Thursday, July 5, 2012

Not-So-Free Agency:

The homepage for the Minnesota Wild via wild.nhl.com

The biggest fish in the free agent pool have been locked up...by the same team.

From the beginning stages of the off season, many people (*ahem* including us) believed that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter could very well sign together. Obviously, where they would sign was a completely different issue but somehow the Minnesota Wild have pulled out of Free Agency with the big guns.

With Parise and Suter both taking their talents (and $98 million contracts) to Minnesota for the next 13 years, who is left?

Arguably the most sought after Free Agent after those two was Justin Schultz who is now a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

So if your team missed out on any of those big name players who become the consolation prizes?

Find out after the jump!

With the top tier level free agents under contracts now, teams focus their attention to the next wave of players available via UFA, RFA and the Trade Market.

Here are (who we believe) to be the top UFAs still available:

Alexander Semin:
Hands down the most attractive free agent still out there. Since the lockout Semin has put up 271 points in 277 games and would really be an addition to any team looking for a top line winger. He made $6.7 million last season and after his point total dipped, logic would dictate that his salary should too.
Unfortunately looking at the Parise/Suter contracts he could be looking for roughly similar to the $6.7 million. Semin has gotten a reputation for being enigmatic, lazy, having a poor work ethic, etc. On a short 1-2 year deal though that risk is absolutely worth the reward. A potential 40 goal scorer on the right team could be one of the best signings this off season.

Teemu Selanne:
Undecided on his playing future still (despite Finnish reports saying that he would be returning), Selanne would immediately add to any team's top six forward group. Last season he put up 66 points as a 41 year old player. If he still has anything left in the tank you know he'll be able to contribute. Sheltered minutes may increase his point total but Selanne seems (like Alfredsson and Lidstrom) like a player where if he can't play in every facet of the game, he'd rather not play at all.
Rest be assured, if he plays, he will be contributing. The biggest issue surrounding the Finnish Flash is if in fact he will be playing this upcoming season or not.

Shane Doan:
Coming off a run to the Western Conference Finals, Captain Shane Doan will probably be somewhere other than Phoenix when the 2012-2013 season begins. Financial/Ownership issues in Phoenix have driven away the face of the franchise but only to the delight of 29 other NHL teams. In 2011-2012 Doan scored 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points. Not bad for a guy who will be turning 36 in October. Shane Doan's selling point is his grit, heart and many intangibles he brings to a locker room. This guy wants to win and will hit, score, lead and do whatever it takes to get there. He leads by example and will be just the guy contending teams will look to add if they missed out on Zach Parise.

Peter Mueller:
Mueller is an interesting player because everyone knows he has some serious skill. On that note, he has also has had some serious concussions. When he is healthy Mueller can play in arguably most top sixes around the league and just about every top nine. Teams may be looking to sign him to a short, inexpensive contract to see if he can get past the injuries and go back to being the player that scored 54 points in his rookie season with the Coyotes.

Kyle Wellwood:
After years of bouncing around teams and trying out for contracts, Kyle Wellwood finally put together a solid season as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. In 77 games he tallied 47 points setting a career high. Playing on a third line with heavy power play time could be enough to entice a team to sign the former Maple Leaf. The Jets were 12th in the league in goals for with 2.70 so it is safe to say that playing with a more offensive team could help Wellwood's point total increase or hover around the same. Either way I'm sure any team that signs him would be happy with another 45-50 point campaign from him.

Petr Sykora:
Teams looking to add a veteran with Cup experience should look no further than Petr Sykora. The 35 year old put up 44 points on a New Jersey team that was 15th in GF (goals for) this past season (2.63). Sykora was one hell of a bargain for the Devils as he was making $650,000 and scored 21 goals and dished out 23 assists. He has been to the Stanley Cup finals six(that's right... SIX) times and is a two time champion. They don't teach that kind of experience. He also remained healthy all season long as he played all 82 games. In the playoffs he added five points as the New Jersey Devils went to the Stanley Cup Finals but he was hurt and limited to 18 games. If he has enough left in the tank he could return for one more shot at the Cup.

Andrei Kostitsyn:
The disgruntled winger could get a chance by a team hoping he can return to his 26 goal 27 assist season in 2007-2008. Kostitsyn split the 2011-2012 season with Montreal and Nashville and put up a decent 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists). The issue with Andrei is his history of not being the most easy going guy in the locker room (asking for a trade to play with his brother...again, being suspended by Nashville during the playoffs for staying out past curfew, etc). Desperate teams may look to cash in on this low risk high reward deal if they feel their locker room can handle the Belarusian winger.

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Here are some of the top RFA names who have yet to sign a contract:
  • Shea Weber
  • P.K Subban
  • Jamie Benn
  • Mike Green
  • Evander Kane
  • Kris Versteeg
  • David Perron
  • Mason Raymond
  • Sergei Kostitsyn
  • T.J Oshie
  • Jakub Voracek
  • Devin Dubnyk
  • Nick Foligno


The RFA department is a little trickier to deal with. Let's use Shea Weber as an example:

When dealing with a player of Weber's stature, teams could potentially make an offer sheet. However, in order for Weber to accept it, the offer is obviously going to have to be massive.

Let's say (hypothetically) that Weber's new contract pays him somewhere from $7-8 million annually. The compensation for offering an RFA a contract of that magnitude consists of TWO 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and a 3rd round pick.

That is a lot to fork over when the same player could potentially be had for current roster players packaged with draft picks.


Any of those players could get quite a return. If contract negotiations go south or an arbitrator awards them more than the team is willing to pay, these might be some of the names that we could see moved by the end of the off season.

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Bigger name players that have asked for a trade or could potentially be moved this off season are:
  • Rick Nash
  • Bobby Ryan
  • Roberto Luongo
  • Jay Bouwmeester
The trick with this market is that Anaheim will wait to see what Columbus gets for Rick Nash to gauge Ryan's market value. We saw this already this off season when former Philadelphia Flyer, Matt Carle, waited to see what Ryan Suter received on the open market before signing with Tampa Bay. 

Now Suter and Carle are on completely different levels, but the principle remains the same.

This summer has been the summer of dominoes. The first few (Parise, Suter) have fallen. Where the next will fall is only a matter of time.

Now, if you could be the GM of your favorite franchise, what moves would you make? Which players would you target now that the two biggest players are gone? Have at it in the comments! 

Thanks for reading!












3 comments:

  1. Just focusing on the wild, how good do you think they will be next year?

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is anyone's guess. Short version:
    If these moves play out well for them their offense and goaltending should be able to carry them. They have some amazing forward depth on top of one of the best prospect pools in the entire NHL. Their defense could be their Achilles heel.

    I like this question though. Next post will go into more detail!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best player to get right now would be Sykora. He is a winner and he would be cheap. Any team would love to have him on their roster. Also in my opinion Suter and Parise were overpaid. The Avs were smart and got Parenteau who did just as well as Parise.

    ReplyDelete