Much like we did after the 1st Round ended it's time to look at the best Free Agents from the 2nd Round losers. After the 1st Round you could feel a sense of urgency for change from the eliminated clubs and it took a little while but confirmations have started to roll in. The Sharks, for example, announced that Dan Boyle and Martin Havlat were not going to be extended any longer and would thus his the open market.
Whatever pressure for change was felt after the 1st was ratcheted up after the 2nd. It took only days for the Penguins to make a panic decision to fire their GM (who won executive of the year just last season) and leave their Head Coach twisting in the wind. Losing in the 1st is bad, but once you make it to the 2nd there becomes some pretty hefty expectations heaped on your shoulders even if there's no rationale behind it.
Those Penguins were depleted all year, knew their depth was an issue going into the playoffs, knew their goalie cant be counted on for any kind of consistency, and still made a knee jerk decision while emotions were still high. With change as the featured item on the menu let's keep an eye on those players easiest for their home clubs to purge.
ANAHEIM
LW - Daniel Winnik (29). 76GP, 6-34-30. Officially listed as a Center but used as a Left Wing, Winnik has some versatility to offer along with a 6'2" 207lb frame. He spent the most time with Cogliano and Koivu this past season and averaged more than 15 minutes a game. That trio of players was gifted with the least amount of offensive zone time for the ducks, which should go a long way in providing some context for Winnik's relatively poor 47.9 Corsi% (thats poor relative to the rest of his club, not to the Oil). As Edmonton is currently wanting for big bodies who can play, add a little offense, and are used to facing decent opposition the big University of New Hampshire product might be a good fit.
BOSTON
D - Andrej Meszaros (28). 52GP, 7-15-22. The best UFA on the Bruins is actually Iginla by a country mile, but the Oil arent particularly needy for a Top 6 Winger with Hall, Eberle, Yak, and Perron in those spots already. (Although a not so secret part of me would live to see Flames fans squirm at the sight of Iggy in Blue) That leaves Shawn Thornton and Meszaros as most likely for Edmonton to target. Knowing the Oilers they will go after Thornton, but if I had to pick my poison I would lean towards the flawed Defender. He was a frequent healthy scratch for the Bs and maligned for his defensive woes, but he is still capable of pitching in a little offensively. MacT said he didnt want to add middle of the road defensemen, however even middle of the road players are better than most of the crew he assembled last year.
MINNESOTA
LW - Matt Moulson (30). 75GP, 23-28-51. Hey, didnt this guy just say no to Iginla because there were already enough top 6 wingers? Yes. Shut up. I'm not a big fan of the other Wild players hitting Free Agency this summer. I mean maybe if the Oilers want Moulson they could ask Dany Heatley to lend him one of those promotional DVDs they made back when they were begging him to waive that No Trade Clause. Moulson is a complementary player who has proven in the past that he can mesh well with high end talent, even if he cant sustain elite levels of production without a Tavares type player. The Oil dont need a guy like that TODAY, but things can change in a hurry if the club decided a shakeup is in order at the Draft.
PITTSBURGH
D - Matt Niskanen (27). 81GP, 10-36-46. When Niskanen broke into the NHL his traditional boxcars looked like he could develop into a nice offensive Defenseman, but then things cooled off for one reason or another. Fast-forward 5 seasons and then he breaks out again with a career year at the age of 27. That's a bit of a scary leap if you're about to offer a 4-5 year deal to this UFA. The good news is that his underlying numbers for the past 3 years have him easily in the top 3 of Penguin blueliners (in terms of shot attempts) and his overall shooting percentage wasnt on a huge spike this past year. He's going to be a highly sought after Free Agent this summer though, so even you might like to get this guy on a sweetheart deal it just isnt going to happen.
THOUGHTS
Some heads have already rolled in these markets, more will come in the next few weeks. The overwhelming pressure to change after failing to advance to the 3rd Round is palpable. For these pending UFAs there are just 6 weeks to go before all the power shifts into their corner and major decisions are finally in their control. From an Oiler perspective nothing has changed. The club still needs Defensemen in bunches and the bottom 6 is going to get overhauled. I would be shocked if Edmonton didnt contact the Niskanen camp this July and Winnik fits the mandate to get bigger and better in the bottom 6. Would they leave winning organizations and/or beautiful climates for Edmonton? Money talks.
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