Poll: Which Non-Playoff Team Will Make It This Year?
This summer has seen many of the teams who missed the playoffs last year improve quite a bit. The Dallas Stars are the easy choice for most improved, after adding Ben Bishop, Alexander Radulov, Martin Hanzal and Marc Methot to an already talented core. They will push for a playoff spot next season, but are in a tough division with teams like Nashville and Minnesota not ready to give up their recent success.
Carolina has locked up some of their key young players and brought in Justin Williams and Trevor van Riemsdyk for some championship pedigree. They think they’ve found a top goaltender in Scott Darling, and should see improvement from many of their players.
Buffalo will welcome Jack Eichel back for a hopefully healthy season, and have revamped their defense by letting Cody Franson and Dmitry Kulikov go. Nathan Beaulieu, Marco Scandella, Viktor Antipin and Brendan Guhle could make that group much improved, and they have plenty of talent up front.
Many other teams have improved, while some like Vancouver are willing to complete a slower rebuild. Which of the non-playoff teams are most likely to get there this season? Vegas is included in the poll in their first season, and you can vote for as many teams as you want.
Which Non-Playoff Team Will Make It This Year?
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Dallas Stars 19% (282)
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Tampa Bay Lightning 19% (279)
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Carolina Hurricanes 13% (190)
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Vegas Golden Knights 9% (130)
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Buffalo Sabres 7% (111)
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Philadelphia Flyers 7% (107)
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Los Angeles Kings 6% (96)
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Winnipeg Jets 6% (89)
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New York Islanders 5% (72)
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New Jersey Devils 3% (42)
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Detroit Red Wings 2% (36)
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Arizona Coyotes 2% (26)
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Florida Panthers 2% (24)
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Vancouver Canucks 1% (13)
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Colorado Avalanche 1% (11)
Total votes: 1,508
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Poll: Who Will Be The Most Cost-Effective Free Agent Forward Signed This Year?
Free agency is often a place where teams around the league overpay for depth additions that have little impact on their team. Even the top free agents available are often given too many years and too much money, especially heading into their declining years. Arguments can be made against several big earners from last year, with Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo, David Backes and Loui Eriksson all struggling at times throughout the 2016-17 season. Each one is owed $6MM for at least four more seasons, carrying them into their mid-30s. While there were some good things to point out in each of their seasons, the contracts seem like they’ll be dragging their team down in just a few years.
On the other side though, there is the chance to get an incredible amount of production for extremely low prices if you’re willing to take a chance on another team’s castoff. Jon Marchessault signed with Florida for two years and just $1.5MM total, and proceded to put up a 30-goal season for the Panthers. Sam Gagner turned $650K into 50 points for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and a shiny new three-year deal with Vancouver this summer. There are bargains to be had every year, as long as you’re willing to take a chance.
This year, we’ve seen several aging veterans take extremely low-priced contracts after a buyout, and some restricted free agents hit the open market after not receiving a qualifying offer. Last year, Gagner and Marchessault easily paced the UFAs in terms of cost per point, but a 35-year old Radim Vrbata was great value even after factoring in the performance bonuses he earned.
So who will that title go to this year? Mike Cammalleri and Scott Hartnell are both getting just $1MM and can still play, while a player like Kenny Agostino could jump to the NHL and impress. There are also the remaining names like Jaromir Jagr and Thomas Vanek, who still don’t have a contract weeks into free agency. Vote below, and make sure you leave other options in the comments for people to discuss.
Who will be the most cost-effective UFA forward signed this year?
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Patrick Sharp 21% (129)
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Scott Hartnell 12% (74)
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Mike Cammalleri 11% (69)
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Jaromir Jagr 10% (62)
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Nail Yakupov 9% (56)
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Thomas Vanek 7% (44)
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Other 6% (35)
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Kenny Agostino 6% (34)
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Dominic Moore 5% (28)
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Alex Burmistrov 5% (28)
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Ales Hemsky 4% (27)
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David Desharnais 4% (27)
Total votes: 613
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Poll: Who Will Be The Top UFA In 2018?
The 2017 offseason is already at the point where people have started looking ahead. Despite big contracts still coming for Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Johansen and other restricted free agents, October can’t seem to come quick enough. Instead of ranking the top remaining free agents for this year (a poll that Jaromir Jagr won a few weeks ago) let’s look even further and start to project the summer of 2018.
Obviously, this is an extremely early version of this question as players will be re-signed, traded, and bought out within the next twelve months to make the hockey landscape completely different. Carey Price, once considered one of the top free agents for 2018 has already signed his huge extension, and most of the players on this list will join him.
That uncertainty should play a big role in your decision. Instead of just picking the top player on the list (which would make for a very boring poll in this case), decide who you think will actually get to free agency and be the top name on the market. Explain in the comments why you chose a certain player, or who else we needed to include in the poll.
Who will be the top UFA in 2018?
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John Tavares 66% (715)
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Evander Kane 5% (52)
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James van Riemsdyk 5% (50)
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John Carlson 4% (48)
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Cam Atkinson 4% (38)
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James Neal 3% (36)
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Rick Nash 3% (28)
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Patric Hornqvist 2% (21)
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Kyle Turris 1% (16)
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Mikko Koivu 1% (14)
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Tomas Tatar 1% (11)
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Brian Little 1% (10)
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Other 1% (10)
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Joe Thornton 1% (7)
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Josh Bailey 1% (7)
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Mikael Backlund 1% (6)
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Jonathan Marchessault 0% (5)
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Daniel Sedin 0% (4)
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Mike Green 0% (3)
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Henrik Sedin 0% (2)
Total votes: 1,083
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Poll: Who Is The Best Free Agent Left?
With the majority of the free agent class locked up, teams now have to turn their attention to the trade market to improve their team. That said, the Edmonton Oilers went out and signed a free agent today in Jussi Jokinen who can legitimately help their team next year.
There are still a few names out there that can make an impact. Out of our Top 50 Free Agents, 19 names remain available, though most would take on a fringe role on any team. Despite that, we ask you now: Who is the best free agent left on the market?
We’ve listed some of the names in our Top 50, and some names that have been added to the pool since then, but make sure to leave any other options you think should be considered in the comments.
Who is the best free agent left available?
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Jaromir Jagr 22% (386)
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Thomas Vanek 21% (356)
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Andrei Markov 17% (286)
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Cody Franson 13% (217)
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Mike Fisher 12% (212)
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Matt Cullen 7% (127)
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Drew Stafford 4% (73)
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Jarome Iginla 3% (45)
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Alex Chiasson 1% (24)
Total votes: 1,726
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Poll: Who Has Had The Best Offseason So Far?
Now most of the way through the third day of free agency, and several teams have made substantial upgrades to their teams. Kevin Shattenkirk, Alexander Radulov and Karl Alzner, our top 3 UFAs have all signed long-term deals with new teams, and others have made an impact on the trade market or with their restricted free agents.
So who has had the best offseason so far? Dallas has added several big names with Radulov joining Ben Bishop, Marc Methot and Martin Hanzal, while the New York Islanders found a winger for John Tavares and got a big return for Travis Hamonic. Montreal has added a top free agent, acquired a top line winger and locked up their franchise goaltender, while the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and acquired a boatload of draft picks.
Vote on who you think has had the best offseason so far, and make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below. With still lots of trade talk to come it could easily change, but let us know who you think got out to the early lead.
Who has had the best offseason so far?
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Dallas Stars 25% (497)
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New York Rangers 10% (212)
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Toronto Maple Leafs 6% (126)
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Buffalo Sabres 6% (125)
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Arizona Coyotes 6% (122)
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Calgary Flames 5% (110)
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St. Louis Blues 5% (101)
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Vegas Golden Knights 5% (94)
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Chicago Blackhawks 4% (78)
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New Jersey Devils 3% (65)
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Philadelphia Flyers 3% (59)
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Nashville Predators 3% (57)
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Pittsburgh Penguins 3% (55)
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New York Islanders 2% (36)
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Carolina Hurricanes 2% (32)
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Vancouver Canucks 2% (31)
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Montreal Canadiens 1% (29)
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Anaheim Ducks 1% (26)
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Winnipeg Jets 1% (26)
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Columbus Blue Jackets 1% (22)
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Minnesota Wild 1% (22)
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Tampa Bay Lightning 1% (21)
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Detroit Red Wings 1% (16)
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Washington Capitals 1% (16)
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Boston Bruins 1% (15)
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Los Angeles Kings 0% (9)
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Edmonton Oilers 0% (7)
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Colorado Avalanche 0% (6)
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Florida Panthers 0% (6)
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San Jose Sharks 0% (6)
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Ottawa Senators 0% (1)
Total votes: 2,028
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Poll: Which Coach Will Be Fired Next?
It’s been a hard year for NHL coaches, with Gerard Gallant, Ken Hitchcock, Claude Julien, Jack Capuano and Michel Therrien all being dismissed during the season and Darryl Sutter, Tom Rowe, Willie Desjardins and Lindy Ruff all getting axed soon after. Dan Bylsma is the latest bench boss to fall victim to his team’s underperformance, being fired today along with GM Tim Murray.
While many of the clubs have already installed replacements, there is still changes to be made around the NHL. Perhaps no more may come this summer, but you have to believe that heading into next season there are some seats feeling a bit warmer than they did this time last year. First round exits and an early tee time is sometimes just as painful for a GM to stomach as missing entirely.
As we saw in Buffalo, it doesn’t matter if you’ve won a Stanley Cup and Jack Adams award, if you haven’t done anything lately. Bylsma was shown the door after just two years—and a public relations nightmare with his star player—despite being given the worst team in the league and immediately improving it by 27 points (how much of that has to do with Bylsma is still up for debate). It’s a cruel league sometimes, and coaches are fired without warning.
Who do you think will be next on the NHL chopping block? We’ve left out the coaches who have been hired mid-season or later, but if you think it will be one of them make sure you explain your choice in the comments below.
Which Coach Will Be Fired Next?
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Jared Bednar - Colorado Avalanche 16% (129)
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Paul Maurice - Winnipeg Jets 13% (108)
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Dave Hakstol - Philadelphia Flyers 9% (72)
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Jeff Blashill - Detroit Red Wings 8% (67)
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Dave Tippett - Arizona Coyotes 7% (60)
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John Hynes - New Jersey Devils 7% (60)
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Joel Quenneville - Chicago Blackhawks 7% (58)
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Bruce Boudreau - Minnesota Wild 5% (41)
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Barry Trotz - Washington Capitals 5% (41)
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Glen Gulutzan - Calgary Flames 5% (40)
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Alain Vigneault - New York Rangers 4% (35)
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Jon Cooper - Tampa Bay Lightning 3% (25)
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Bill Peters - Carolina Hurricanes 3% (22)
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John Tortorella - Columbus Blue Jackets 2% (18)
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Mike Babcock - Toronto Maple Leafs 1% (12)
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Guy Boucher - Ottawa Senators 1% (6)
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Todd McLellan - Edmonton Oilers 1% (5)
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Peter DeBoer - San Jose Sharks 0% (4)
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Randy Carlyle - Anaheim Ducks 0% (2)
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Peter Laviolette - Nashville Predators 0% (2)
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Mike Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins 0% (1)
Total votes: 808
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