| Authored by Nick Obergan - 26th July, 2010 - 10:40 pm
 The best of the remaining free agent forwards (other than Ilya Kovalchuk) were chronicled recently, and now it?s time to take a look at the best remaining defensemen and goaltenders. Most of the chatter around defensemen right now is the trade market for Tomas Kaberle and Kevin Bieksa, so why not give some press to some players still looking for teams.
Denis Grebeshkov, D, 09-10: $3.15M
The 26-year-old is currently a restricted free agent (RFA) with the Nashville Predators, who acquired him at the trade deadline from Edmonton for a 2nd round pick. The Russian, who was an 18th overall pick in 2002 by the LA Kings, is a solid second-pairing defenseman with some upside who unfortunately was not part of the big run of free agent blue-liners signed on July 1st. It?s likely that Nashville is waiting for another team to sign Grebeshkov to an offer sheet that they will likely match, since they acquired him to replace the departing Dan Hamhuis. Don?t expect him to get the salary he earned last year, but something closer to $2M annually. Other than Nashville, he would be a good fit for Columbus, Colorado, Anaheim, Dallas and Buffalo.
Andy Sutton, D, 09-10: $3.5M
Sutton was acquired by Ottawa at the trade deadline last year from Long Island for his big, physical presence. The 6?6?, 245lb defender can be a decent second pairing guy. He doesn?t provide any offence, but is very solid in his own end; last season he was second in the league with 204 blocked shots, and also provided 197 hits in 72 games played. The 35-year-old would provide a good defensive and veteran presence for teams like Washington, Atlanta, Anaheim, Colorado, Buffalo, San Jose and Carolina.
Marc-Andre Bergeron, D, 09-10: $750k
Bergeron is definitely looking for a raise from last season?s salary, due to the fact that he is one of the top power play performers from the blue-line in the NHL. In only 60 games last season, he had 13 goals and 21 assists, over half of which were scored on the power play (7 goals, 15 assists). His shot is a weapon, and he doesn?t ruin your man-advantage by taking penalties (highest career total was 38PIM in 2005-06). Even if he only averages 15 minutes of ice time a game as a 3rd pairing d-man and power play weapon, he is the type of player who can make a big difference over the course of the season and in the playoffs. He has only averaged over 20 minutes of ice time twice in his six year career, but the 29-year-old has three seasons over 10+ goals. Montreal looks to have replaced him with rookie P.K. Subban, so teams like Washington, Colorado, Columbus, Anaheim, San Jose and Buffalo would be great landing places for him.
Marty Turco, G, 09-10: $5.4M
Much like all free agent goalies this offseason, Turco is ready to accept the fact that he will need to take a big pay cut at his next job. The rumour is he turned down a $2M offer from Philadelphia at the beginning of the offseason, and turning that down looks like a mistake right now as he struggles to find employment ? largely because every team appears to have their #1 goalie in place. The one team that may change that is Chicago, who may not come to an agreement with Antti Niemi and would look to fill his void with a cheaper alternative. The 9-year vet of the Stars organization, Turco spots a 2.31 career goals against average and a .911 save percentage. San Jose may regret passing on him, but as of now there aren?t any major opportunities for Turco to get consistent starts. He may be a solid backup option for Carey Price in Montreal, Pekka Rinne in Nashville, or Simeon Varlamov in Washington.
Jose Theodore, G, 09-10: $4.5M
Theodore is other high profile goalie still on the market that is going to have to take a pay cut and playing time cut to get a job in the NHL. Rumours abound that the KHL in Russia is interested in him, but there are a couple of spots out there for backups as listed above. The former Hart Trophy and Vezina winner has a career goals against of 2.68 and .908 save percentage in 13 seasons with Montreal, Colorado and Washington.
Other notable defensemen: Mike Mottau (UFA), Shaone Morrison (UFA), Nick Boynton (UFA), Chris Campoli (RFA), Ian White (RFA), Garnet Exelby (UFA), James Wisniewski (RFA), Brian Pothier (UFA)
Nick can be reached via email nickobergan@hotmail.com or @NickObergan
|
