August 15 is almost always a low-key exciting day in the NHL. For a small minority of NCAA players that are drafted and choose not to sign with their original teams, once they wait their NHL rights expire and they’re free to sign with a team of their choosing. In the past, names such as Justin Schultz (spurning Anaheim for Edmonton), Kevin Hayes (ditching Chicago for NYR), and Jimmy Vesey (leaving Nashville for the Rangers) have gone this route.
2017 was also an exciting year for the August 15 free agents. The Penguins lost the rights to their 2013 sixth round pick Blane Byron, who elected not to sign with the deep Pittsburgh team and instead opted to try his luck with an AHL-only contract with Florida, hoping a great 2017-18 in the AHL would earn him an NHL spot for 2018-19.