NHL Free Agents 2015: Updated Rumors and Predictions Around the League

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with four defensemen playing the majority of the minutes.

They were led by Duncan Keith, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy, but Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya were all relied on heavily by head coach Joel Quenneville.

The Blackhawks have significant salary-cap issues, and they addressed some of them by trading restricted free agent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week. They would like to use some of the cap room they cleared to re-sign Oduya, according to Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.

While general manager Stan Bowman is in the process of doing that, he has not been able to finish the job as of yet. That means Oduya remains on the open market.

The Boston Bruins have a strong need on the blue line, and Boston Globe hockey savant Kevin Paul Dupont suggests that Oduya is a target.

Oduya is an excellent defensive defenseman who proved to be reliable in Chicago's 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup championship runs.

The Bruins defense took a major hit at the start of the 2014-15 season when former general manager Peter Chiarelli traded Johnny Boychuk to the New York Islanders.

The team suffered another blow when it traded young stalwart Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames. Hamilton was a restricted free agent and seemed to be a key component for the Bruins, but he was hesitant when the Bruins attempted to negotiate a new contract with him.

BILL BOYCE/Associated Press

St. Louis Blues left wing Magnus Paajarvi has been a disappointment since he was a first-round draft choice of the Edmonton Oilers in 2009. The Oilers moved him to the Blues prior to the 2013-14 season, and he still has not established himself as a legitimate NHL player.

According to a tweet from David Pagnotti of the Fourth Period, Paajarvi would like to remain in the NHL—and hopefully with the Blues. However, if he does not get a one-way contract, he will consider returning to Sweden and leaving the NHL.

The Minnesota Wild attempted to upgrade their forwards when they traded for Chris Stewart prior to the trade deadline this year. Minnesota sent a 2017 second-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Stewart.

Stewart scored three goals and had eight assists for the Wild in 20 regular-season games, and he appeared to fit in well with the team.

However, the Wild may not be able to retain Stewart during free agency. According to a tweet from Wild beat reporter Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, general manager Chuck Fletcher is having a difficult time finding the salary-cap room to bring Stewart back into the fold.

As a result, Stewart will almost certainly be playing for his fourth team since the start of the 2013-14 season. Stewart had played with the Blues before he was traded to Buffalo. He scored 28 goals in both 2009-10 and 2010-11 for the Colorado Avalanche, but he has not scored more than 18 goals in a season since then.