Well, it's currently August 18th. It's been almost 50 days since NHL
UFAs could sign with other teams. But, there is still some players who
haven't signed with other teams. The most notable are ex 40 goal scorer
Rick Nash, goalies Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason, forwards Mike
Cammalieri and Troy Brouwer, plus defenseman Luca Sbisa. Since they have
to sign eventually, here are my predictions to where they will go.
Rick Nash, winger, Dallas Stars
Nash, a 34 year old winger who scored 21 goals and 13
assists for 34 points in 71 games for the Rangers and Bruins last
season, is the most notable player left on the market. He has scored 30
goals eight times, including three 40 goal campaigns. The Stars have
been in need for a winger in recent years, and added Alex Radulov before
the 2017-18 season. This offseason, they've only added 4th liner Blake
Comeau. Plus, they regained Valeri Nichushkin, an old star who played in
Russia the past two seasons. But, they could still use more, as they
are in need for a top six winger. Getting Nash on a 1-2 year deal with a
$3-5 million AAV would be ideal.
Mike Cammalieri, winger, Boston Bruins
Cammalieri, a 36 year old who is definitely going to sign with a
contender to go cup chasing, led all current UFAs in assists last year
with 22 for the Kings and Oilers. A two time 30 goal scorer, Cammalieri
would bring veteran presence to the Bruins bottom six, which has 27 year
old Chris Wagner as their oldest bottom six player. Cammalieri would
certainly accept another one year, $1 million deal.
Luca Sbisa, defensman, Ottawa Senators
Sbisa, one of the youngest players on the market at 28, is a decent top
6 defenseman that I think should be signed by now. At 28, he's not at
the age where he'd only go to a contender. Ottawa's most experienced
left defenseman is Mark Borowiecki, with his 269 career games. Sbisa
would be a good fit.
Kari Lehtonen, goalie, Winnipeg Jets
Lehtonen, a 34 year old who had a 2.56 GAA and .912 SV% in 37 games for
the Stars last year, is going to have to settle in to a backup role
this next season. Winnipeg lost both Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson,
leaving Connor Hellebuyck with just Laurent Brossoit as his backup.
WInnipeg is going to be very competitive this next season, and a backup
like Lehtonen would help them win some games.
Steve Mason, goalie, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins experimented with having a formerly bought-out goalie as
their backup in Antti Niemi last season. Mason has been solid in his
career, but was bought out following a trade to Montreal. He's an
improvement over Casey Desmith as Matt Murray's backup.
No comments:
Post a Comment