Headlines

  • Wild Sign Marcus Foligno To Four-Year Extension
  • Minnesota Wild Sign Mats Zuccarello To Two-Year Extension
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy Out Two Months After Back Surgery
  • Calgary Flames Extend Mikael Backlund; Name Him Captain
  • Buffalo Sabres Showing Interest In Patrick Kane
  • Brad Marchand Named 27th Captain In Boston History
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Market Quiet For Veteran Defensemen

July 7, 2018 at 7:15 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Over one hundred free agents have signed a contract with a new team already this off-season. Of that group, just three of those signings are defenseman over the age of 30: the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jack Johnson, the Vegas Golden Knights’ Nick Holden, and the Dallas Stars’ Roman Polak. While veteran goaltenders and forwards continue to garner major interest on the open market and land substantial contracts, it seems defenders of the same age and experience are not being valued similarly across the league. With the NHL trending more toward a speed and finesse game, older blue liners who depend on positional awareness and seasoned checking ability may no longer be able to compete for jobs with younger players at the position with fresh legs and an open mind.

Of PHR’s Top 50 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents, only nine remain unsigned. Two of those nine players – Rick Nash and Kris Versteeg – may not return to playing pro hockey. Of the seven remaining players, three are defenseman over the age of 30: Dan Hamhuis (#24), Toby Enstrom (#37), and Alexei Emelin (#42).  Good veteran defensemen are out there and make up some of the best available players, but are simply not drawing the interest that was expected. Other unsigned names include Brooks Orpik, Johnny Oduya, Kevin Bieksa, Dennis Seidenberg, Kyle Quincey, Paul Martin, Josh Gorges, and Jason Garrison, none of whom have made considerable noise on the rumor mill. 32-year-old Taylor Chorney even moved on to Switzerland due to a stagnant market for older defensemen.

Will several of these names sign an NHL contract prior to next season? Yes, however it’s unlikely that the majority will find meaningful employment if they haven’t already at this point in the summer. Of the remaining names, the most likely to land jobs are those closer to 30 without as much wear and tear on their bodies. The three players who have already found jobs – Johnson, Holden, and Polak – are all 32 or under. Emelin and Quincey at 32 have good odds, as do Enstrom and Gorges at 33. It would also be a major surprise if 35-year-old Hamhuis went unsigned. However, it would not be a shock to see only those five land a deal. This is a free agent market saturated in experienced, capable veteran defensemen, but few who can keep up with the NHL’s current pace of play. As a result, the supply greatly outweighs the demand and the free agent market for older blue liners could continue to remain quiet.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Dallas Stars| Pittsburgh Penguins| Players Alexei Emelin| Brooks Orpik| Dan Hamhuis| Dennis Seidenberg| Jack Johnson| Jason Garrison| Johnny Oduya| Josh Gorges| Kevin Bieksa| Kris Versteeg| Nick Holden| Paul Martin| Vegas Golden Knights

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Barkov, Canadiens
Main
San Jose Sharks Promote Tim Burke To Assistant GM
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Wild Sign Marcus Foligno To Four-Year Extension

    Minnesota Wild Sign Mats Zuccarello To Two-Year Extension

    Andrei Vasilevskiy Out Two Months After Back Surgery

    Calgary Flames Extend Mikael Backlund; Name Him Captain

    Buffalo Sabres Showing Interest In Patrick Kane

    Brad Marchand Named 27th Captain In Boston History

    Ducks Remain Far Apart In Negotiations With Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale

    Montreal Canadiens Acquire Tanner Pearson

    Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Calen Addison

    Brayden Schenn Named St. Louis Blues Captain

    Recent

    Evening Notes: Hartman, Zuccarello, Islanders/Rangers

    Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/23

    Atlantic Notes: Pinto, Senators, Brown

    Avalanche Notes: Toews, Makar, Holland

    Wild Sign Marcus Foligno To Four-Year Extension

    Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

    Golden Knights Rule Out Zach Whitecloud For Rest Of Preseason

    Waivers: 9/29/23

    Blue Jackets Claim Spencer Martin Off Waivers From Canucks

    Injury Notes: Guentzel, Klingberg, Olivier

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version