Since the first free agent primer, there have been a few upcoming free agents who have signed extensions with their current clubs, so it seemed timely to make an updated list of those that will be looking for new contracts come July 1st. Teams, of course, can continue dialogue on contract extensions until that date, so not all on these lists are guaranteed to hit the open market. Click here for version 1.0 **Note that those figures are based on the current $59.4M salary cap. The cap is expected to increase approximately $3M next season thanks to new TV contracts. Figures courtesy of CapGeek.com Forwards Brad Richards – Dallas Without a doubt Richards is the biggest fish approaching the free agent market, and with an uncertain ownership situation in Dallas it seems 99.9% certain that the former Conn Smythe winner will be changing teams this offseason. A concussion scare around the trade deadline made it difficult to trade him, though GM Joe Nieuwendyk said even without the injury he preferred to keep Richards as his team was in the playoff picture. Richards is an All-Star calibre centre, averaging better than a point per game (70 points in 67 games; 91 points in 80 games last season). He will be 31-years-old in a month and will be looking for his last big contract, and may see close to his current $7.8M cap hit on his next deal. Brooks Laich – Washington Laich is a very solid two-way forward that can play the centre or wing, and is entering free agency for the first time at 27-years-old. After three straight 20+ goal seasons, Laich has 16 goals and 45 points this year. On a contending team he could be a valuable second or third line player and probably has three or four more prime years left. His current contract pays him $2.4M this year and it can be expected that he will receive a contract averaging close to that number, up to maybe $2.8M, for three to five years. Ville Leino – Philadelphia It may seem surprising that Leino is going to be an unrestricted free agent already, but he is 27-years-old. He is only in his third season after playing very sparingly for a season and a half in Detroit before being traded to Philadelphia. He enjoyed a very strong postseason last year with 21 points in 19 games, and this year has come on very strong as a second line winger with 19 goals and 52 points in 77 games. Leino only makes $825K this season, and should see a significant raise in the $2M-$2.5M range on a multi-year deal. Teemu Selanne is set to be unrestricted, but he will either stay with Anaheim or retire. Other forward options: Jason Arnott – Washington ($4.5M) 36-years-old, 17 goals in 72 games, scored 20+ goals 12 times. Tim Connolly – Buffalo ($4.5M) 29-years-old, 38 points in 64 games, hasn’t played 75+ games since 2002-03. Tomas Fleischmann - Colorado ($2.6M) 26-years-old, 31 points in 45 games, 23 goals in 69 games last year. Simon Gagne – Tampa Bay ($5.25M) 30-years-old, 36 points in 59 games, four-time 30-goal scorer. Michal Handzus – Los Angeles ($4M) 34-years-old, two-way center with three career 20 goal seasons. Milan Hejduk – Colorado ($3M) 35-years-old, 53 points in 66 games, 11 consecutive seasons with 20+ goals. Jussi Jokinen – Carolina ($1.7M) 28-years-old, 18 goals in 66 games, 30 goals last season. Mike Knuble – Washington ($2.8M) 38-years-old, 23 goals in 76 games, 8 consecutive seasons with 20+ goals. Alexei Kovalev – Pittsburgh $5.0M 38-years-old, 16 goals in 71 games, 1,022 career points. Jamie Langenbrunner – Dallas ($2.8M) 35-years-old, 31 points in 65 games, 60 points in three of last four years. Michael Ryder – Boston ($4.0M) 31-years-old, 18 goals in 75 games, 4 seasons with 25+ goals. Cory Stillman – Carolina ($3.5M) 37-years-old, 36 points in 61 games, 9 seasons with 45+ points. Steve Sullivan – Nashville ($3.75M) 36-years old, 22 points in 43 games, scored 60 points 6 times. Maxime Talbot – Pittsburgh ($1.05M) 27-years-old, excellent third-liner and penalty killer. Scottie Upshall – Columbus ($2.25M) 27-years-old, 22 goals in 78 games, 18 goals in 49 games last year. Defensemen Christian Ehrhoff – Vancouver ($3.1M) Ehrhoff has been one of the only Canucks’ defensemen to be healthy all season long. The 28-year-old German has been a rock offensively (49 points) and defensively (+16). This is his third consecutive 40-point season, and that consistency will go a long way toward securing a big paycheck in July. Rumour has it that he loves Vancouver and is willing to take a bit of a hometown discount, and Vancouver would surely like to keep him, but they have a lot of money committed for next season so it will be interesting to see what can be worked out. He could fetch $5M per season on the open market. Tomas Kaberle – Boston ($4.25M) The 4-time All-Star finally agreed to waive his no-trade clause and has joined a team expecting to contend for the Stanley Cup. This could really help Kaberle’s value going forward, as a big playoff performance since he hasn’t appeared in the postseason since 2004. Kaberle has 45 points in 78 games and is known as one of the better passers among defensemen in the NHL, and this is his seventh 40+ point season in his 12-year career. The 33-year-old will be looking at his last long-term deal this July. Andrei Markov – Montreal ($5.75M) The 32-year-old Markov is a tough one to peg. Now he has had two major knee surgeries so his value is sort of unknown around the league, as he was once viewed as an elite offensive defenseman. After posting 58 and 64 points respectively a couple of seasons ago, he was limited to 45 games last year and is possibly done after just 7 this season. So how much would Montreal be offering him to avoid free agency, and how much would he fetch on the open market? Hard to see teams going all-in for Markov’s services without seeing him perform after the latest surgery. Joni Pitkanen – Carolina ($4M) The 27-year-old Fin has quietly produced another solid season for Carolina with 30 assists in 68 games. This is second 30-point season, and he also has three 40-point seasons. His consistency and youth could provide a 5-year contract in the $25M range, and at those dollars it’s possible he switches teams as Carolina typically doesn’t spend significant dollars on the defensive side of the ice. Nicklas Lidstrom will either resign with Detroit or retire. Other defense options: Anton Babchuk – Calgary ($1.4M) 26-years-old, 11 goals and 33 points in 79 games. Kevin Bieksa – Vancouver ($3.75M) 29-years-old, physical defender, 21 points and +31 in 63 games. Eric Brewer – Tampa Bay ($4.25M) 31-years-old, defensive defenseman, 2002 Gold Medalist. Jonathan Ericsson – Detroit ($900K) 27-years-old, +8 in 70 games, 10 points and +10 in 32 playoff games. Hal Gill – Montreal ($2.25M) 35-years-old, one of the league’s top shot blockers and penalty killers. Scott Hannan – Washington ($4.5M) 32-years-old, solid defensive zone player, +14 in 73 playoff games Ed Jovanovski – Phoenix ($6.5M) 34-years-old, 14 points and +3 in 47 games, 7 seasons with 30+ points. Bryan McCabe – NY Rangers ( $5.75M) 35-years-old, 28 points and +3 in 64 games, 5 career 15+ goal seasons. Ian White – San Jose ($3.0M) 26-years-old, 24 points in 74 games, 13 goals in 2009-10. James Wisniewski – Montreal ($3.25M) 27-years-old, 28 points and +3 in 40 games with MTL. Goalies Ilya Bryzgalov – Phoenix ($4.25M) With the ownership situation in Phoenix still being unsettled, it looks more and more likely that Bryzgalov will be reaching the open market in July. After a Vezina-calibre season a year ago, Bryzgalov is having another wonderful season in the desert to keep Phoenix in the thick of the playoff picture with a 35-19-9 record, seven shutouts, a 2.48 goals against average and .921 save percentage. The odds are good that the 30-year-old will earn $6M annually on his next contract. Dwayne Roloson – Tampa Bay ($2.5M) The 41-year-old Roloson is showing no signs of slowing down; after his trade from Long Island to Tampa Bay, Roloson has posted a 17-11-4 record, four shutouts, 2.53GAA and .914 SV%. Odds are that if he wants to continue playing, teams will have no issue offering him one-year deals at close to $3M. Tomas Vokoun – Florida ($5.7M) The 34-year-old Vokoun has faced the 9th most shots among goalies this season, despite only playing 56 games. He has saved the majority and has good numbers with a 2.60GAA and .921 SV% along with five shutouts. In 631 career games he sports nearly identical numbers of 2.56 and .917 and could still be a starting goalie; however his best fit might be on a team like Toronto where they will employ a very-young #1 goalie next season and may need a stable veteran backup. Other goalie options: Brian Boucher – Philadelphia ($925K) 34-years-old, 17-10-4, 2.45GAA, .914SV%. Mathieu Garon – Columbus ($1.2M) 33-years-old, 10-12-6, 2.71 GAA and three shutouts. Jean-Sebastien Giguere – Toronto ($6M) 33-years-old, 11-11-4, 2.90 GAA, 2007 Stanley Cup, 2003 Conn Smythe winner. Johan Hedberg – New Jersey ($1.5M 37-years-old, 14-11-2, three shutouts, 2.33GAA in 32 games. Pascal Leclaire – Ottawa ($3.8M) 28-years-old, 4-7-1, 2.83 GAA, .908 SV%, just one 50+ game season. Mike Smith – Tampa Bay ($2.2M) 29-years-old, 11-6-1, 3.11 GAA, .888 SV%, career 2.74 GAA and .905 SV%. Marty Turco – Chicago ($1.3M) 35-years-old, 11-11-3, 3.02GAA, .897SV%, 273 career wins. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan