- Craig Custance of ESPN: Free agency has hit a bit of a lull.
“There’s a few players that teams are starting to call on to round out the roster,” said one agent on Wednesday. “They go through the initial blast of free agents, then it gets quiet. Then they get into arbitrations and qualifying offers.”
Some UFAs that are still available:
Peter Mueller – There is interest and is looking for the right fit.
David Booth – “I’m talking to a few teams about him,” said Mike Liut, a veteran agent with Octagon. “There’s interest out there for sure.”
Daniel Winnik – Good bottom six and penalty kill option.
Martin Brodeur – Drew some interest at the start of free agency and will circle back in the next month.
Devin Setoguchi – Could look to sign a one-year deal to show he’s better than the 11 goals last season.
Tomas Vokoun – 100 percent healthy from blood clot issue. Currently has two offers he’s considering.
Dustin Penner – Has playoff experience and can play in a top-six.
- Luke Fox of SportsNet: Top 10 remaining UFAs
10. Dustin Penner – Could add some scoring and size to bottom-six. Three teams since 2013.
9. Saku Koivu – Could be a fit in Minnesota or Montreal, back in Finland or retire.
8. Daniel Winnik – Should be able to find a bottom-six role somewhere.
7. Andre Benoit – Can’t rule out an Avalanche return.
6. Devin Setoguchi – Not a lot of talk that there is demand of Setoguchi. Could the Sharks be interested after having some earlier playoff success with them? Maybe the Bruins would be interested to replace the hole left by Jarome Iginla.
5. Martin Brodeur – Brodeur wants a contender. The Leafs, Blackhawks, Bruins, Penguins and Lightning had kicked tires. The Lightning and Penguins have already signed a backup.
4. Tomas Vokoun – Has multiple offers.
3. Lee Stempniak – ESPN saying a handful of teams are intersted. Bruins are not one of the teams interested as they are looking to trade for a winger.
2. Michael Del Zotto – Teams that missed out on Dan Boyle and Matt Niskanen could look at Del Zotto. Cost to sign him shouldn’t be high.
1. Daniel Alfredsson – Red Wings or retirement.Best of the remaining free agents:
Forwards: Ray Whitney, David Booth, Andrei Loktionov, T.J. Galiardi, Ryan Carter, Matt D’Agostini
Defence: Sami Salo, Henrik Tallinder, Cory Sarich, Jamie McBain, Raphael Diaz, Brett Bellemore
Goaltenders: Tim Thomas, Ilya Bryzgalov