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Top 25 upcoming UFA's


Mackcanuck

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1. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk (New York Islanders): He has had an immeasurable impact on this team. He has made the Islanders mentally tougher, plus harder to play against. Boychuk is a hard-nosed, two-way competitor. The Islanders will make a heavy pitch to keep him, but he will be highly coveted if he doesn't re-sign.

2. Defenseman Marc Staal (New York Rangers): Is he interested in joining his brothers on the Carolina Hurricanes? The problem with that scenario is the Hurricanes are in a rebuilding mode and Staal is playing on a contending team. He will have most of the NHL's teams trying to sign him.

3. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (Pittsburgh Penguins): Ehrhoff, 32, is a highly dependable two-way defenseman. He fits well into a puck-possession team. Many contenders will be interested.

4. Center Carl Soderberg (Boston Bruins ):He's 29 and on pace to top 50 points this season. He's the Bruins' second-leading scorer. Most teams in the NHL are looking for big centers, and Soderberg is 6-3.

5. Defenseman Mike Green (Washington Capitals): He's a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman with a booming slap shot. He's the kind of player the Detroit Red Wings have been seeking for a couple of seasons. In his prime at 29, he can put a charge in a team's power play.

6. Center Antoine Vermette (Arizona Coyotes): A consistent two-way center, Vermette, 32, is among the NHL's most versatile performers. He's a 20-goal scorer who is comfortable playing whatever role he is assigned. He's hockey's version of a great sixth man in the NBA.

7. Defenseman Cody Franson (Toronto Maple Leafs): He's a right-shot defenseman, and that alone gives him an edge over some of the other blue-liners in the free agent marketplace. He also could finish with 45 to 50 points. He has 360 games of NHL experience, and he's 27.

8 Defenseman Paul Martin (Penguins): He's 33, but he is the type of polished defenseman that most upper-echelon teams seek. He would be a safe signing.

9. Center Mike Ribeiro (Nashville Predators): After being drummed out of the Coyotes organization for his off-the-ice behavior, Ribeiro has been a changed man in Nashville. He has worked at being a model citizen, and on the ice, he has been almost a point-per-game player. The Predators should attempt to re-sign him. He leads all potential unrestricted free agents in scoring.

10. Right wing Martin St. Louis (Rangers): The best guess would be that he will re-sign with the Rangers, given how he maneuvered to land there last season. He is 39 but remains an effective player.

11. Defenseman Johnny Oduya (Chicago Blackhawks): He could be odd man out in Chicago because of the team's salary cap issues once the extensions for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane kick in next season. He's an experienced defensive defenseman who has spent considerable time playing against the top stars in the game.

12. Left wing Matt Beleskey (Anaheim Ducks): He's 26 and is having a career season with 17 goals in 41 games. The caution is that he previously never had more than 11 goals in a season.

13. Defenseman Jeff Petry (Edmonton Oilers): Right-shot defensemen are like left-handers in baseball. Everyone wants them. Petry is 27, and the perception is he would improve dramatically if he could land with a winning organization.

14. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin (Ducks): Still a very effective player. He's a rugged competitor with the ability to play physical and launch a big shot from the point.

15. Right wing Justin Williams (Los Angeles Kings): The Kings likely will get him re-
signed. He's Mr. Playoffs. He steps up in a big way in the postseason.

16. Left wing Mats Zuccarello (Rangers): He was much more productive last season than he has been this season. He can be a spark plug forward in a team's top six. Zuccarello, 27, should be a 50-plus-point guy.

17. Goalie Jhonas Enroth (Buffalo Sabres): The market for free agent goaltenders is always weak. But a handful of teams are usually looking, and there has been a buzz about Enroth this season. He's an intriguing possibility. He has been impressive at times.

18: Center Brad Richards (Blackhawks): At 34, his best days are behind him. But there is a shortage of skilled centers, and he still plays like a 50-point guy. Look at his even-strength production; it's better than the numbers for Toews and Kane.

19. Left wing Jiri Tlusty (Hurricanes): The Hurricanes aren't likely to get him re-signed. He's essentially a 20-goal scorer, and there aren't many scorers available.

20. Right wing Michael Frolik (Winnipeg Jets): He's 26, and a team could view him as possessing the ability to score 15 to 20 goals if given the right opportunity. He's a handy player to have on a team.

21. Left wing Eric Fehr (Washington Capitals): He's 6-4 and in the midst of one of his better NHL seasons. He could flirt with 20 goals this season.

22. Defenseman Barret Jackman (St. Louis Blues): Jackman, who has played 762 games in the NHL, is great in the defensive zone, particularly in front of the crease. You don't get him for offense.

23. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky (Islanders): He's 38, but he still has some offensive magic. Good fit for a team needing a power play point man.

24. Left wing Curtis Glencross (Calgary Flames): In a league where every team is still looking for offensive help, he will be looked upon as a 20-goal scorer even if he doesn't quite get there this season.

25. Left wing Erik Cole (Dallas Stars): He posted 16 goals last season, and he could finish at 16-18 this season. He's a veteran presence who knows how to play the game.

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I'd like the Canucks to take a good look at Franson and Beleskey.

Beleskey is having a break-out year as a young player with a TON of upside. Although he has low assist numbers, his finishing rate is remarkable and may be a perfect fit with Bonino who needs a strong offensive threat to play with his playmaking (and Bonino and Beleskey are familiar with one-another). This would be a great signing as it allows us to increase our offensive threat through-out the line-up without spending a ton of money.

Franson is still young and would be a solid addition to our top-4 (and potentially top-2) and solidify the back-end of our powerplay. There are a lot of strong defensive free-agents in this pool yet I believe Franson would be the best fit with what the Canucks need and give a spark to the powerplay and ease up the pressure on our back-end with lacks depth.

I'd obviously love to have players like Boychuk and Ribeiro on our team, but I think they're going to cost more than what the Canucks are able to give up cap-wise. I also would love to have Soderberg or Vermette on the team, but I think they will cost too much while not getting a strong enough role on the team (likely a 3rd C unless they bump Bonino down to 3rd C).

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Land one of Boychuk, Green, or Franson and all of a sudden our Back-end looks very good. Give Sbisa/Bieksa cushioned minutes and we'd have a rockin' top 6. I'll admit I've liked Weber's play a lot more this season but I'd still take any of those 3 over him on a game to game basis. Weber/Stanton as our 7-8 d-men is the way this team should be built. Have to think about Corrado as well.

As far as forwards go, we have 3 ufa's, and 2 rfa's (vey, jensen) that will all be needing contracts and spots on the roster. I can't forsee us making a move as if they are all signed that is a solid 14 forwards. but I could be wrong.

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I'd like the Canucks to take a good look at Franson and Beleskey.

Beleskey is having a break-out year as a young player with a TON of upside. Although he has low assist numbers, his finishing rate is remarkable and may be a perfect fit with Bonino who needs a strong offensive threat to play with his playmaking (and Bonino and Beleskey are familiar with one-another). This would be a great signing as it allows us to increase our offensive threat through-out the line-up without spending a ton of money.

Franson is still young and would be a solid addition to our top-4 (and potentially top-2) and solidify the back-end of our powerplay. There are a lot of strong defensive free-agents in this pool yet I believe Franson would be the best fit with what the Canucks need and give a spark to the powerplay and ease up the pressure on our back-end with lacks depth.

I'd obviously love to have players like Boychuk and Ribeiro on our team, but I think they're going to cost more than what the Canucks are able to give up cap-wise. I also would love to have Soderberg or Vermette on the team, but I think they will cost too much while not getting a strong enough role on the team (likely a 3rd C unless they bump Bonino down to 3rd C).

Belesky and his tenacious play would be good here. The bite that he brings would compliment our top 6. And as you said, he might be a real good fit for Bonino.

We need a top 4 defender, hopefully a righty, to form a pairing with Hamhuis. Reliable top 4 + good goaltending usually equates to playoff. But I'm not sure Franson is the type of player that we should go after. I was thinking more like Willie Mitchell type player, who can help with clearing the crease at the expense of offensive capabilities. But then, Hamhuis is already more of a defensively minded player (at least he is now anyways) so perhaps Franson would compliment our top 4 quite well.

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I'd like the Canucks to take a good look at Franson and Beleskey.

Beleskey is having a break-out year as a young player with a TON of upside. Although he has low assist numbers, his finishing rate is remarkable and may be a perfect fit with Bonino who needs a strong offensive threat to play with his playmaking (and Bonino and Beleskey are familiar with one-another). This would be a great signing as it allows us to increase our offensive threat through-out the line-up without spending a ton of money.

Franson is still young and would be a solid addition to our top-4 (and potentially top-2) and solidify the back-end of our powerplay. There are a lot of strong defensive free-agents in this pool yet I believe Franson would be the best fit with what the Canucks need and give a spark to the powerplay and ease up the pressure on our back-end with lacks depth.

I'd obviously love to have players like Boychuk and Ribeiro on our team, but I think they're going to cost more than what the Canucks are able to give up cap-wise. I also would love to have Soderberg or Vermette on the team, but I think they will cost too much while not getting a strong enough role on the team (likely a 3rd C unless they bump Bonino down to 3rd C).

I'm not a huge fan of acquiring players right after a break out year as the their value is often inflated and we don't know if they just had one lucky year (Garrison, Booth) or are on the begining of an upswing in their carrer (Bonino).

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I think Marc Staal would make alot of sense for Vancouver to target, if they could sign him to an attractive contract. Hes got alot of years left in him and would provide steady shut down play as Hamhuis ages. As much as guys think hes overrated I think Mike Green would be an awesome target for Benning too, he would provide alot of much needed push from the back end to get the forwards the puck in Vancouver, and at 29 hes still got likely another 5-6 solid years left in him

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- Boychuk is likely to stay with NYI. Dirty player and wouldn't want him.

- Marc Staal is a "meh" player. Our bottom 6 has no room for him.

- Ehrhoff... doubt he'd come back here but my gut feeling tells me that PITTS will try to re-sign him.

- Soderberg is a pretty good player but I don't think we should be trading for older players. Focus on our youth. Besides, a lot of teams may be gunning for him.

- Green... his point totals doesn't show how bad he can be. He's got a pretty big chunk of Caps fans hating him for a reason. Defensive liability.

- Franson is good but not great. I don't see much that would make him a top 6.

- Martin is injury prone IMO, and I don't feel he's that great defensively. At 33 years old we don't need another aging player.

- Ribeiro should stay in Nashville. He's a reformed man and doing great with them.

- St. Louis is one of my all time favorite players... how could you not love an undersized guy who's still better than most of the players on the ice? I'm surprised at how great he's still playing at 39 years old. Unfortunately we have no room for an aging player who's likely to retire in 1-3 years. Got to think long term here.

- Oduya is decent, but again at 33 years old we don't need him

- Beauchemin: See above

- Williams: See above. Likely to stay with LA anyways.

- Richards: See above. Good player though.

No comment on the rest. Considering our situation, I think it would only be good to pick up an older, offensive-minded player if we dropped one of our current older players. I'm against getting Richards for the sole reason that he'd be a top 6, and that would mean we'd have 5/6 players that are over the age of 30. A lot of the UFA defensemen listed here either aren't that great or aren't very defensively-oriented (Martin, etc.). The only D i'd sorta-kinda-maybe want on our team would be Ehrhoff for his PMD skills.

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