalanche's run to the Stanley Cup in 2022.

But don't think the burly Finnish winger hasn't had a hand in it, too.

The 27-year-old has produced at a point-per-game clip for six straight seasons in which he played at least 45 games, and he had 25 points in 20 playoff games on the way to the parade two years ago.

So, it'll be no wonder when he attracts attention as a UFA next summer, unless Joe Sakic and Co. are willing to cough up the funds for a raise on the $9.25 million he's made annually since an extension was signed in 2019.

Igor Shesterkin

The New York Rangers have become a legit NHL powerhouse in recent years, posting 100 or more points in three straight seasons and bringing home the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best team across the 2023-24 schedule.

And it would be hard to argue anyone's had a bigger role than Igor Shesterkin.

The Moscow-born goalie's rise has coincided with the team's climb in the standings, beginning with a Vezina Trophy after his first season as a full-time starter in 2021-22 and adding up to a three-year run in which no NHL netminder has won more games (109).

The 28-year-old has been a Ranger since the team made him the 118th overall selection in the 2014 draft. And the four-year deal he signed in 2021 has paid him better than $5.5 million annually, but it wouldn't be crazy to suggest he'll add a couple million more thanks to his track record.

In fact, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reported in June that there's "reason to believe" Shesterkin will command as much as $12 million per year on his next pact.

Carter Verhaeghe

If nothing else, Carter Verhaeghe has a terrific sense of timing.

The Toronto-born center was in the right place at the right time while winning a Stanley Cup as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20.

And his decision to move across the peninsula to the Florida Panthers after that season put him on the ground floor of his new team's rise from fourth overall to a Presidents' Trophy to a Stanley Cup in four seasons.

Verhaeghe's level of prominence has risen along with the team, including a career-high 42-goal run in 2022-23 that was followed by another rock-solid 34 goals in 2023-24 and 21 points in 24 playoff games on the way to this summer's championship parade.

It will also mean a big step up the ladder salary-wise for the 28-year-old, who was extended for three years and $12.5 million in 2021 but will have the chance to go even bigger if he makes it to the open market without another extension in the meantime.

David Dwork of The Hockey News said last week that a six-year deal at $8 million or $8.5 million per year could be what Verhaeghe is "trending toward."