As we’ve been doing after every round of the playoffs, it’s time to take a look at the UFAs on the losing teams. These clubs came tantalizingly close to the Stanley Cup Finals and in the case of a team like Montreal they might be trying to keep those pieces together more than say the Blackhawks who had higher expectations from their group. It’s difficult to judge the “headspace… of these clubs who have a lot more to be excited about than those that bowed out of the Playoffs before them. Still, it is the early part of June and in less than a month the pending UFAs will get control of their lives in a way that most Hockey players wont get to experience.
Yes, these players have been focusing on the Playoffs up until right now and may have put their contract situations on hold, but now after several years of service in the league they have earned the right to move their families to a place of their choosing or accept the highest bidder for their services and cash in. Even if they want to play for their current clubs Free Agency is so close now that it only takes a few short weeks to arrive. Would you pass up the opportunity to make more money than you ever have or the chance to play in a city of your choosing? I doubt it.
CHICAGO
The Blackhawks were Stanley Cup Champions looking to repeat but spotty goaltending and an equally powerful Los Angeles team stopped them last night dead in their tracks. The bitter aftertaste hasn’t even had time to develop as the loss is so fresh. In previous incarnations of this series we chose just a single UFA on a team. Now that we’re down to just 2 squads we can probably double that.
I’m not particularly pleased with any of the UFA Blackhawks which means the Oilers will probably target Michal Handzus and pay him for 3 years (then buy him out a year later effectively paying him for 5 years). NEXT summer is the year that teams will be lining up to steal former Blackhawks with Toews, Kane, Oduya, and Rozsival set to become Free Agents (as if Chicago wont be trying to extend Toews & Kane). THIS summer, on the other hand, is less than meh.
D – Sheldon Brookbank (34). 48GP, 2-5-7. Yeah, this is probably the cream of the crop for the Blackhawks UFA class. He played a hair under the 13 minute a night mark in the regular season and was a frequent healthy scratch. In the playoffs the Hawks preferred not to play him and there’s good reason for it. He was dead last on the Hawks Defense in Corsi during both the regular season and in the playoffs. He was an anchor for them, and I mean that in the worst possible sense. Would the Oilers want him? The Oilers have proven time and again that their pro-scouts generally spend the playoffs eating paste, so probably, but I hope not.
C – Peter Regin (28). 61GP, 4-7-11. Are you guys excited about poaching Blackhawk Free Agents yet? Regin has a few things going for him at least. He’s 6’2… and has appeared in more than 200 NHL games. So there’s that. The problem is that even though he was decent in the faceoff circle with the Blackhawks he wasn’t nearly as good at any other point in his career and offense isn’t exactly coming easy for Peter. In the regular season he sported an OK Corsi% relative to the Hawks lineup but he was decimated in the Playoffs. If the Oilers want to make Lander compete for 4C then Regin should be available for that.
MONTREAL
Montreal is really hard to pin down right now because some crazy ideas get into people’s heads and they run with them. Take for instance the public perception of Thomas Vanek. He produced basically the same Pacioretty and Plekanec but the sense I get is that Habs fans were in favour of parachuting him onto a deserted island after the Playoffs ended. Fans and media pundits would rather Montreal let Vanek walk instead of resigning him, which I think is crazy. The Habs weren’t good enough to beat the Rangers so naturally they need less scoring in their lineup. Naturally.
LW – Thomas Vanek (30). 78GP, 27-41-68. This is where the fun starts. The Oilers have already signed this player to a contract once before so there’s some history and familiarity with him. He never did live up to that RFA contract, in my humble opinion, but he is still a quality player. He has never scored less than 25 goals in a full season ever. Ever! His lowest total is 20 and that was in 38 games for the Lockout shortened season. Here’s the problem, his last contract was 7M per season and there is no way Edmonton would match it or top it. The other issue is that the Oilers don’t need another LW unless they trade Yakupov, which they might just do but hasn’t happened yet.
D – Andrei Markov (35). 81GP, 7-36-43. Yes, he’s on the wrong side of 30 and in fact now closer to 40, but he still produces offense and he still logs big minutes. He’s a top pairing Defender who can play on the left side. His Corsi% is 2nd only to Subban on the Habs blueline and his 43 points tied McDonagh and Suter in league scoring by defensemen. Even if he transitions down to less than the 25 minutes a night the Habs played him he will still be extremely useful to whatever team grabs him. He made 5.75M per year on his last contract and can likely get more than that no problem, especially if he only wants a 2 year deal. At his age it’s a big risk for clubs to go 3 or more years.
THOUGHTS
It is extremely important for the Oilers to land a Defenseman like Markov who can play the left side. Edmonton desperately needs someone to push down Marincin and Klefbom in the lineup AND add experience. If the Oilers are willing to spend the cash it would take to make Edmonton a viable destination for him then they should heavily consider Markov. It doesn’t matter that they THINK they have other puck movers, they don’t. Schultz is a mess in his own zone and could stand an education from someone who has been an elite puck mover this decade. The Oilers wanted to upgrade their Defense. Not too many other available players fit the bill like Markov.
As for Vanek, I don’t see a fit in terms of money or opportunity. The Oilers would be happy to pay Vanek less than his current Cap Hit to play for them but I think someone desperate for scoring will pony up and if not that then I doubt he’s become home sick enough for a rebuild in the short time he left the Sabres to willingly place himself on Edmonton’s roster.
The two from Chicago can be avoided at all costs. Sometimes I wonder why people think things like “Well he’s bad in Chicago but in Edmonton he would be OK.… No, they wouldn’t. Those two are extremely flawed players who would take those flaws with them wherever they go. Pass on them, please.
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