Headlines

  • Canadiens Discussing Extension For Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton
  • Mathew Barzal Ready For Islanders Training Camp
  • 2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters
  • Flyers Trade Ivan Fedotov To Blue Jackets
  • Blackhawks Sign Spencer Knight To Three-Year Extension
  • Kings’ Corey Perry Undergoes Knee Surgery
  • 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
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • 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
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Profile: Kris Versteeg

August 4, 2018 at 2:48 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Kris Versteeg has been a quietly productive secondary scorer in recent years but has had difficulty securing contracts on the open market for the most part.  That happens to be the case again this time around as more than a month into free agency, he’s still looking for a deal.

Interestingly enough, last summer was the lone time he was able to sign early, inking an extension to stay with Calgary.  The one-year, $1.75MM deal seemed to make plenty of sense as he was coming off a season that saw him produce 15 goals and 22 assists in just 69 games in 2016-17.

Unfortunately for Versteeg and the Flames, last season didn’t go quite as swimmingly.  He picked up a respectable eight points through the first 22 games before suffering a hip injury.  He underwent surgery which kept him out of the lineup until mid-March.  After that, he got into two games and then was sat down for the remainder of the year as the hip problems continued.

When healthy, Versteeg can help add some production from the middle six and he has been an effective player on the man advantage quite recently.  However, questions about his health certainly isn’t helping his cause this offseason.

Potential Suitors

There are a few scenarios that make sense for Versteeg.  A contending team that’s tight to the salary cap may have interest in him as extra depth or injury insurance.  It also helps that he’s eligible for a one-year deal with performance bonuses as he spent 104 days on IR last season and has over 400 games of NHL experience.  Rebuilding teams may also have interest in him as a buffer player to allow a prospect some more time to develop in the minors before trying to flip Versteeg closer to the trade deadline.

In the first group, the Penguins, Lightning, and Capitals fit as teams expected to contend that have limited cap space.  Pittsburgh’s depth is at center and it’s likely that at least one of their bottom-six options will go to the wing so they may not be a great fit.  Tampa and Washington have several cheap forwards rounding out their roster and a healthy Versteeg could represent an upgrade. As for rebuilding teams that could use him early and flip him later, the Senators and Rangers come to mind if they want some insurance for one of their youngsters (or even simply want some competition in training camp).

Projected Contract

Versteeg was ranked 47th on our Top 50 UFA list with a projected one-year, $1MM contract.  There’s still a good chance he gets a deal around that mark although he may have to take some of that in the form of performance bonuses, likely games played related.  A training camp PTO could be a reasonable outcome as well as teams may want to wait until they have a better idea if he has fully recovered from his hip troubles.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Free Agency Kris Versteeg

PHR Mailbag: Offseason Moves, Blues, Maple Leafs, Trouba, Letang, Seattle
Main
Sabres Notes: Botterill, Skinner, Reinhart, Smith, Okposo
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Canadiens Discussing Extension For Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton

    Mathew Barzal Ready For Islanders Training Camp

    2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters

    Flyers Trade Ivan Fedotov To Blue Jackets

    Blackhawks Sign Spencer Knight To Three-Year Extension

    Kings’ Corey Perry Undergoes Knee Surgery

    Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Marc-Andre Fleury To PTO

    Carter Hart, Others Found Not Guilty In Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial

    Jets’ Adam Lowry Continues To Recover From Hip Surgery

    Blues Sign Justin Carbonneau, Nikita Susuev

    Recent

    Snapshots: Necas, Maccelli, Blue Jackets Invites

    Evening Notes: Canadiens Additions, Fedotov, Andersson

    Islanders Notes: Duclair, Horvat, Barzal, Varlamov

    Denton Mateychuk, Four Others Injured To Start Blue Jackets Training Camp

    Canadiens Discussing Extension For Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton

    Mathew Barzal Ready For Islanders Training Camp

    Hall Of Fame Goaltender Ed Giacomin Passes Away At 86

    2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters

    Canadiens Expect Kirby Dach To Be Ready For Start Of Season

    Which Defensemen Should The Red Wings Target?

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth 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

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Rasmus Andersson Rumors
    • Erik Karlsson Rumors
    • Rickard Rakell Rumors
    • Bryan Rust Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • PTO Tracker 2025
    • Summer Synopsis Series 2025
    • Training Camp Rosters 2025
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls

     

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

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

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version