Sure bets, old guys, fighters remain in UFA leftovers
As the media that surrounds the NHL begins to make their way to their cottages and boxes of wine, day one of NHL Free Agent Frenzy 2016 is somewhat in the books with many of the major players having signed new contracts.
According to Sportsnet’s John Shannon, as of 7:45 p.m. EST, 119 players inked deals totaling over $630-million.
Just in case your favorite team still has a shopping list – or your favorite team hasn’t started their shopping yet (ahem, Anaheim Ducks) – here is a helpful list of unrestricted free agents with NHL experience.
First up, the moldy oldies – the 35-years-old and over crowd who are possibly nearing the end of their careers. As we’ve become all too aware with Pavel Datsyuk, should any of these players sign multiyear deals they’re subject to different cap rules.
That’s not to say a team won’t take a chance on any of these guys. We know how much general managers love their ‘veteran presence’ in a room and even more so if he comes with a Stanley Cup ring in his luggage.
Player | POS | Shoots | Team | Age | Prev. | Prev. | 2015-16 | 2015-16 |
Chris Kelly | C | Left | BOS | 35 | 3,000,000 | 4 years | 11 | 2 |
Brad Richards | C | Left | DET | 35 | 3,000,000 | 1 year | 68 | 28 |
David Legwand | C | Left | BUF | 35 | 3,000,000 | 2 years | 79 | 14 |
Dominic Moore | C | Left | NYR | 35 | 1,500,000 | 2 years | 80 | 15 |
Brad Stuart | D | Left | COL | 36 | 3,600,000 | 2 years | 6 | 0 |
Scott Gomez | C | Left | OTT | 36 | 575,000 | 1 year | 34 | 9 |
Alex Tanguay | LW | Left | ARI | 36 | 3,500,000 | 5 years | 70 | 35 |
Dainius Zubrus | LW | Left | SJS | 37 | 600,000 | 1 year | 50 | 7 |
Shawn Horcoff | C | Left | ANA | 37 | 1,750,000 | 1 year | 59 | 15 |
Daniel Cleary | RW | Left | DET | 37 | 950,000 | 1 year | AHL | AHL |
Willie Mitchell | D | Left | FLA | 38 | 4,250,000 | 2 years | 46 | 7 |
Marek Zidlicky | D | Right | NYI | 38 | 1,500,000 | 1 year | 53 | 16 |
Eric Boulton | LW | Left | NYI | 39 | 575,000 | 1 year | 6 | 0 |
Patrik Elias | C | Left | NJD | 39 | 5,500,000 | 3 years | 16 | 8 |
Shane Doan | RW | Right | ARI | 39 | 5,300,000 | 4 years | 72 | 47 |
Dan Boyle | D | Right | NYR | 39 | 4,500,000 | 2 years | 74 | 24 |
Matt Cullen | C | Left | PIT | 39 | 800,000 | 1 year | 82 | 32 |
A couple notes on this group:
Matt Cullen won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago. He’s feeling like he might have one more year left in him and the Penguins are trying to make room for him.
Shane Doan will ink a one year deal with the Arizona Coyotes in the coming days. The Coyotes captain isn’t going anywhere else … at least not in the offseason.
Willie Mitchell is likely to retire. Frequent head injuries led to the Florida Captain to miss a majority of this past season. To take the ice again is to risk his own life.
Scott Gomez is on the list (again). So, who signs him by Christmas?
Next up: the ‘it’s not a matter of if if they’ll be signed, it’s a matter of when (and for how much and how long)…’ group. These current UFAs should have a team by the time training camp rolls around, if not way earlier.
Player | POS | Shoots | Team | Age | Prev. | Prev. | Expiry Status | 2015-16 | 2015-16 |
Brandon Pirri | C | Left | ANA | 24 | 925,000 | 2 years | UFA (No QO) | 61 | 29 |
Dennis Seidenberg | D | Left | BOS | 34 | 4,000,000 | 4 years | UFA | 61 | 12 |
Eric Gryba | D | Right | EDM | 27 | 1,250,000 | 2 years | UFA | 53 | 6 |
Jason Demers | D | Right | DAL | 27 | 3,400,000 | 2 years | UFA | 62 | 23 |
Jiri Hudler | C | Left | FLA | 32 | 4,000,000 | 4 years | UFA | 72 | 46 |
Justin Schultz | D | Right | PIT | 25 | 3,900,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 63 | 18 |
Kris Russell | D | Left | DAL | 28 | 2,600,000 | 2 years | UFA | 62 | 19 |
Kris Versteeg | LW | Right | LAK | 29 | 4,400,000 | 4 years | UFA | 77 | 38 |
Kyle Quincey | D | Left | DET | 30 | 4,250,000 | 2 years | UFA | 47 | 11 |
Lauri Korpikoski | LW | Left | EDM | 29 | 2,500,000 | 4 years | UFA | 71 | 22 |
Luke Schenn | D | Right | LAK | 26 | 3,600,000 | 5 years | UFA | 72 | 16 |
Matt Bartkowski | D | Left | VAN | 27 | 1,750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 80 | 18 |
Matthew Carle | D | Left | TBL | 31 | 5,500,000 | 6 years | UFA | 64 | 9 |
P.A. Parenteau | RW | Right | TOR | 32 | 1,500,000 | 1 year | UFA | 77 | 41 |
Radim Vrbata | RW | Right | VAN | 34 | 5,000,000 | 2 years | UFA | 63 | 27 |
Roman Polak | D | Right | SJS | 29 | 2,750,000 | 5 years | UFA | 79 | 16 |
Sam Gagner | C | Right | PHI | 26 | 4,800,000 | 3 years | UFA | 53 | 8 |
Notes on this group:
Everyone expected Kris Russel to be signed before sunset on Friday, but alas, we wait for his decision.
The fact the Anaheim Ducks didn’t qualify Brandon Pirri was a shock to many. Pirri was on the mend when the Ducks acquired him from Florida. He played 10 games with the team – scoring 5 points – before sustaining a concussion that kept him out of the rest of the regular season plus the playoffs.
Parenteau had a really good year, by his standards, on a pretty crappy team. That’ll buy him some looks by teams for a cheap bottom six winger
Versteeg and Schultz might not seem like sure bets, but it goes back to having the Stanley Cup hardware. Seidenberg has a ring, too.
This is the group with a ‘special set of skills’ and by that we mean they’re pugulists and pests to the nth degree.
The changing NHL landscape shows teams are going away from this style. It takes the right team, the right coach, and the right GM to put this group back to work at the NHL level.
Player | POS | Shoots | Team | Age | Prev. | Prev. | Expiry Status | 2015-16 | 2015-16 | 2015-16 |
Tim Jackman | RW | Right | CHI | 34 | 700,000 | 1 year | UFA | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Jordin Tootoo | RW | Right | NJD | 32 | 825,000 | 1 year | UFA | 66 | 9 | 102 |
Luke Gazdic | LW | Left | EDM | 26 | 800,000 | 2 years | UFA (No QO) | 29 | 1 | 24 |
John Scott | LW | Left | MTL | 33 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 12 | 1 | 27 |
Mike Weber | D | Left | WSH | 28 | 1,666,666 | 3 years | UFA | 45 | 5 | 60 |
Mike Brown | RW | Right | MTL | 30 | 1,200,000 | 2 years | UFA | 58 | 5 | 90 |
Steve Downie | RW | Right | ARI | 28 | 1,750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 26 | 6 | 53 |
Brandon Prust | LW | Left | VAN | 31 | 2,500,000 | 4 years | UFA | 35 | 7 | 59 |
Bobby Farnham | RW | Left | NJD | 26 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 53 | 10 | 97 |
One big, purposeful omission from the group above: Raffi Torres. He’s an unrestricted free agent; however, his career in the NHL is, more likely than not, over. Even Doug Wilson isn’t going to save him this time. At least, we hope he doesn’t.
How about the goalies? Many of those on the list appeared in the AHL this season, but have had their own successes in the NHL at different parts of their career.
Player | POS | Shoots | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Prev. | Expiry Status | 2015-16 | 2015-16 | 2015-16 |
Karri Ramo | G | Left | CGY | 29 | 3,800,000 | 1 year | UFA | 17-18-1 | 2.63 | 0.909 |
Ben Scrivens | G | Left | MTL | 29 | 2,300,000 | 2 years | UFA | 5-8-0 | 3.07 | 0.906 |
Jhonas Enroth | G | Left | LAK | 27 | 1,250,000 | 1 year | UFA | 7-5-1 | 2.17 | 0.922 |
Anders Lindback | G | Left | ARI | 27 | 875,000 | 1 year | UFA | 5-7-1 | 0.894 | 3.11 |
Niklas Treutle | G | Left | ARI | 24 | 667,500 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 1-0-1 | 6.00 | 0.750 |
Jason Labarbera | G | Left | PHI | 35 | 600,000 | 1 year | UFA | AHL | ||
Joni Ortio | G | Left | CGY | 24 | 600,000 | 2 years | UFA (No QO) | 7-9-5 | 2.76 | 0.902 |
Ray Emery | G | Left | PHI | 33 | 600,000 | 1 year | UFA | AHL | ||
Dan Ellis | G | Left | WSH | 35 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | AHL | ||
Michael Leighton | G | Left | CHI | 34 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 0-0-0 | 1.54 | 0.941 |
Yann Danis | G | Left | NJD | 34 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 0-1-0 | 4.71 | 0.778 |
Finally, yhose that are on the bubble between getting a contract in place prior to camp and professional tryout (PTO).
Note: this is not the entire list of UFAs. These are only players with at least 10 games of NHL experience in 2015-16 (with one exception).
Player | POS | Shoots | Team | Age | Prev. | Prev. | Expiry Status | 2015-16 | 2015-16 |
Stephen Gionta | C | Right | NJD | 32 | 850,000 | 2 years | UFA | 82 | 11 |
Jarret Stoll | C | Right | MIN | 33 | 800,000 | 1 year | UFA | 80 | 9 |
Tomas Fleischmann | LW | Left | CHI | 31 | 750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 76 | 25 |
David Jones | RW | Right | MIN | 31 | 4,000,000 | 4 years | UFA | 75 | 18 |
Jack Skille | RW | Right | COL | 28 | 675,000 | 1 year | UFA | 74 | 14 |
Barret Jackman | D | Left | NSH | 34 | 2,000,000 | 2 years | UFA | 73 | 5 |
Kyle Chipchura | C | Left | ARI | 29 | 875,000 | 3 years | UFA | 70 | 12 |
Michael Santorelli | C | Right | ANA | 30 | 875,000 | 1 year | UFA | 70 | 18 |
Landon Ferraro | C | Left | BOS | 24 | 600,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 68 | 10 |
Chris Terry | LW | Left | CAR | 26 | 875,000 | 1 year | UFA | 68 | 11 |
Paul Gaustad | C | Left | NSH | 33 | 3,250,000 | 4 years | UFA | 63 | 6 |
Chris Porter | LW | Left | MIN | 31 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 61 | 7 |
Ryan Carter | C | Left | MIN | 32 | 625,000 | 1 year | UFA | 60 | 12 |
Justin Fontaine | RW | Right | MIN | 28 | 1,000,000 | 2 years | UFA | 60 | 16 |
Brad Boyes | RW | Right | TOR | 33 | 700,000 | 1 year | UFA | 60 | 24 |
Josh Jooris | C | Right | CGY | 25 | 975,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 59 | 13 |
Nicklas Grossmann | D | Left | ARI | 30 | 3,500,000 | 4 years | UFA | 58 | 7 |
Nick Spaling | C | Left | SJS | 27 | 2,200,000 | 2 years | UFA | 58 | 13 |
Brad Malone | C | Left | CAR | 26 | 650,000 | 2 years | UFA | 57 | 6 |
Adam Cracknell | RW | Right | EDM | 30 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 52 | 10 |
Viktor Tikhonov | RW | Right | ARI | 27 | 1,040,000 | 1 year | UFA | 50 | 6 |
Tyler Kennedy | C | Right | NJD | 29 | 600,000 | 1 year | UFA | 50 | 16 |
Rene Bourque | RW | Left | CBJ | 34 | 3,333,333 | 6 years | UFA | 49 | 8 |
Christian Ehrhoff | D | Left | CHI | 33 | 1,500,000 | 1 year | UFA | 48 | 12 |
Eric Nystrom | LW | Left | NSH | 32 | 2,500,000 | 4 years | UFA | 46 | 7 |
Sergei Plotnikov | LW | Left | ARI | 25 | 925,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 45 | 3 |
Evgeny Medvedev | D | Left | PHI | 33 | 3,000,000 | 1 year | UFA | 45 | 12 |
Linden Vey | RW | Right | VAN | 24 | 1,000,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 41 | 15 |
Mike Richards | C | Left | WSH | 30 | 1,000,000 | 1 year | UFA | 39 | 5 |
Cody Hodgson | C | Right | NSH | 25 | 1,050,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 39 | 8 |
R.J. Umberger | C | Left | PHI | 33 | 4,600,000 | 5 years | UFA | 39 | 11 |
Michal Jordan | D | Left | CAR | 25 | 625,000 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 36 | 1 |
Carlo Colaiacovo | D | Left | BUF | 32 | 900,000 | 1 year | UFA | 36 | 5 |
Tuomo Ruutu | LW | Left | NJD | 32 | 4,750,000 | 4 years | UFA | 33 | 1 |
Chris Higgins | LW | Left | VAN | 32 | 2,500,000 | 4 years | UFA | 33 | 4 |
Matt Halischuk | RW | Right | WPG | 27 | 750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 30 | 3 |
Jared Boll | RW | Right | CBJ | 29 | 1,700,000 | 3 years | UFA | 30 | 3 |
Jiri Tlusty | C | Left | NJD | 27 | 800,000 | 1 year | UFA | 30 | 4 |
Garrett Wilson | LW | Left | FLA | 24 | 675,000 | 1 year | UFA (VI) | 29 | 0 |
Nate Guenin | D | Right | COL | 33 | 800,000 | 2 years | UFA | 29 | 0 |
Korbinian Holzer | D | Right | ANA | 27 | 750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 29 | 3 |
Matt Tennyson | D | Right | SJS | 25 | 625,000 | 2 years | UFA (VI) | 29 | 4 |
Mason Raymond | LW | Left | CGY | 30 | 3,150,000 | 3 years | UFA | 29 | 5 |
Jakub Nakladal | D | Right | CGY | 28 | 817,500 | 1 year | UFA | 27 | 5 |
Brandon Gormley | D | Left | COL | 23 | 850,500 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 26 | 1 |
Steve Bernier | RW | Right | NYI | 30 | 750,000 | 1 year | UFA | 24 | 6 |
Travis Moen | LW | Left | DAL | 33 | 1,850,000 | 4 years | UFA | 23 | 2 |
Adam Pardy | D | Left | EDM | 31 | 1,000,000 | 1 year | UFA | 23 | 4 |
Gabriel Bourque | LW | Left | NSH | 25 | 866,250 | 1 year | UFA (No QO) | 22 | 4 |
Ben Smith | RW | Right | TOR | 27 | 1,500,000 | 2 years | UFA | 22 | 6 |
Corban Knight | C | Right | FLA | 25 | 750,000 | 1 year | UFA (VI) | 20 | 7 |
Rich Clune | LW | Left | TOR | 28 | 575,000 | 1 year | UFA | 19 | 4 |
Mike Sislo | RW | Right | NJD | 27 | 562,500 | 2 years | UFA | 18 | 4 |
Derek Grant | C | Left | CGY | 25 | 700,000 | 1 year | UFA (VI) | 15 | 1 |
Dave Dziurzynski | LW | Left | OTT | 26 | 750,000 | 2 years | UFA (VI) | 14 | 4 |
Lucas Lessio | LW | Left | MTL | 22 | 830,833 | 3 years | UFA (No QO) | 12 | 2 |
Nikita Nikitin | D | Left | EDM | 29 | 4,500,000 | 2 years | UFA | 11 | 1 |
James Wisniewski | D | Right | CAR | 31 | 5,500,000 | 6 years | UFA | 1 | 0 |
A couple things:
James Wisniewski played less than 1 game last season; he tore his ACL in his first shift during the first regular season game. The Carolina Hurricanes bought him out this offseason. Depending on how his rehab is going, he could be more of a sure thing than a bubble player.
There are conflicting reports that Nikita Nikitin, Sergei Plotnikov and Viktor Tikhonov might head back to the KHL.
Mike Richards and Jarett Stoll are available. We don’t know if they’ve proved themselves to GMs as trustworthy given their pasts; however, GMs tend to have short memories – when they want to.
s/t General Fanager, Hockey-Reference
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!
