NHL Free Agency 2012: One Pending Free Agent Every Team Must Re-Sign

Within the last week, one Original Six NHL franchise has lost an award-winning goaltender to a self-assigned sabbatical. Meanwhile, another has lost its ornate, durable captain to retirement.

Both of those teams, to the best of their ability, can fill the resultant voids by simply ensuring they have a new contract with one of their established players before free agents are turned loose on July 1.

Two other teams, Montreal and Winnipeg, need to draft a new contract in the coming weeks if they are to bring back their own starting goalie. Another two, Nashville and New Jersey, need to take the same action to ensure they do not lose their captain.

In alphabetical order, the free agent these and the rest of the NHL’s 24 other member clubs must especially make sure to retain are presented as follows.

Anaheim: Sheldon Brookbank

Unlike aging forwards Jason Blake and Teemu Selanne, who have also been quite useful of late, the 31-year-old blueliner clearly has much more ahead of him. And Brookbank is just coming off career highs of 14 points and a plus-11 rating on a team that wrangled for the better part of a non-playoff 2011-12 campaign.

Boston: Tuukka Rask

It might sound obvious at this point, but that doesn’t lessen its truth. With Tim Thomas officially taking himself out of the picture, the future should finally become the present in the Bruins crease.

Buffalo: Tyler Ennis

Still only 22 going on 23 years of age, Ennis was one of Buffalo’s better performers this year despite missing 34 games due to injury. Had he been healthy for enough for the full length of his second full NHL season, he most certainly would have eclipsed his 2010-11 totals of 20 goals and 49 points.

And based on his 8-9-17 hot streak over the Sabres’ final 14 games of the season, Ennis is patently 100 percent now. That is all the more reason to retain him in hopes of building upon the homestretch starting in October.

Calgary: Blake Comeau

Despite appearing in only 58 games after coming in a midseason trade from the New York Islanders, Comeau finished fifth on the Flames’ hitting chart with 108 this past season. His physical output was quite comparable during his Long Island tenure.

Calgary will need more of the same from the likes of Comeau going forward, especially now that Rene Bourque has been swapped out to Montreal.

Carolina: Jeremy Welsh

The hulking winger only just got there after hastily signing with the team out of Union College and saw action in one game at the conclusion of the regular season. But Welsh could prove another key additive to the Hurricanes’ youth movement if they retain him for his first full professional season.

Chicago: Brandon Bollig

Other than Sami Lepisto, the rest of the pending Blackhawks free agents are in the twilight of their careers, at best. The 25-year-old Bollig, on the other hand, is entering his third professional season and approaching the first real test of his size and strength.

Colorado: Ryan O’Reilly

O’Reilly’s third NHL campaign not only saw him top the Avs’ production chart. It saw him exceed his total output from the previous two seasons, which indubitably had something to do with his new linemate, rookie sensation Gabriel Landeskog.

Going on three years without a postseason appearance, Colorado can start its turnaround by ensuring an opportunity for Landeskog and O’Reilly to exercise more of that chemistry and copilot an offensive resurgence.

Columbus: Nikita Nikitin

Only one year into his NHL career, and coming off an injury-riddled campaign at that, Nikitin needs a little time to fulfill his potential as a sizeable, yet mobile blueliner. But that potential is nothing short of ample, and a perpetually luckless franchise like the Blue Jackets ought to take any player like him they can get.

Dallas: Jamie Benn

Benn’s stats have steadily ascended with each successive year of his now-expired entry-level pact. A new deal to keep that going and to build around the budding offensive nucleus is an absolute must for the Stars in their effort to splash a five-year playoff drought.

Detroit: Brad Stuart

Nicklas Lidstrom’s retirement, more than anything, necessitates a new deal to keep Stuart in Detroit for his 13th NHL campaign and beyond.

Edmonton: Ryan Smyth

If the Oilers are going kick their habit of finishing in the basement, they will need a loyal veteran leader among their dense youth.

Florida: Kris Versteeg

The Panthers offense, No. 27 in the league during the regular season, will have to improve if they are to make repeat playoff appearances in 2012-13. Especially with the likes of divisional rivals Tampa Bay and Washington promising to bounce back from down years.

Part of this will mean inviting Versteeg back to build upon his career campaign of 23 goals and 54 points.

Los Angeles: Jarret Stoll

His production dipped in 2011-12, but Stoll is still a physical two-way center and the Kings’ most reliable face-off man. Additionally, the team’s ongoing run to the Stanley Cup Finals has shown just how critical physicality and puck possession can be.

Minnesota: Guilliame Latendresse or Matt Kassian

As general manager Chuck Fletcher himself said to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, pursuing a new contract with Latendresse will depend on how much he has replenished his health and his game after a concussion terminated his season in mid-December.

If Latendresse is not the way to go, then the next best thing is giving a full-time look to the comparably sized Kassian, who saw action in 24 games for Minnesota last season but has otherwise been a five-year minor leaguer.

Montreal: Carey Price

If the Canadiens want to start their rebounding process from the goal out, then they need to keep things status quo in the crease and make sure their soon-to-be RFA starter is back. A very close second in this department is defenseman PK Subban.

Nashville: Shea Weber

Let’s see. For the past two seasons and since assuming the captaincy, Weber has finished among the finalists for the Norris Trophy and led the Predators to their first two postseason series victories.

One could argue that, with its five-game second-round loss to Phoenix, Nashville failed to make an expected forward stride this season. But discharging the leader and risking more than one step back is not the way to move on.

New Jersey: Zach Parise

Regardless of what happens in the Stanley Cup final, the Devils will want to retain as much of their core as they can.

It would be bad enough if Martin Brodeur retires and leaves a crater in the crease. New Jersey does not want to have a void in the captaincy as well.

NY Islanders: PA Parenteau

Parenteau has been a bit of a late bloomer. But since coming to Long Island, he has been the team’s second-best playmaker and third-most prolific producer two years running.

NY Rangers: Michael Del Zotto

Yes, Del Zotto had an iffy postseason, but that could be said about a lot of the youngest Rangers skaters. There is more to be said and likely more ahead for the green defenseman.

During the regular season, the third-year pro earned and made good on his nightly average of 22 minutes and 26 seconds, scoring 10 goals and 31 assists for the most prolific campaign by a Blueshirt blueliner in the John Tortorella era.

Ottawa: Erik Karlsson

After two less-than-spectacular NHL seasons, Karlsson pulled a great Vesuvius en route to establishing a new persona as a bona fide two-way defenseman. He was the team’s top playmaker, second only to Daniel Alfredsson in the points column and second only to Filip Kuba in the plus/minus department.

Assuming the still relatively unripe 22-year-old has taken a rigid turn for the better, the Senators most naturally do not want to risk letting someone else benefit from his follow-up campaign.

Philadelphia: Matt Carle

While it would be nice to see if Jaromir Jagr has at least another year like 2011-12 left in him, the long-term future of the defense should be more important for the Flyers. They need to ensure the 27-year-old Carle is a part of that future.

Phoenix: Ray Whitney

Assuming captain Shane Doan, another pending UFA, wants to stick with the same franchise that has employed him for his entire 17-year career, then the Coyotes’ top priority should be renewing their deal with their seasoned, top gun ironman.

Pittsburgh: Matt Niskanen

Niskanen’s temporary absence likely contributed to the Penguins’ defensive meltdown late in the regular season and into a first-round crash-and-burn against the Flyers. If Pittsburgh wants blue line depth, it would be in the club’s best interest not to subtract him this summer.

San Jose: Tommy Wingels

The physical forward could be ready for full-time NHL employment after splitting his first two seasons between Worcester and San Jose.

St. Louis: David Perron

His season debut delayed by a concussion, Perron still turned in a not-so-shabby transcript of 21 goals and 21 assists in 57 games played this past year. Despite his health history, there is much cause to believe the best is still ahead for the 24-year-old winger, much like it has been proven in the case of Boston’s Patrice Bergeron.

Tampa Bay: Keith Aulie

Aulie has already been with three professional organizations in as many seasons and has yet to see action on a decent NHL team.

But his participation in the Norfolk Admirals’ Calder Cup playoff run, which currently has the Lightning’s farm team ahead in the finals by two games, could go a long way towards fostering Aulie for The Show. In turn, phasing him in as early as next season could go a long way towards turning Tampa around.

Toronto: Matt Frattin

Even if he is not ready for full-time NHL employment next season, the Marlies top goal-scorer in their ongoing Calder Cup playoff run is as integral a part of the Leafs’ future as fellow forwards Joe Colborne and Nazem Kadri.

Vancouver: Sami Salo

After a bounce-back year in 2011-12, the Canucks should have no qualms about retaining their longest-tenured blueliner, who will be especially beneficial in terms of veteran presence.

Washington: John Carlson

The presumptive future of the Capitals’ blue line has just played out the last of his entry-level contract. Time for both parties to take the next step for one another.

Winnipeg: Ondrej Pavelec

Evander Kane, a catalyst among the skaters, is arguably just as important to the Jets, so consider him Priority 1A. But for lack of goaltending depth across the organization, given the choice between the two, Pavelec should be the higher priority.