UFA wishlist.
 

With free agency inching closer, who do you expect/hope for the Preds to sign this offseason?

i like our top six. our third line in particular scares me, and I think we need two GOOD third liners...preferably some sizey guys. I'd also LIKE to see another defenseman brought in.

By the way...Leafs Lunch just announced the floor as 34.3 million

I believe we're right at about 23...so...11 million to sign our RFA's and fill out our rosters...I think we have the room for a pretty decent player or two, even with a minimum roster.

NJ isn't signing Johnny Oduya. I went to about 6 Devils games this year, and I love this kid's game..and we could probably get him for under a million.

I'd agree with you there, I'd also like to see a capable backup brought in aswell. It's not that i don't have faith in Mason, I just doubt that Rinne will be ready following his injuries and what-not from last year.

-one of Mike Peca, Todd White, Radek Bonk or Alyn McCauley
-David Aebischer or Alex Auld

great choices!

I think Bryan Smolinski would be a better fit for the 4th line center role than Scott Nichol...

But, Mike Peca would be a great 3rd line center (if he can stay healthy). Much better than No Panic Perreault... :)

I was sad to see Wayne Primeau get resigned by Calgary.

Anyone think we have a chance to land Jason Blake if Kariya doesn't come back?

I think we'll be able to sign any one who is willing to come for one year. I doubt there will be any multiyear signings until Liar-pold sells the team. It's a perfect situation for someone who wants to prove something (like Kariya after the Colorado mess).

I think Blake would be a great fit if/when we lose Kariya.

He's kind of a head case, but, honestly, we need some fire in the locker room.

Also, what about Eric Belanger for 3rd line center. We could probably get him for a shade over 2 mil. I thought he was impressive in Atlanta, he can score and play the PK, and is great on faceoffs.


I dont know what we're going to do about adding needed size. From perusing the FA list, those guys like San Jose has on its 3rd line just arent there.

What about this:

Sully - Arnott - Dumont
Erat - Legwand - Jason Blake (4.5 mil)
Radulov - Eric Belanger (2 mil) - Ville Nieminen (800k)
Tootoo - Fiddler - Smithson



I threw Nieminen there as I still remember the first series against San Jose and he looked good - fast, and played very physical. And he'd be cheap. I'm sure we can find another similar player. Adam Hall maybe?

Or hope Tootoo figures out an offensive side of his game.

We're not going to land a big free agent signing. Not even someone like Blake. Why would they want to play here?

We are going to get mid-tier guys to sign, I would suspect. Who would want to sign here right now???

Hmm I would love to see Belanger in a Preds uniform!!!

I wish we could have kept him during the trade this season!

Oh well

It might take an overpay, look at it that way.

It's the same thing that teams like Columbus had to do to get people to sign with a bad team. It might take an extra 1 million per year to make it seem appealing enough.

what about throwing some change at Jason Allison...

he might come here for a 1 year deal, and cheaply most likely.

just something to think about...

Cash.

Like another poster said, it might take a bit of an overpay, but no one is going to turn down cash.

I mean, its not like theyre going to be down to calling you and me for the third line. There's plenty of guys who would like to play for a solid team for a couple million a year.

Here is a quick attempt to take the UFA list from the other forum and list some players that might work (mainly a focus on 3rd/4th line guys with some fantasy forwards and some D-men dropped in). Emphasis is on quick so if I left Sidney Crosby or Denny Lambert in don't jump me. For good measure I added an "*" next to some of the ones I think could be at the top of the list



Atlanta Thrashers
Pascal Dupuis
Eric Belanger*
Eric Boulton


Buffalo Sabres
Adam Mair

Calgary Flames
Jeff Friesen

Carolina Hurricanes
Anson Carter*
Dave Tanabe

Chicago Blackhawks
Michal Handzus
Peter Bondra* (yes I know he is 63 years old)
Jeff Hamilton

Colorado Avalanche
Ossi Vaananen

Dallas Stars
Ladi Nagy
Patrik Stefan
Matthew Barnaby* (yes I hate him too)

Detroit Red Wings
Danny Markov
Todd Bertuzzi* (yes it would be like selling our soul to the devil)
Kyle Calder
Robert Lang


Florida Panthers
Martin Gelinas

Los Angeles Kings
Aaron Miller
Alyn McCauley (buyout)
Jamie Lundmark (non-tendered)*

Minnesota Wild
Todd White
Adam Hall (non-tendered)*

Montreal Canadiens
Mike Johnson *

Nashville Predators
Peter Forsberg* (I think we might actually have a shot at him).
Scott Nichol


New York Islanders *(we should raid this team of 3rd liners)
Jason Blake
Richard Zednik
Arron Asham
Chris Simon
Joel Bouchard
Eric Boguniecki

New York Rangers
Karel Rachunek (non-tendered)

Ottawa Senators
Tom Preissing
Mike Comrie

Philadelphia Flyers
Niko Dimitrakos
Todd Fedoruk
Dimitry Afanesenkov

Phoenix Coyotes
Owen Nolan
Mike Ricci

Pittsburgh Penguins

Ronald Petrovicky
Nils Ekman
Michel Ouellet (non-tendered)*


St. Louis Blues
Glen Metropolit*
Vladimir Orszagh*

Tampa Bay Lightning
Ruslan Fedotenko

Toronto Maple Leafs
Mike Peca


Washington Capitals
Kris Beech (non-tendered)*(I thought he wasn't bad for us)

a 3rd line and some grit is what i want to see.

Yeh i was disappointed to see Primeau taken off the market as well.

I'm soo happy Nichol won't be back with team, I don't think i've ever seen someone take so many bone-headed penalties. good-ridance.

I thought the Preds just made a 2 yr offer to Nichol.... am I dreaming?

we're not all the sudden a bad team or bad city - we're not as in good of shape as last off season but we still have some talent, still have no income tax, low cost of living and a great city. The ownership is the only issue and it's not as much of an impact as some are suggesting. Money and chances trump everything.

yes unfortunately they did.

I made a list of players that we might look at and listed my thoughts/potential roles for them.

Forwards:

- S. Thornton (size and passion)
- Belanger (quick offensive center....should only pursue if the 3rd line is going to be geared towards offense)
- Zubrus (Perfect for an offensive or defensive third line. Would love to sign him.....4 years 11 million? 12 million? Overpayment but could help)
- Friesen (Depends on the look of our third line. If its defense, no, if its offense, possible)
- Amonte (washed up, but still a vet with some ability)
- Calder (I think this guy will bounce back. I have always hated him, but he would be a super third liner for an offensive or defensive scheme. Calder with Zubrus would be two great additions to this lineup.....)
- Lang (Old, a bit washed up, still big and strong with a decent scoring touch. He would be a lot more valuable to us than he was for the Wings)
- Gelinas (Crafty, worth more in the post-season than the regular season, but still a good vet with smarts. Solid 3rd liner)
- T. White (experienced a revival in a defensive system....would be good for a offensively powered third line)
- Bonk (I know.....I know....but if cheap enough and on the third line.....it has to be better than Fiddler)
- Asham (passionate defensive guy with hitting ability)
- Zednik (would be nice even if the line is more defensive oriented...cheap as well)
- Isbister (size.....doesn't use it well, but still, would help our third/fourth line)
- Ekman (could be good on a fast paced third line....a pairing of Lang and Ekman could be interesting)
- Guerin (probably way too pricey)
- Orszagh (great third liner for any team....I wouldn't mind having him back)
- Peca (I have always loved his two-way game. It would be nice to put him on a third line with a guy like Orszagh or Zednik)
- O'Neil (Probably only wants to play in TO. I think he could have a great year in Nashville)
- Smolinski (meh.....kind of like Belanger
- Yashin (I would like to give him a shot. Called lazy, etc., but a new contract and new city could be exactly what he needs. Big, highly skilled......could be gold or fools gold. Would not hesitate to offer 2 years at 6-7 million)
- Allison (slow, highly skilled center.....will his speed cost him as it did Yanic Perrault???)
- Yanic Perrault (slow, wins faceoffs, sniper hands, horrible defensively...can't see us signing him..... shouldn't command much money at all.)

Defense

- DeVries (offensive defenseman but smarter than given credit for...would fit in on our blueline....former predator)
- Hamrlik (another offensive defenseman but with great two way skills, would be the perfect defensive addition for this blueline)
- Vaananen (Big hitter, below average speed, much smarter than Vishnevski.....would be a great 5/6 guy.....2 years 4 million....)
- Klee (vet that knows how to play above his abilities....decent as a 6/7 guy....1 year 1-1.5 million)
- A. Miller (Can hit, plays very hard, decent defensively, very injury prone.....would be a great addition to the lineup)
- Niinimaa (regressed majorly, always overrated.....worth a shot for a cash strapped team?)
- Rachunek (decent defenseman, maligned for his playoff play in NY.....I think he would excel outside the limelight of a Canadian/Big Apple team)
- Preissing (offensive defenseman, mediocre smarts, a better defensive player than Zidlicky but far inferior offensive defenseman....)
- Hannan (Should be out of our price range, mediocre speed, sound positionally, crafty...knows when to hold and hook....great shutdown defenseman, I suspect he will NOT age well but he is at the peak of his career....good for a 4 year deal)
- Sopel (Underrated, offensive defenseman, maligned as a Canuck but his game matured.....should be a good addition for a team needing a player of his talents)

I'm not so sure that we need any one-dimensional offensive players on the third line, i.e. Lang, Allison, Yashin. I think the money they would command would be much better spent on building a good two-way line.

I like some of the d-men you picked out, I'd be stoked if we picked up Hamrlik.

Nichols re-signed which I like (I know I'm in the ultra-minority on this but I'd take him over Fiddler any day)-- new signings likely to be on wing as we now are stocked with 5th line centers in Nichols, Fiddler and Smithson.

That sounds like Bertuzzi. Leipold can sign him to a deal, and if his back gives out he can count against the cap (floor) but insurance will write the cheque.

I'd like to see Asham on the bottom six.

Does anyone see us making a signing today? I don't see it. I think we will have to wait a while, although I don't view that as such a bad thing given what we are seeking.