NHL Free Agency: Predicting Where Best Available Players Will Land

With NHL free agency starting in a matter of days, things are about to get crazy. 

You will likely hear rumor after rumor, and there's a good chance about 97 percent of what you hear won't be true. It happens with every major sport's free-agency period, and hockey is now different.

Of course, in the end, most of the guys will end up signing with their current teams and all that excitement you built up will be for naught.

With that being said, let's take a look at the top available players and where you can expect to see them playing in 2012-13. 

1. Zach Parise, LW: Minnesota Wild

This will be the shock of the summer. 

After racking up at least 30 goals and 60 points for the fifth straight fullseason, Parise is going to be on the wish list of, well, probably every team in the NHL, so he's going to get his pick of the crop.

On top of that, there are plenty of teams with the cap space to offer him a big-time contract. The next likely factor in making a decision will be his ability to play for the Stanley Cup. 

That's what will make this a surprise. 

After finishing just 35-36-11 in 2011-12, Minnesota is far from a legitimate title contender, but I'm banking on the home factor. Parise is from Minneapolis, where he's basically a king at this point.

I'm betting on him shocking the world and returning home. 

2. Ryan Suter, D: Detroit Red Wings

Suter, who racked up seven goals and 39 assists for the Nashville Predators in 2011-12, is easily the best defenseman available. 

Much like Parise, he'll have plenty of suitors and will be able to pretty much pick whatever team he wants. 

The Red Wings have plenty of cap space, and with the need to replace Nicklas Lidstrom, I expect them to go after Suter with everything they've got. 

This one is just a gut feeling. Passing up the opportunity to play for Detroit's storied hockey franchise is a tough thing to do. 

3. Alexander Semin, LW: KHL

After an up-and-down season with Washington, it appears that the Capitals are going to be fine with letting Semin walk. 

While he will have plenty of teams begging for his services, he's going to walk to the KHL, where Sergei Fedorov and CSKA Moskow can offer him a huge contract. 

Nay, a monstrous contract that no NHL team could even dream of matching.

The ridiculous amount of money and the prospect of returning home to Russia is going to be too much for Semin to pass up, especially after a season and postseason to forget in the nation's capital. 

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