We know, we know. The 2012 signing market is still active, and many of this summer’s unrestricted free agents have yet to commit to a team. By the time you read this sentence, the Shane Doan frenzy will have a record 47 teams expressing interest, and somewhere (I’m picturing a cottage dock) some NHL GM is furrowing his brow, trying to figure out if he has enough cap space to finally put an end to that epic Carlo Colaiacovo bidding war we’ve heard nothing about.
So at the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, we’re giving you a sneak peek at next season’s pending UFA class.
Whose contract is up? And how will their contract years play out? (With the sunny assumption that there will be a 2012-13 season, of course.)
Spending quality time with our crystal ball, we examine the 30 most interesting pending unrestricted free agents for July 1, 2013.
Corey Perry
Age: 27
Team: Anaheim Ducks
Position: Right wing
2012-13 cap hit: $5.325 million
Bargaining chip: Scored 50 goals en route to winning the Hart Trophy in 2010-11
Career curve: Slight dip after a career campaign
Best guess: Ducks do everything in power to re-sign, but Perry can name his price on open market. Get those Parise pesos
Ryan Getzlaf
Position: Centre
Bargaining chip: Had 91 points, good for sixth in NHL scoring in 2008-09
Career curve: Big dip. Despite playing all 82 games, had a career-low 11 goals and 57 points last season
Best guess: Dangled as trade bait. Regardless, gets a decent raise sometime between July 1 and 4
Jarome Iginla
Age: 35
Team: Calgary Flames
2012-13 cap hit: $7 million
Bargaining chip: Two-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy with 52 goals in 2001-02 and 41 in 2003-04
Career curve: Steady as she goes. Eleven straight 30-goal seasons
Best guess: Frustrated by Flames’ lack of improvement, starts exploring trade options to contender in December; draws Doan-like attention as UFA
Nathan Horton
Team: Boston Bruins
2012-13 cap hit: $4 million
Bargaining chip: Career highs in goals (31) and points (62) in 2006-07
Career curve: Set back by injury, but will steadily deliver 20-plus goals and 30-plus assists if healthy
Best guess: Re-signed by Bruins during season, but only short-term
Scott Hartnell
Age: 30
Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Position: Left wing
2012-13 cap hit: $4.2 million
Bargaining chip: Scored 37 goals in 2011-12 while making only career All-Star appearance
Career curve: On a significant upswing, despite being over a decade into his NHL journey
Best guess: Already indicated his wish to stay in Philly; should be re-signed with a raise because the Flyers don’t want to face him
Stephen Weiss
Age: 29
Team: Florida Panthers
2012-13 cap hit: $3.1 million
Bargaining chip: Career-high 61 points in 2008-09
Career curve: Steadying after peak. Coming off third 20-goal year and first postseason action
Best guess: Re-signed with raise by Panthers during year, but not after other centre-needy teams ring the phone
Alex Edler
Age: 26
Team: Vancouver Canucks
Position: Defence
2012-13 cap hit: 3.25 million
Bargaining chip: Career-high 49 points in 2011-12 while making only career All-Star appearance
Career curve: Steady incline points-wise, but a top defender with an even plus/minus on a team as good as Vancouver’s is tough to explain. Not quite elite yet
Best guess: Needing Edler for another playoff run, Canucks let him go to free agency, whereupon he will be overpaid
Kimmo Timonen
Age: 37
2012-13 cap hit: $6.33 million
Bargaining chip: Four-time All-Star; most recently in 2011-12
Career curve: All-star aging gracefully; a plus who stays out of the box and will get you 40 points
Best guess: Re-signs a short-term deal with Flyers before end of season
Ryane Clowe
Team: San Jose Sharks
Bargaining chip: Career-high 24 goals in 2010-11
Career curve: Dipped this season, along with most of Sharks, but should rebound in contract year
Best guess: Traded for defence before deadline; Sharks throw in yet another “e” in Ryane’s first name to sweeten deal
Tobias Enstrom
Team: Winnipeg Jets
2012-13 cap hit: 3.75 million
Bargaining chip: Consecutive 50-plus-point seasons in 2009-10 and 2010-11
Career curve: Despite missing 20 games to injury, steadily on incline with maturity
Best guess: Re-signs with raise; Jets need all the defensive responsibility they can get
Patrik Elias
Age: 36
Team: New Jersey Devils
2012-13 cap hit: $6 million
Bargaining chip: Scored 40 goals in 2000-01 while leading the NHL as a plus-45
Career curve: Thought to be on age-related decline, Elias is coming off his best season since 2008-09
Best guess: Little haggle; re-signs short-term with only team he’s ever known
Mike Fisher
Age: 32
Team: Nashville Predators
Bargaining chip: Scored a career-high 25 goals in 2009-10
Career curve: Bouncing back from a spotty trade year, the NHL Foundation Player Award winner is a valuable component of the Preds and the Nashville community
Best guess: Does Mrs. Fisher still sing country tunes? Re-ups in Music City, no worries
Niklas Backstrom
Age: 34
Team: Minnesota Wild
Position: Goaltender
Bargaining chip: Won the William M. Jennings Trophy with a 1.97 GAA in 2006-07
Career curve: Despite his team’s dismal finish, Backstrom’s numbers actually spiked last season
Best guess: Win column benefits from injection of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter; re-signs for two or three years
Lubomir Visnovsky
Team: New York Islanders
2012-13 cap hit: $5.6 million
Bargaining chip: Career-high 68 points in 2010-11
Career curve: Languishing on an underachieving Ducks team, the journeyman’s roller-coaster career dipped a bit
Best guess: The gamble either stays healthy and asserts himself as a top-two d-man on the Island or gets shipped to a contender
Sergei Gonchar
Age: 38
Team: Ottawa Senators
2012-13 cap hit: $5.5 million
Bargaining chip: Four-time all-star, most recently in 2007-08
Career curve: Steady decline with age and loss of speed. Once a show-runner, is now a support player in Erik Karlsson Show
Best guess: Retires or signs for millions in KHL (or, encouraged by friend Evgeni Malkin, signs affordable one-year deal back in Pittsburgh for 2014 Cup shot)
Derek Roy
Team: Dallas Stars
Bargaining chip: Scored a career-high 32 goals in 2007-08
Career curve: Bad news is he’s coming off his worst full season; good news (sorta) is that it turns out he was hurt. Should respond well after surgery
Best guess: Gets another short-term shot in Dallas after playing only half a season
Mike Ribeiro
Team: Washington Capitals
2012-13 cap hit: $5 million
Bargaining chip: Career highs in goals (27) and points (83) in 2007-08
Career curve: Responded to decline by having a decent 2011-12 contract year
Best guess: Revived to 20-goal, 70-point status under tutelage of Adam Oates and power-play time with the Caps’ snipers, earns a three-year deal
Tim Thomas
Bargaining chip: Two-time Vezina Trophy winner in 2008-09 and 2010-11
Career curve: Fell off a cliff, charts-wise, by taking a sabbatical from hockey
Best guess: Some U.S.-based team will take a chance on signing the Olympic hopeful to a one-year deal, possibly the Colorado Avalanche
Michael Ryder
2012-13 cap hit: $3.5 million
Bargaining chip: Scored a career-high 35 goals in 2011-12
Career curve: Sharp peak since trade to Stars
Best guess: Stars and Ryder reach multi-year deal, as forward finds niche away from not-so-hockey-mad cities like Boston and Montreal
Daniel Alfredsson
Age: 39
2012-13 cap hit: $4.875 million
Bargaining chip: Ranks fourth among active players with 1,082 points
Career curve: Loved his senior role in 2011-12, hosting All-Star Game and returning to playoffs
Best guess: One last kick at the Gatorade bottle in 2012-13, then calls it a career at 40
Andy McDonald
Team: St. Louis Blues
2012-13 cap hit: $4.7 million
Bargaining chip: Set career highs in goals (34) and points (85) during the 2005-06 season
Career curve: Injuries have limited him to one full season since 2006-07, but was back to better than a point-per-game pace in the 2012 playoffs
Best guess: Re-signs short-term deal to remain in St. Louis, a team that has been patient with its talent
Jaromir Jagr
Age: 40
Position: Right Wing
2012-13 cap hit: $4.55 million
Bargaining chip: Four consecutive Art Ross trophies from 1998 to 2001
Career curve: Production and role declined in return to NHL after three KHL years
Best guess: Sees stats drop off even further without Claude Giroux on his line; struggles towards season’s end and goes back to KHL for swan song
Joffrey Lupul
Age: 28
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
2012-13 cap hit: $4.25 million
Bargaining chip: Set a career high with 67 points in 2011-12 while also making first All-Star Game appearance
Career curve: Dramatic upswing after playing only a fraction of three seasons
Best guess: Returns rested and ready, gets off to hot start and re-signs with significant raise
Ian White
Team: Detroit Red Wings
2012-13 cap hit: $2.875 million
Bargaining chip: Career-best plus-23 in 2011-12
Career curve: Big upswing. Finally healthy again, White excelled in Detroit’s system with support from now-retired Nicklas Lidstrom
Best guess: Forced to shoulder more responsibility on a Red Wings team blueline — thin for the first time in years, White re-signs with raise because the D needs D
Mark Streit
2012-13 cap hit: $4.1 million
Bargaining chip: Scored career-high 16 goals in 2008-09 while making his lone All-Star appearance
Career curve: Steady decline. Streit’s points decreased for the third straight year and was a dismal minus-27 in 2011-12
Best guess: Bounce-back season playing alongside Visnovsky ups his value; used as trade-deadline bait with a contender in need of an experienced d-man
Ryan Whitney
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Bargaining chip: Set career highs in goals (14) and points (59) in 2006-07
Career curve: Injury-plagued decline; hasn’t played more than 62 games since 2007-08
Best guess: The best playmaking defenceman the Oilers dress, will re-sign short-term
Ladislav Smid
2012-13 cap hit: $2.25 million
Bargaining chip: Career highs in goals (5) and points (15) in 2011-12
Career curve: Steady incline. Despite playing on one of the league’s worst teams, was a plus-4 and chopped his penalty minutes in half
Best guess: Re-sign long-term deal with significant raise; gets to develop alongside Oilers’ ridiculous forwards crop
Clarke MacArthur
2012-13 cap hit: $3.25 million
Bargaining chip: Consecutive 20-plus-goal seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12
Career curve: Cruising nicely in his prime
Best guess: Re-signs three-year deal in $4 million range
Teemu Selanne
Age: 42
2012-13 cap hit: $4.5 million
Bargaining chip: Scored 76 goals in 1992-1993 while taking home the Calder Memorial Trophy
Career curve: Ageless wonder continues to astound. Even in decline, he’s good for another 25 goals
Best guess: Calls it a career for real this time; awaits phone call from Hockey Hall of Fame
Kari Lehtonen
2012-13 cap hit: $3.55 million
Bargaining chip: Despite injury, his career-best .922 save percentage last season kept Dallas in the playoff hunt
Career curve: On the rise, improving his stats and Q-rating since leaving Atlanta
Best guess: Re-signs multi-year deal as Dallas’s No. 1 goaltender
