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In this edition of the hotstove, we discuss which player(s) teams should avoid in free agency.
Todd Cordell
Karl Alzner would be No. 1 on my list. He is a big time possession anchor and he brings next to nothing to the table offensively. A great situation in Washington probably made him look better than he is and, with this being a weak free agent class, he figures to make a lot more on his next contract than he should.
My runner up would be the recently bought out Dan Girardi. His game has completely fallen off a cliff and I see no reason why teams should have interest in a 'defensive defenseman' who can't play defense anymore (he's the NHL's 2nd worst shot suppressor over the last three seasons).
Adam French
The UFA's I would avoid are as follows, but not in any particular order.
Karl Alzner
Ron Hainsey
Drew Stafford
Karl Alzner - This one is very self-explanatory. He's a one-dimensional defenseman whose best days are probably behind him. At 28 after playing for years on lower end deals, this is his big shot to snag a fortune. We see it a lot in Free Agency where the bidding war starts and you end up with insanity like Brooks Orpik being paid 5.5 mil until he's 50. He's going to get overpaid and he's going to get over-termed. I'd pass if I were most teams.
Ron Hainsey - You might be confused and I wouldn't have added him if I hadn't been listening to the radio on my drive to work. Apparently...APPARENTLY...Ron Hainsey is a BIG name this offseason and he was AMAZING during the playoffs. A "warrior." A "beast." If you can't guess who said these words then clearly you're the one lucky human who does not have a big stick. I watched most of the Penguins games in the playoffs and I don't get it. Mediocre defensively, can hardly skate and randomly thinks he's 26 again back when he was "offensive" defenseman making horrible cringe-worthy passes. Plus now that he has a ring, everybody will think he has magical abilities to lead people to victory. He's 36 and even as a cheap 5/6, I'd rather go younger.
Drew Stafford - I've never liked Stafford's game. He's inconsistent, lazy and one dimensional. He hints at more, but has never shown it outside of a fluke season. At 31, I just think you can find better and younger players with more hunger. He's coming off a 4.3mil contract and I can't see him taking less than 3 million, which is 2 too much for me. If you have Stafford in your top-6, you're a bad team. If you have him on your third line, you're miscasting him. I'd avoid him.
Peter Tessier
Let's see off the top of my head: Alzner, Girardi, Stone, Streit, Pavelec, Kulikov just to name a few. The reasons are simple, age and playing ability. This is a dreadful group of free agents and it gets even worse when you make it only defensemen. This is a bit a buyer beware market that we've ever seen since the dawn of 'free agent frenzy'. So in turn the smart GMs need to look for short terms, affordable salary and do their homework- how many will though?
James Tanner
The UFA to avoid is Kris Russell he's.......oh what? Oh, Ok.......the UFA to avoid is Karl Alzner, he's like a slightly better Kris Russell, but he still isn't worth paying or playing at the NHL level.
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