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Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild

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The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs, kicking and screaming. They lost 5 in a row to end the season before losing their first round series versus the Dallas Stars in 6 games. Head Coach Mike Yeo was fired in February, replaced by John Torchetti.

Cap space: $7.56MM, 15 players under contract

Key RFAs: Defenceman Matt Dumba – The 7th overall pick in 2012 broke out this season, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists in 81 games. He averaged just under 17 minutes per game. Dumba was also solid for Canada’s gold-medal-winning squad at the World Championships. The Wild should be able to get him under contract for a bridge deal and let him prove himself before committing to a longer term deal.

Other RFAs: G Darcy Kuemper, C Jordan Schroeder, W Jason Zucker, and C Zac Dalpe

Key UFAs: None

Other UFAs: RW David Jones, RW Justin Fontaine, C Jarret Stoll, LW Ryan Carter, LW Chris Porter

Outlook: Bruce Boudreau is taking over the head coaching job. The former Ducks and Capitals coach has had tremendous success in the regular season, but has been unable to translate that to a Stanley Cup. The former member of the WHA’s Minnesota Fighting Saints has lead his teams to 8 division titles in 10 seasons as a head coach.

The Wild may look to trade or buy out inconsistent winger Thomas Vanek this summer. Vanek is entering the last year of his contract, worth $6.5MM per season. A buyout would cost the Wild $1.5MM this season and $2.5MM next season. Vanek was a healthy scratch at times last season, but did score 41 points last season. The Wild may want to keep their powder dry and hope he bounces back.

Minnesota will look to add some more offence this off-season. Possible targets include big center David Backes or St. Paul-native Kyle Okposo.

The Wild have 4 selections in the 2016 draft, and two of them are 7th round picks. Besides the 15th overall pick, the Wild have their own fourth and seventh round picks and the Panthers seventh from the Sean Bergenheim trade.

Rugged winger Alex Tuch, the team’s 18th overall pick in 2014, is leaving Boston College and will begin playing pro. He’ll likely see time with the Iowa Wild in the AHL.

 

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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The 2015-2016 Detroit Red Wings were a team in transition. Jeff Blashill took over a team that on paper, looked ready to build on their performance from 2014-2015 where they nearly upset eventual Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay. Instead, the Red Wings were an inconsistent bunch, struggling mightily on the power play, especially in the playoffs, and searching for an identity between their storied past, and their dynamic future, which includes budding superstar Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings were bounced in five games by the Lightning in the first round, and general manager Ken Holland found himself facing a restless fanbase and crucial offseason.

Cap Space: $11,073,789 according to CapFriendly. This number will change if Pavel Datsyuk’s contract is moved to another team. Additionally, the Red Wings are looking at a number of trades to free up room. 

Key UFAs: Darren Helm. The 29-year-old center has been with the Red Wings for his entire career, first making an impact during the Wings 2008 Stanley Cup run. Helm has blazing speed and is a huge factor on the penalty kill. After having a career year in 2014-2015,  Helm posted numbers a bit below with 26 points. (13-13). The Red Wings expected Helm to show a consistency in scoring, but the lack of a scoring touch has been missing from Helm’s game, especially on breakaways. Helm has already been offered a contract, but with the emergence of speedster Andreas Athanasiou and Larkin, Helm’s loss wouldn’t be devastating should they not come to terms.

Other UFAs Forwards Brad Richards, Drew Miller, and Joakim Andersson. Defenseman Kyle Quincey.

Key RFAs: D Danny DeKeyser, and G Petr Mrazek.  DeKeyser was expected to be a top 4 defenseman in Detroit and might be paid as such. With Niklas Kronwall aging, and the core of Detroit’s defense disappointing, DeKeyser is seen as a steady presence who can log more minutes. Mrazek is a completely different case. With over $5.2MM invested in Jimmy Howard, Mrazek is widely seen as the #1 goalie in Detroit and will be compensated as such. The Red Wings have already started shopping Howard to free up money for Mrazek. The 23-year-old Czech was stellar between the pipes, and is seen as the caliber of a goalie who can steal games. In the regular season, Mrazek won 27 games and had a .921 save percentage.

Other RFAs: F Teemu Pulkkinen, D Alexey Marchenko.

For several seasons now, Ken Holland has swung and missed with trades and free agency. The Red Wings are no longer the dominant team they once were, and are clearly in transition with young players like Athanasiou, Larkin, and Anthony Mantha looking to take over. Holland vowed to make changes. His first order of business will be determining what to do with Datsyuk’s contract.  After that, the pressure is on Holland to reshape the roster into one that will bring the Red Wings back to dominance.

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers again amassed over 100 points and made the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year in 2015-16, going 46-27-9 and just edging out the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan division.  What that won them was a matchup with the eventual Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.  As they head into the summer, they have some big questions to answer all over their club, with only 14 players under contract at the moment.

Key Restricted Free Agents: There isn’t just a single RFA that the Rangers need to worry about, there is a trio of them. LW Chris Kreider, C Kevin Hayes and RW J.T. Miller are all arbitration eligible and due for substantial raises this summer, after scoring 57 goals between them. Miller led the pack with 22 including five game winners, and racked up 43 points (tied with Kreider).

The Rangers may have some trouble with the expansion draft next year, as these three will all need protection along with Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello which will put at risk some of their other young players like Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg, even if they leave Rick Nash unprotected. It will be even more strained if they decide to sign any big name free agent forward, most of which would demand a NMC to come to New York.

Other RFAs: Dylan McIlrath

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: D Keith Yandle – The top blueliner on the UFA market this summer, Yandle is going to command a huge salary and will have teams lining up to offer it. After coming over in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes in 2014-15, Yandle has been one of the better defencemen in the league, putting up 58 points in a Rangers uniform.

The 29-year old will head into free agency after completing a five-year $26.25MM dollar contract he signed with the Coyotes in 2011. That cap-hit of $5.25MM is sure to go up this summer when teams bang down his door looking for a #1 defenceman. Over the last five seasons, Yandle has the 5th most points of any defenceman in the league, only trailing Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban, Dustin Byfuglien, and Shea Weber – all of whom are earning at least $7MM next year.

Other UFAs: Dan Boyle, Eric Staal, Viktor Stalberg, Dominic Moore

Projected Cap Space: $15.33MM, 14 players under contract.

Losing Yandle and Boyle from their blueline doesn’t look good for the Rangers, who won’t have much room for free agents after the deals for their RFAs. With Dan Girardi and Marc Staal both taking a lot of heat for their poor possession numbers, the team might be in trouble defensively next season. The Penguins exploited it in the playoffs, and with Henrik Lundqvist another year older he may not be able to bail them out as much in 2015-16.

The deal for Eric Staal ended up not working out very well for the club, as he scored just six points for the club down the stretch before being held scoreless in the playoffs. Carolina has already made good use of one of the picks, dealing it to Chicago as the main piece in the Teuvo Teravainen deal two days ago.

If the team is to get back to the playoffs they’ll have to rely on their speed and skill up front, unless they make a move to shore up that back end. Look for teams to start kicking the tires on those young forwards, trying to entice one or two of them out of the Big Apple, and into their system.

Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

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The New York Islanders got back to the postseason in 2015-16, making it two straight years they’ve gotten there. The John Capuano coached team went 45-27-10 in the regular season, and advanced past the Florida Panthers before getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. As superstar John Tavares continues to crawl toward his eventual free agency – he has two remaining seasons at $5.5MM – the team has quite a few big names to worry about this offseason.  Here’s a look at their upcoming free agents:

Key Restricted Free Agent: C Ryan Strome – The elder Strome brother and former 5th overall pick, Ryan had a somewhat disappointing season for the Isles this year. After putting up 17 goals and 50 points in his sophomore year in 2014-15, Strome only collected 28 this season while seeing less powerplay time and experiencing a drop-off in possession metrics.

Strome will turn 23 in less than a month, and is coming off his entry-level contract; he’ll be looking for a bridge deal like the one Nazem Kadri signed in 2013.  While Kadri was coming off a stronger season, he didn’t have as much history in the league as Strome does now. That deal lasted two years at $2.9MM, and while Strome might not hit that mark he’s expected to get over $2MM.

Other RFAs: Alan Quine, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: RW Kyle Okposo – After putting up a huge season, Okposo is in line for a big pay raise. The former seventh overall pick put up 64 points in 79 games, continuing what has been very strong play since 2013-14. He’s racked up 184 points during that time, ranking him 17th overall in PPG over that span among players with at least 50 GP. Coming in ahead of players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews, Okposo is going to get a huge contract this offseason.

As reported earlier today, it looks like the Islanders are set to move on from the winger, with GM Garth Snow wishing him luck in the future. For the team, they’ll be losing their second highest scorer and a player who has been a big part of the turnaround in New York. With the third highest, center Frans Nielsen, also being a UFA this summer the Isles are at risk of losing a substantial part of their offense on July 1st.

Other UFA: Nielsen, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Brian Strait, Marek Zidlicky

Projected Cap Space: $13MM, 18 players under contract.

While the Islanders seem to have their defense corps set up for next year, their forward group will have to rely on some young talent stepping up if they don’t make any big free agent splashes. 24-year old Brock Nelson put up an impressive 26 goals and will be expected to take on an even bigger role with the departures of Okposo and Nielsen.

The goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss performed admirably this season, but the team may look to move one of them at some point, with Greiss entering his final contract year and Halak only with two remaining.  As they both enter their thirties, the team may look to move on as they have a number of solid prospects in the system.

Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings

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After getting back to the playoffs following a disappointing 2014-15 campaign, the Kings weren’t able to go far as they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist San Jose Sharks in the first round.  GM Dean Lombardi will have his work cut out for him if he wants to bring everyone back for next season.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Derek Forbort – The Kings’ first round pick in 2010 used up the last of his waiver exemption last year, a season where he was up and down between Los Angeles and AHL Ontario.  He has progressed slowly in his development but should be viewed as the seventh defenceman heading into next season as things stand.  He’s coming off his entry-level deal with a cap hit of $863,333 and might be wise to accept an NHL pay cut for more guaranteed money in an effort to aid his chances of making the opening night lineup.

Other NHL RFA’s: F Nic Dowd

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: W Milan Lucic was LA’s key offseason acquisition and they managed to fit him under the cap as a result of Boston picking up $2.75MM of his $6MM cap hit.  That luxury won’t be there this offseason and the power forward is set to be one of the top forwards available on the market.  The Kings have already expressed an interest in re-signing him but Lucic may have to take a pay cut for that to happen.

W Kris Versteeg was added at the trade deadline for added offensive depth and produced relatively well, picking up 4 goals in in 14 regular season games after being acquired.  Coming off a $4.7MM salary, he will probably be too pricey for the Kings to bring back.  G Jhonas Enroth did a fine job as the backup goalie but if they want to keep Lucic, he too may be too expensive to keep around even if the asking price is close to the $1.25MM he earned last year.

Other NHL UFA’s: F Trevor Lewis, D Jamie McBain, D Luke Schenn

Cap Situation: The Kings sit less than $4MM under the cap, according to Cap Friendly though that number would increase if the cap goes up.  They don’t have many holes to fill on their roster though, just a backup goalie and perhaps one more forward.

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

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It’s going to be another painful summer in Chicago, but this time, there’s no Stanley Cup to soothe fans. On Tuesday, the Blackhawks traded promising young forward Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to dump the salary of Bryan Bickell.

It was a mixed-bag of a season in the Windy City. The team’s Championship defence started out with star forward Patrick Kane under investigation for allegedly raping a woman at his New York home. The charges were later dropped. Kane teamed up with rookie Artemi Panarin to score a career-high 106 points and win the Art Ross Trophy. Panarin, in his first NHL season after six years in the KHL, finished in the top 10 scorers in the league. The Blackhawks finished third in the tightly-contested Central Division and lost to rival St. Louis Blues in 7 games.

Projected Cap Space: $8.4MM, 16 players under contract.

Key Restricted Free Agents: Andrew Shaw – the pesky forward scored 34 points this season, the second highest total of his career. He’s coming off a controversial playoffs where he was suspended for using a homophobic slur towards a referee after making an inappropriate hand gesture. Shaw has been a favourite of coach Joel Quenneville, but was doubtful to return before Tuesday’s trade. Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus reported that the Blackhawks fully expect to be able to re-sign Shaw. Expect the deal to be for 3 or more years north of $3MM per.

Other RFAs: Dennis Rasmussen 

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise – the pair of wingers were acquired at the trade deadline as the Blackhawks loaded up for a Cup run. Both players are expected to test the open market as Chicago doesn’t have cap space to sign either at close to their market-value.

Other UFAs: Christian Ehrhoff, Tomas Fleischmann, Michael Leighton, Brandon Mashinter, Michal Rosival.

Outlook: The Blackhawks need at least 5 forwards, a couple defensemen, and a third string goalie. Don’t expect any of those players to have a salary above $1MM.

With $48.78MM invested in their 7-player core of Jonathon Toews, Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Corey Crawford, money is going to be tight to re-sign Shaw, round out their roster, and prepare for Panarin’s new contract next season.

With regards to the expected expansion draft next summer, the Blackhawks do not have much to worry about, as they will be able to protect all their important pieces. Chicago does not have a first round pick in the upcoming draft.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers saw drastic improvement in 2015-16, winning the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record. They made the playoffs for just the second time this century, but lost in six games to the New York Islanders. The team was well-rounded, with young forwards Sasha Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, and Jonathan Huberdeau learning under legend Jaromir Jagr up front and franchise defenceman Aaron Ekblad developing nicely on the back-end. Veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo turned in an All-Star performance.

Despite winning their first ever division title on the backs of their young talent, the Panthers fired their head scout in May. Scott Luce had been with the team since 2003. The team also promoted GM Dale Tallon to President of Hockey Operations and replaced him Tom Rowe, the associate GM. The team also made a pair of intriguing trades, sending tough D Erik Gudbranson to Vancouver for picks and getting rid of the contract of Marc Savard.

Projected Cap Space: $20.8MM, 18 players under contract

Key Restricted Free Agent: Vincent Trochek enjoyed a tremendous break-out season with 53 points in 76 games. His 25 goals were tied with Reilly Smith for second most on the Panthers. The two-way centre missed the end of the regular season with a fractured fibula. He returned for game 5 of the post-season, posting a single assist in two losses.

The undersized Trochek will likely be looking for a similar, if not bigger, contract to the one Riley Sheahan signed today.

Other RFAs: Quinton Howden, Greg McKegg

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Defenceman Brian Campbell is no longer the top-pairing offensive dynamo he once was. But he’s still a dependable second or third pairing option to mentor the Panthers young defence core. He’s also in line for a significant pay cut from the $7.142MM annual salary he’s made since 2008.

Other pending UFA Jaromir Jagr has already been extended for another season.

Other Unrestricted Free Agents: Captain Willie Mitchell (retiring), rental wingers Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler, and backup goaltender Al Montoya.

The team will be looking for a taker for underperforming centre Dave Bolland, who scored just 5 points in 25 games last season but is making $5.5MM per season until 2019. Any trade involving Bolland would require a big sweetener, so a buyout is more likely. His health is also a potential roadblock in either case.

As well, the Panthers will be looking to acquire another goaltender. The 37-year-old Luongo has played 129 games in the last two seasons, so a solid young goaltender who can play 30 games would ease the workload and allow Luongo to be fresher for the playoffs.

Last year’s 11th overall pick, young power forward Lawson Crouse is expected to be given a long, hard look in training camp, but the team may also choose to acquire a winger to replace trade deadline rentals Purcell and Hudler.

The Panthers have plenty of cap space and new management looking to make a splash. However, new GM Tom Rowe must be wary of cap space heading into next off-season, with 11 players coming off the books including Ekblad, Smith, Huberdeau, Jagr, Dmitry Kulikov, and Alex Petrovic.

Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks

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After a disappointing first round exit that cost head coach Bruce Boudreau his job, the Anaheim Ducks will be looking to get back to Stanley Cup contention in 2016-17, and take the division crown for the fifth consecutive season.  While their ’big-3’ up front, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler, are locked up long term, the team has quite a few young players looking for raises as they hit restricted free agency. Here’s a look at their upcoming offseason:

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Hampus Lindholm – While you could pick from a handful of names for the Ducks’ key RFA this summer, Lindholm represents the most important out of all of them. After being selected 6th overall by Anaheim in the 2012 draft, Lindholm has continued to improve on his defensive ability, reaching all new heights this season.  While his usual excellent +/- numbers dipped slightly due to playing against tougher competition, he logged 22 minutes a night leading one of the youngest and most effective blue lines in the league.

His possession metrics are unbelievable, coming fourth in the league in CF% (a measure of puck possession based on shots for and against) only behind the excellent Los Angeles group. Lindholm improved the possession numbers of every single teammate he played with, providing Lidstrom-like efficiency on the back end. While he may never put up Karlsson or Burns type offensive numbers, his value is certainly felt by his teammates and front office.

Coming off his entry level contract and still only 22, Lindholm could get a long-term extension similar to the one Morgan Rielly received last month from Toronto. The Maple Leaf defender signed a six-year $30MM dollar deal to stay in Toronto, giving away two of his UFA years to lock in the higher value now.

Other RFAs: G Frederik Andersen, D Sami Vatanen, C Rickard Rakell, W Brandon Pirri

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: LW Jamie McGinn – When the Ducks acquired Jamie McGinn from the Sabres in late February of this year, they thought they were getting a nice two-way player who could chip in a few goals for them down the stretch.  What they got was 8 goals and 12 points in 21 games, landing him career highs in both categories and putting him back in the valued 20-goal club.

As he hits free agency this year he arrives with the fifth most goals available on the open market, ahead of players expected to get big deals like David Backes and Milan Lucic. While his point totals aren’t as high, his relative youth – McGinn won’t turn 28 until August 5th – and solid goal scoring ability should land him a multi-year deal somewhere.  Whether the Ducks can give him that isn’t quite clear.

With Lindholm, Andersen, Vatanen and Rakell all needing deals, the Ducks may just let McGinn walk away if he gets too pricey. After earning $2.95MM over the last two seasons he’ll be looking for a deal close to $4MM for at least three seasons.

Other UFAs: W David Perron, W Chris Stewart, C Shawn Horcoff, C Mike Santorelli, D Korbinian Holzer,

Projected Cap Space: $18.1MM, 15 players under contract.

The Ducks have a fair bit to worry about over the next year, as they are at risk of losing one of their good young defencemen in next year’s expansion draft. With Kevin Bieksa requiring protection due to his NMC, three of Lindholm, Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson and Simon Despres will be left exposed as it currently stands. While there is no clear way to get around this without crippling your blueline, the team may choose to deal the more valuable pieces before the draft next season. For now, their focus will be on getting them under contract.

Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

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After a season that saw the Dallas Stars lead the Western Conference with 109 points, and be one of only two teams to record 50 wins, they have a long offseason in front of them if they’re to keep the strong core in tact. On the backs of superstars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, they easily led the NHL in goals, hitting the twine 267 times in 2015-16. Here is a look at their upcoming offseason:

Key Restricted Free Agent: RW Valeri Nichushkin – Unfortunately for the Stars, it’s not the restricted free agents that are going to cause them headaches this summer it’s the eight UFAs they’ll see leave them. They do, however have one very important RFA in Valeri Nichushkin, the Russian powerhouse selected in the first round (10th overall) of the 2013 entry draft.

After putting up 14 goals and 34 points as an 18-year old after being drafted, the winger missed almost all of 2014-15 with a hip injury that needed corrective surgery.  This season the now 21-year old was back on a strong development path, putting up 29 points coming off injury. His 6’4″, 205 pound frame is a scout’s dream when it comes with at least average skating ability, and Nichushkin has shown he can keep up in the NHL. While the idea of him hitting the ice alongside Benn and Seguin might still be another year away, he played well when paired with Jason Spezza this season, and will look to continue his development into a top-flight power forward in the league.

Other RFAs: Jamie Oleksiak

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Alex Goligoski, D Jason Demers, D Kris Russell – Somehow the Stars have three excellent defenders 30 or under hitting free agency this offseason, and are expected to lose at least two of them if not all three.  They still have John Klingberg and Johnny Oduya under contract for next season at $4.25MM and $3.75MM respectively, but might not be able to keep up with the bidding war that the trio will command.  Other than Keith Yandle in New York, these three represent the best young defense options on the market this summer.

With Jamie Benn set to become a UFA in 2017, the Stars will be trying to keep some room under the cap to extend him long-term. He’ll be looking to jump from his current $5.25MM salary to somewhere around $10MM, and with Patrick Sharp and Ales Hemsky becoming UFAs at the same time, the Stars might not have the room to commit long term to more than one of the d-men.

Other UFAs: Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Eaves, Jordie Benn, Colton Sceviour, Travis Moen

Projected Cap Space: $13.75MM, 16 players under contract.

Overall, the Stars have a little bit of money to play with but have to be very careful where they put it, as the mentioned names are coming up next season.  With Jason Spezza earning $7.5MM a season over the next three years, the team will have over $20 million locked into three players if they indeed extend Benn. With the cap looking like it will hold steady for at least a couple of seasons, putting almost a third of your budget in three players is a risky proposition – just ask the Chicago Blackhawks who had to give up Teuvo Teravainen earlier today because of their cap mismanagement.

Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues

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While the St. Louis Blues were able to advance to the Western Conference Final, they still fell short of getting to the Stanley Cup Final, instead falling to San Jose in the third round.  Now, they will retool their roster in an effort to take that next step.

One area they have already made some considerable changes in is behind the bench.  Assistant coaches Kirk Muller and Brad Shaw opted to decline one year extension offers; Muller has already signed a multi-year deal in Montreal.  Yesterday, the Blues replaced them with Mike Yeo and Rick Wilson.  With head coach Ken Hitchcock set to retire following 2016-17, Yeo will take his place as the bench boss at that time.

As for their player personnel, here is a closer look at their free agent outlook.

Key Restricted Free Agent: W Jaden Schwartz – Big things were expected of Schwartz this past season but missed nearly four months with an ankle injury that held him to just 33 regular season games.  He managed to put up 22 points but that was still off his point-per-game average of 0.84 from 2014-15.  Schwartz was a bigger factor in the Blues’ playoff run, tying for third in team scoring with 14 points in 20 games.  He’s coming off his bridge deal and is due a qualifying offer of $2.7MM.  It’s expected that GM Doug Armstrong will be seeking a long-term deal to keep him in the fold.

Other NHL RFA’s: W Dmitrij Jaskin, W Magnus Paajarvi

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Team captain David Backes has been one of St. Louis’ more consistent producers over the last few seasons, scoring at least 20 goals in each of the last five full NHL campaigns while tying Schwartz for third in postseason points.  He’s also one of the rare ‘power centers’ in the NHL and is going to get a long-term, big money contract.

Troy Brouwer was acquired last offseason to bring more grit to the lineup and he delivered not only that but some secondary scoring as well, picking up 39 points in 82 regular season games while adding eight goals in the playoffs, good for second best on the team.  Power forwards are always in high demand on the market and Brouwer will be no exception.

Other NHL UFA’s: C Kyle Brodziak, C Steve Ott, W Scottie Upshall

One other player to watch for this offseason is C Vladimir Sobotka.  He was awarded a $2.725MM salary in 2014 from an arbitrator but opted to play in the KHL instead.  Sobotka is reportedly considering coming back across the pond to rejoin the Blues and if he does, will receive the salary he was awarded two years ago; he must play out that contract before being eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Projected Cap Space: St. Louis has just over $12MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly.  However, they still have a minimum of five forwards to get under contract which will make it difficult to retain Backes or Brouwer without freeing up some salary via trade beforehand.

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