With five weeks to go before the March 1 NHL trade deadline, teams are making evaluations on where they need to upgrade their roster to improve their odds of making and advancing in the postseason.
One dilemma facing many general managers is whether to sacrifice valuable young assets for rental players who might be that missing piece, instead of waiting until after the season and adding them in July for nothing more than money.
The summer free agent frenzy is hard to resist because it offers players a chance to get a bidding war started, especially because the number of players that get to the open market continues to decline.
Last summer, Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski were the defensive prizes of the 2016 class and signed big money deals prior to July 1 after their negotiating rights were dealt to Florida and Arizona. Forwards Kyle Okposo, David Backes and Loui Eriksson all signed long-term deals for $6 Million per season.
The 2017 NHL free agent class is considerably weaker than last summer’s group, but the lack of options available may continue to have prices escalate.
Here are five of the top NHL free agents and what they could cost:
Kevin Shattenkirk – Defenesman
The 28-year-old has scored more than 40 points in four of the last five seasons with St. Louis and is second in team scoring with the Blues this year.
While Yandle has scored at a slightly higher clip in Arizona, New York and Florida, Shattenkirk is regarded as a prototypical puck carrying defenseman and is two years younger. Teams will more willing to offer a max seven-year contract.
With nearly half the league likely to have interest this summer, Shattenkirk will exceed Yandle’s $6.35 Million AAV and could get as much as $7 Million per season.
T.J. Oshie – Forward
The crafty winger is on pace to surpass his career-high 26 goals in his contract year with the Capitals. If free agent wingers Alexander Radulov and Sam Gagner re-sign with Montreal and Columbus, the 30-year-old Oshie may be the only legitimate top-six forward available this summer. That could drive his asking price over the $6 Million mark that the top free agent forwards got.
Ben Bishop – Goaltender
The former Vezina Trophy finalist is the top free agent goalie option this summer, and will be hoping for a long-term deal making more than his current $5.95 Million salary.
Frequent injuries may scare some teams away, and other short-term options like trading for Marc-Andre Fleury or signing Ryan Miller may drive Bishop’s price down.
Top 25 Unrestricted Free Agents
Karl Alzner – Defenseman
The 2007 fifth overall pick will get a significant bump up in pay from $2.8 Million this July. Alzner does not produce big offensive numbers, but will be an attractive add for a team looking to stabilize their blueline.
Florida signed right-handed blueliner Jason Demers (who is the same age and had comparable offensive numbers) to five-year, $22.5 Million deal ($4.5 Million AAV), but that amount is slightly lower due to the lack of state tax in Florida.
Alzner will look to get match the $5.5 Million contract that stay-at-home defensemen Brooks Orpik, Dan Girardi or Marc Staal signed in recent years.
Martin Hanzal – Foward
Hanzal is that big two-way center that many teams are looking for, but the 29-year-old Czech has missed nearly a season’s worth of games since 2013 and his career-high goal mark is 16 goals.
Carl Soderberg played only two seasons with Boston before signing a five-year, $23.75 Million deal in Colorado. Hanzal’s 10 years of NHL experience should get him offers as much or higher than Soderberg’s $4.75 Million yearly salary.
Michael (@MikeInBuffalo on Twitter) can also be found on HockeyBuzz.com
