NHL Free Agents 2012: One Rumored Target Each NHL Team Needs to Avoid

Gentlemen, open your checkbooks. The season of free agency will soon be upon us, and general managers across the land will be looking to add the shiniest of shiny objects to their roster.

There are sure to be some deals that make teams better immediately, and there will be even more that will make you shake your head. Then there are some that will make you wish you had worked more on skating backwards as a young sparker so that you too could be set for life with your own free agent deal.

One of my all-time least favorite free agent signings was that of beastly defenseman Uwe Krupp by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. Krupp was plucked from the roster of the hated Avalanche and was going to give the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings some size and toughness for the next season.

The 33-year-old Krupp was considered an elite defenseman at the time and the Red WIngs were looking to replace the physical play they had lost with Vlad Konstantinov. With no salary cap in place at the time, four years at $16 million was a drop in the bucket for the Wings.

With a back injury, a sled dog race, a legal battle and finally a Stanley Cup, Krupp's tenure with Detroit ended with 30 games played in the four years. While Krupp's eight games played in 2002 didn't qualify his name to be engraved on the Cup, he still got to skate around with it and have this picture taken.

Krupp's cautionary tale has been one of the few misses in GM Ken Holland's successful tenure in Detroit. Though it is the exception rather than the norm, there is still a level of risk taken by throwing money at a player that has been successful in another team's uniform.

So by the power vested in me from Uwe Krupp's sled dog team, here are free agents each team should avoid.

Anaheim Ducks

Jason Blake

Anaheim's biggest problem was their slow start. They need to bring back Teemu Selanne for one more year and keep the rest of the team intact. Jason Blake has been a bust since coming west, and the Ducks are best served letting him walk.

Boston Bruins

Brian Rolston

Rolston made $5 million last year. I get the leadership he brings, but the B's need the cap room and roster space for younger players. I wouldn't expect the Bruins to be big buyers in free agency.

Buffalo Sabres

Brad Boyes

A complete disappointment since he arrived in a trade with St. Louis, both parties will probably be happy to part ways—especially Buffalo, which will be happy to have $4 million of cap space back.

Calgary Flames

Corey Sarich

The Flames gave this guy way too much money for the production they have received. Sarich is a free agent July 1 and will be lucky to get a fraction of his previous deal from his next employer. The rebuilding Flames don't need Sarich or his $3.6 million cap hit.

Carolina Hurricanes

Alexander Semin

Some players fit in certain places and others are like square pegs in round holes. A moody Russian sniper in NASCAR country just doesn't seem to be a good fit. Semin will get paid, but Carolina shouldn't be signing his checks.

Chicago Blackhawks

Johnny Oduya

I'm not sure how Oduya was getting almost $4 million per year, but he's in the prime of his career and will probably want even more money. The Hawks need to let somebody else pay him.

Colorado Avalanche

Dustin Penner

Regardless of Penner's overtime heroics on Tuesday, he'll have a hard time convincing people he's worth a big money deal. Colorado already resigned Milan Hejduk to a one year deal and probably just needs to focus on resigning their other UFAs to keep their core of young talent together.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius

Huselius' time in Columbus needs to end, as the Jackets have too many other pressing needs to address. It remains to be seen if Nash gets traded and how that affects the roster. The Jackets need to let their brittle Swedish winger and his $4.5 million cap hit play elsewhere next year.

Dallas Stars

Radek Dvorak

Dvorak's best years are behind him and he's done little to help the Stars. Dallas can fill his spot with younger talent at half the cost.

Detroit Red WIngs

Jiri Hudler

Red Wings fans may not like this pick, but with the money Hudler will ask for, the Wings can add players a lot more talented than Hudler. He had one of his best seasons in Detroit, but lacks the toughness and grit the Wings needed in the playoffs. Hudler will have no shortage of options elsewhere.

Edmonton Oilers

Dustin Penner

That guy in the Oilers uniform is Dustin Penner. Oilers fans may remember him as a high-scoring power forward. They even saw him on TV scoring one of the most important goals in Los Angeles Kings' history.

Penner might try to head back to Edmonton to rediscover his scoring touch, but the Oilers should steer clear.

Florida Panthers

Wojtek Wolski

The Panthers need to pack Wolski's bags for him and drive him to the airport June 30. The fragile Polish winger has never lived up to his rookie season in Colorado. Despite having one of the better names in hockey, Wolski has never consistently produced since leaving Denver.

Los Angeles Kings

Jarret Stoll

Speaking of guys whose careers have consistently spiraled downward. Stoll is the class valedictorian in the Dustin Penner school of underachievement. The Kings need to let Penner and Stoll walk, and resign some of the younger talent on this roster.

Minnesota Wild

Any free agent over $2 million/yr

I thought about putting Zach Parise on here, but the Wild need to just get healthy more than anything else. They had one of the better teams in the league before injuries took them out. The Wild don't need to make a free agent splash no matter how great it would be to have the hometown Parise on the roster. Keep developing the young talent, and allow Mike Yeo's system to gel and the Wild should be better this year.

Montreal Canadiens

Alexander Semin or any FA over $3 million per year

The Canadiens currently have over half of their team salary invested in five forwards.

Uwe Krupp thinks that Scott Gomez has been a free agent bust to put things in perspective. Gomez alone represents 16% of the Montreal payroll. The Canadians need to get Carey Price under contract, then start giving him a defense.

Nashville Predators

Ryan Suter

I know it sounds crazy NOT to throw a ton of money at Suter, but Nashville's defense is built around Shea Weber. Suter is going to command a huge payday, and the Preds have a ton of roster spots to fill.

New Jersey Devils

Zach Parise

With the same mindset of Nashville, the Devils cannot be viable if they want to keep Parise. They will have only 13 players under contract with about $22 million available.

Parise will have huge offers from everyone, and his stock keeps rising with every Devils playoff win. New Jersey needs to figure out what to do with Marty Brodeur, and how to keep their other UFAs.

New York Islanders

P.A. Parenteau

You'd have to believe the Isles want to keep Parenteau, but after his breakout season, the price might be too high.

The Islanders have made some great steps towards viability, and breaking the bank after one good season could derail them. The Isles focus needs to be on defense, and clearing the goal area in front of Evgeni Nabokov.

New York Rangers

Sean Avery

In spite of the Rangers' success in these playoffs, they must resist the temptation to lure male model—and all-around great guy—Sean Avery out of retirement. Avery's contract with the Rangers expires this year.

While his phone is sure to blow up from the likes of Guess, Versace and Gucci, his services will also be sought after from the Rangers, Red Wings, Penguins and Canucks.

sarcasm  \ˈsär-ˌka-zəm\ -a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual

Ottawa Senators

Pavel Kubina

The Senators already have an offensive minded right handed defenseman named Erik Karlsson. Kubina's size and big shot make him a commodity, but his career -102 leave something to be desired in the defensive zone.

Philadelphia Flyers

Pavel Kubina

The Flyers were exposed defensively throughout the playoffs, and the big Czech had a lot to do with it. While everyone was scoring in the Penguins series, Kubina was on the ice for a ton of the Pens goals. He was a nice loaner from Tampa in theory, but failed to impress to warrant another big free agent deal.

Phoenix Coyotes

Daymond Langkow

The Coyotes have a ton of cap room to actually be players in the free agent market, but their biggest goal will be to get their ownership deal finalized. Langkow is at the end of a fairly productive career. He's hardly a free agent prize for anyone, but he ate up 4.5 million Coyote bucks this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Brent Johnson

The Penguins' playoff collapse magnified a potential problem in goal. Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar all year, but appeared to get rattled in the playoffs against the Flyers. When backup Brent Johnson was called upon to stop the bleeding, things hardly seemed to get better.

Unless the Pens want to keep Johnson on the roster to teach Crosby to fight, they need to find a younger, better backup for Fleury.

Sorry Pens fans, Paul Martin is all yours for the next three years.

San Jose Sharks

Dominic Moore

Moore was a late season addition to the Sharks in an attempt to add some grit to the roster. The Sharks got bounced in 5 games by the Blues in the first round, not unlike Moore's dome on the ice in this fight.

Don't expect the Sharks to go near him after a mediocre 23-game audition.

St. Louis Blues

Jamie Langenbrunner

Of the two "old guys" on the St. Louis Blues, Jamie Langenbrunner might be the odd man out.

The Blues were a great story this year before the Kings steamrolled them. Coach Ken Hitchcock likes veterans, especially productive ones. Jason Arnott probably gets another one-year deal after a productive season, while Langenbrunner is left to decide his future elsewhere.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Dwayne Roloson

Every third game, Roloson would make Steve Yzerman look like a genius for choosing him over Mike Smith last summer. Unfortunately, the other two games Roloson looked like a 42-year-old goalie. Expect Tampa to address their need in goal by looking elsewhere this summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Jonas Gustavsson

The Maple Leafs took their fans on a roller coaster ride again this year which ended predictably with the Leafs watching the playoffs. Again.

Coach Randy Carlyle's first order of business is to find a goalie. If it happens to be the guy pictured above, it will be as a backup only.

Gustavsson has had the past three years to make the job his, and turning 28 in October means that the "Monster" can no longer be considered a prospect. Potential has turned to disappointment in the Toronto pressure cooker.

Vancouver Canucks

Roberto Luongo

Luongo isn't a free agent, but his situation will dominate all the headlines in Vancouver. Every move the Canucks make this offseason will be linked to whether or not the Canucks plan to keep their former No. 1 goalie.

The Canucks focus will be to resign any of their UFAs. Lest we forget, they had the best record in hockey. Their playoff undoing had as much to do with a Sedin concussion, a bad matchup and goaltending unrest as anything else.

Washington Capitals

Tomas Vokoun

The former Capitals No. 1 goalie will find himself in a different zip code next fall. The emergence of rookie Braden Holtby as the Capitals goalie of the present and future means that the Capitals won't be looking for a No. 1 goaltender this summer

Winnipeg Jets

Johnny Oduya

I mentioned Oduya as the free agent to avoid for the Blackhawks, and I feel the same about his former team in Winnipeg. The Jets franchise is responsible for paying Oduya as an elite defenseman, so hopefully they don't make the same mistake twice.