Here's a look at 30 of the top UFAs still on the market:
FORWARDS | ||||
NAME | 2011-12 TEAM | STATS | SKINNY | |
Shane Doan | Phoenix | 79 GP 22-28-50 | Longtime Phoenix captain says he has a deal worked out to stay in the desert after the team's ownership situation is resolved. | |
Kristian Huselius | Columbus | 2 GP 0-0-0 | Injuries wiped out most of 2010-11 and almost all of last season for 33-year-old after he averaged 26 goals from 2006-07 through 2009-10 | |
Jason Arnott | St. Louis | 72 GP 17-17-34 | He's now 37 and isn't the offensive force he used to be, but the 400-goal scorer is still capable of providing points and leadership | |
Tom Kostopoulos | Calgary | 81 GP 4-8-12 | Feisty fourth-line forward gives everything he's got, will stand up for teammates and even contribute a little bit offensively | |
Mike Knuble | Washington | 72 GP 6-12-18 | 40-year-old forward is looking for a new home after dropping from 24 goals in '10-11 to six this past season | |
Tomas Holmstrom | Detroit | 74 GP 11-13-24 | The 39-year-old isn't the scoring force he once was, but he remains an unmovable force in front of the net on the power play | |
Andrew Brunette | Chicago | 78 GP 12-15-27 | Soon-to-be 39-year-old may have a tough time finding a new home; he scored only 12 goals and 27 points last season after scoring 22, 25 and 18 goals in the previous three seasons | |
Jason Blake | Anaheim | 45 GP 7-5-12 | Now 38, Blake is coming off a serious injury and his worst offensive season in a decade | |
Mathieu Darche | Montreal | 61 GP 5-7-12 | Late-blooming 35-year-old's offensive production dropped sharply in '11-12 | |
Jochen Hecht | Buffalo | 22 GP 4-4-8 | 35-year-old German forward is a reliable checker who can contribute offensively but missed most of last season with concussion-related problems | |
Brian Rolston | Boston | 70 GP 7-17-24 | The 39-year-old was reinvigorated when he landed with the Bruins last season, scoring 15 points in 21 games | |
Daymond Langkow | Phoenix | 73 GP 11-19-30 | 35-year-old center has 1,090 NHL games and 270 goals on his resume, but is no longer a top-six forward | |
Dominic Moore | San Jose | 79 GP 4-21-25 | Veteran center just turned 32 and figures to be headed for 10th NHL team. He's still useful as a role player in the right situation. | |
Radek Dvorak | Dallas | 73 GP 4-17-21 | Still a useful third-liner and checker who can contribute a little offense as he approaches 1,200 games played | |
Petr Sykora | New Jersey | 82 GP 21-23-44 | Made Devils at camp and proved his scoring touch hadn't disappeared |
DEFENSEMEN | ||||
NAME | 2011-12 TEAM | STATS | SKINNY | |
Brett Clark | Tampa Bay | 82 GP 2-13-15 | Points dropped from 31 to 15; minus-26 rating was also a big drop from 2010-11. But he blocked 199 shots and even at 35 is still useful as bottom-pair defenseman. | |
Carlo Colaiacovo | St. Louis | 64 GP 2-17-19 | Solid second-pair defenseman who can move puck well but has had injury problems | |
Matt Gilroy | Ottawa | 67 GP 3-17-20 | 2009 Hobey Baker winner has nice offensive skills but has yet to turn them into a regular berth on an NHL blue line | |
Jaroslav Spacek | Carolina | 46 GP 5-10-15 | Big blueliner still possess a big shot, and is reliable defensively - plus-64 last seven seasons | |
Pavel Kubina | Philadelphia | 69 GP 3-12-15 | Not the offensive force he was when he was younger, but still has size and a big shot | |
Colin White | San Jose | 51 GP 1-3-4 | Two-time Cup winner with New Jersey can still be a useful third-pair defenseman in the right scenario | |
Kent Huskins | St. Louis | 25 GP 2-5-7 | Veteran depth defenseman still useful at 33 but has to prove he can stay healthy after injury-plagued 2011-12 season | |
Mike Mottau | Boston | 35 GP 0-2-2 | 34-year-old won 2000 Hobey Baker Award at BC but has never lived up to that promise in NHL and will have to prove himself after struggling in '11-12 | |
Kurtis Foster | Minnesota | 51 GP 4-10-14 | Big shot but has never matched offensive numbers he put up with Tampa Bay in '09-10 | |
Milan Jurcina | N.Y. Islanders | 65 GP 3-8-11 | Big guy with a big shot but coming off career-worst minus-34 season with Isles | |
Chris Campoli | Montreal | 43 GP 2-9-11 | Smooth-skating 28-year-old defenseman wasn't retained by Montreal after missing nearly half of the 2011-12 season with a freak hamstring injury |
GOALIES | ||||
NAME | 2011-12 TEAM | STATS | SKINNY | |
Dan Ellis | Anaheim | 1-5-0, 2.72 GAA | Veteran backup lost much of last season due to injury | |
Ty Conklin | Detroit | 5-6-1, 3.28 GAA | 36-year-old lost his backup job in Detroit last season and figures to have trouble finding a new team | |
Dwayne Roloson | Tampa Bay | 13-16-3, 3.66 GAA | Coming off worst season of career and has to show he has something left in the tank at age 42 | |
Brent Johnson | Pittsburgh | 6-7-2, 3.11 GAA | 35-year-old backup is coming off injury and might have to scramble in tight market |