GREAT FREE AGENT DEALS STILL OUT THERE
As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. But what they don't tell you is that the early worms aren't necessarily the biggest or juiciest or best available.
Sometimes, it's best to wait. And then wait some more.
The same logic may apply to free agency.
While signing Alex Pietrangelo and Taylor Hall made supposed winners out of Vegas and Buffalo, respectively, there are several players out there looking for contracts. Very good players, we might add.
There is a top-20 goal scorer, a Stanley Cup finalist. and a winger with 81 goals over the past three seasons.
Last year, more than eight weeks passed before the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Pat Maroon to a bargain salary of US$900,000.
With so many players still looking for jobs, there are more deals to be had.
Here are some of the best:
MIKE HOFFMAN, LW, 3 0 2019-20 cap hit: $5.65 million
(Florida)
The best pure scorer available in free agency, Hoffman finished among the top 20 with 29 goals with Florida last season and had 36 goals two years ago. Did he struggle with inconsistency? Well, yeah. But this is still a player who has scored 26 or more goals in five of the six years he's been in the league, and who had three goals and five points in four playoff games against the notoriously stingy New York Islanders.
Possible destination: With Anthony Duclair gone, would it make sense for the Senators to bring back a player they drafted and developed?
ANTHONY DUCLAIR, LW, 25 2019-20 cap hit: $1.65 million
(Ottawa)
I don't know why Duclair chose to represent himself in free agency or why he didn't go to arbitration with the Sens. But that, combined with the fact that he's played for five teams in six years, could be why he's still unsigned. He had 23 goals and 40 points in 66 games last season.
Possible destination: While some believe a return to Columbus, to be reunited with former Arizona linemate Max Domi, is in the cards, Nashville's lack of scoring wingers makes it a more likely landing spot.
EVGENII DADONOV, L/ RW, 3 1
2019-20 cap hit: $4 million (Florida) One of the more underrated wingers in the NHL, the late-blooming Dadonov has scored 81 goals in the past three NHL seasons after spending the previous five years in Russia. Possible destination: With Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak expected to miss the start of the season after undergoing off-season surgeries, the Bruins will be looking for offence on the wings.
TRAVIS HAMONIC, D, 3 0 2019-20 cap hit: $3.857 million
(Calgary)
It's unclear whether Hamonic, who declined to participate in the playoff bubble because of COVID-19 concerns, would be willing to start the season if a coronavirus vaccine still isn't available by Jan. 1. But chances are he wouldn't be willing to play in the United States. That probably limits him to Canadian teams, particularly those in Western Canada.
Possible destinations: After losing T.J. Brodie to free agency, don't rule out Hamonic re-signing in Calgary. Then again, Winnipeg's lack of depth on defence could make a return home a perfect situation for the Manitoba native.
SAMI VATANEN, D, 29
2019-20 cap hit: $4.875 million (Carolina/New Jersey)
The offensive-minded defenceman has produced at a 37-point pace over his career, but he's also been injury prone, having missed 45 games over the past two years. The latter stat is probably why the right-shot defenceman has been sitting around while teams snatched up Tyson Barrie, Kevin Shattenkirk and Brodie.
Possible destination: The Senators will begin the season with a defence that includes Thomas Chabot and a bunch of question marks. Vatanen would be a perfect stopgap until Erik Brannstrom, Jake Sanderson and Lassi Thomson are ready for prime time.
COREY PERRY, F, 35
2019-20 cap hit: $1.5 million (Dallas) From Joe Thornton and Ilya Kovalchuk to Carl Soderberg and Ryan Miller, there are a number of free agents over age 35 who are looking for one last kick at the can. Perry might be the most enticing of all of them. The veteran winger, who went from being bought out by Anaheim to reaching the Stanley Cup final with Dallas, is five years removed from scoring 20 or more goals. But as he showed by scoring five goals and nine points in 27 playoff games this year, he still has plenty of value for a team with championship aspirations.
Possible destinations: Make a list of teams that believe they can compete for a Cup and you should have an idea of who is looking at Perry.
ANDREAS ATHANASIOU, LW, 26 2019-20 cap hit: $3 million
(Edmonton) Was the 30-goal season Athanasiou put up in 2018-19 a fluke or a sign of things to come? Edmonton chose not to qualify the speedy winger after he managed just one goal and one assist in 13 games. But put him in the right place with the right linemates, and Athanasiou could be free agency steal.
Possible destinations: He could replace the offence Florida lost in Hoffman and Dadonov. or be what Duclair had been in Ottawa.