Top Veteran Free Agents in the NHL

With the 2008-09 season closing in, I'll weigh in on who I think are the top three free agents still on the market:

3) Teemu Selanne 

Selanne is coming off a shortened 2007-08 season, in which he only played 26 games. However, he was a valuable piece of one of the best teams last season.

There would be many teams interested in Selanne if his future with NHL was more clear. If it had not taken him so long to make up his mind to play last year, NHL GMs would not be so speculative for the upcoming season.

Nonetheless, Selanne—who has over one thousand career games under his belt, as well as 552 goals—would be a key player on any team.

2) Joe Sakic

With over a thousand career assists and 623 goals, Sakic suffered this past season with only 40 points in 44 games. He could have wished for better, but still—that's not bad.

The Colorado captain could be looking at retirement as his best option. Sakic has already a few Cups, and will be remembered as one of hockey's greatest. But he may not be done just yet.

1) Mats Sundin

Call me crazy, but Sundin is easily the best guy out there. Sure, he does't have any Cups—but it's the team that wins Cups, not the player.

Sundin has proven he is one of hockey's greatest. He has 1,321 career points in 1,305 games. Even this past year was strong year for Mats—78 points, including 32 goals from the Leafs' captain, and all in 74 games.

Mats is one of the few players who can truly say after 17 years that he still has "it", and many teams want this "it" that Mats has. The question is, will he bring "it" to any team?