NHL Free Agency: Grading Each NHL Club as a Free Agent Destination

When you have the attention of the entire National Hockey League, and are free to pick and choose the jersey you want to wear, several factors must come in to play.

If you happen to be a married family man, you're going to take a look at the schools, crime rate and factors that are most conducive to raising a family.

A single guy on the other hand might be more interested in the night life, golf courses, and other "recreational" activities that a given city may feature. If a player happens to want to play close to the largest ball of twine in the United States, he'll need to find the closest team to Cawker City, Kansas.

There is some dispute as to the world's "true" largest ball of twine. The city of Darwin, Minnesota has tossed their collective hat into the twine-balling ring as the largest. Any coincidence that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter ended up a mere hour and eight minutes from there? Hmmm.

While twine poses a captivating variable when luring free agents to town, there are the factors that are most common when consideration is given. Here are the criteria that I will be using to grade each city.

Tradition: What type of history does each organization have? Is there a "winning" tradition? How often does the team make the playoffs? There are certain expectations going in to each new season based largely on the history, typically recent history, of the franchise.

Fans: Who are the people that will be heaping praise and at times, venom, in your general direction? What sort of socio-economic makeup does the core fan base consist of? What are their expectations of you and of the team? What is their general level of insanity? Do they show up for games or only if someone has an extra ticket?

Arena: Consider this your office. Do you have a corner office with a nice view and a "nice" secretary? What sort of building and facilities will you be using to hone your craft? Is there a risk of asbestos contamination or was the team's new digs built in the last 30 years?

City: Fair or unfair, it's a major factor that has very little to do with the success or failure of a team. The city can directly affect each of the other variables based on the economic climate, real estate, unemployment, crime and growth. While the economy as a whole is not in a great place, certain cities have taken more lumps than others.

Coach: Is this a guy that I want to play for over the course of the next __ years?

Roster: Do I have any help, or am I bringing the Stanley Cup home myself?

I'll rate each area A through F with A being the highest. I'm sure to piss off a fan base or two, or possibly thirty with my take, but the numbers don't lie. So if you want to know why Parise and Suter chose Minnesota over your team here's a few reasons.

Now get started on your own ball of twine, it's not going to roll itself. The 2013 class of free agents should be even better next season.

Anaheim Ducks

Tradition: B

Fans: C

Arena: A

City: A

Coach: B+

Roster: A

Grade: B+

Ducks have roster full of talent and potty-mouthed coach that is used to winning. Fresh start in 2012 should help get back to playoffs. Who wouldn't want to play in a laid-back market with relatively low expectations and endless summers? In the mean time, what do they do with Bobby Ryan?

Boston Bruins

Tradition: A+

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: B+

Coach: B

Roster:A

Grade: A-

Bruins have a hard time ranking higher than fourth in town behind Pats, Sox and Celts, but have a first-class franchise top to bottom. Boston fans love their Bruins, and still enjoy the glow of a 2011 Stanley Cup. First U.S. Original Six franchise chock full of tradition.

Buffalo Sabres

Tradition: C

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: B

Coach: B+

Roster: C

Grade: B

Buffalo has an awesome sports town with great support from fans. Solid tradition of not finishing first with zero championships in any sport hurts grade though. Good ownership and a tenured coach make Buffalo attractive.

Calgary Flames

Tradition: B

Fans: A

Arena: B

City: B

Coach: B

Roster: B-

Grade: B

Flames have struggled to get to playoffs lately and seemed trapped between rebuilding roster or supplementing veteran talent. Loyal fan base rock the Saddledome on the regular.

Carolina Hurricanes

Tradition: B-

Fans: A

Arena: B

City: B+

Coach: C+

Roster: B

Grade: C

Bottom five team in attendance, Carolina ranks behind NFL, NASCAR and college basketball in their market. Addition of Jordan Staal shows renewed commitment to winning. Two Stanley Cup Final appearances with one title keep the non-traditional location relevant.

Chicago Blackhawks

Tradition: B

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A

Coach: A

Roster: A

Grade: A

Not far removed from a Stanley Cup in 2010, Chicago fans regularly overflow the "Madhouse on Madison". Talented roster keeps expectations high in Original Six city.

Colorado Avalanche

Tradition: B+

Fans: C+

Arena: B

City: A

Coach: B

Roster: A

Grade: B

Franchise on the rebound after NHL record nine consecutive division titles. Since Patrick Roy retired, Avs have struggled to make playoffs. Talented young roster promises good things to come in Denver. 

Columbus Blue Jackets

Tradition: D

Fans: C

Arena: A

City: B+

Coach: D

Roster: C

Grade: D

I hate to pick on Columbus when they're down, but the town belongs to "The Ohio State University". The Blue Jackets rank somewhere in between MLS and water polo in popularity there. Rick Nash drama isn't helping them move forward any faster.

Dallas Stars

Tradition: B

Fans: C-

Arena: B

City: A

Coach: C

Roster: B

Grade: B-

It doesn't help to share a building with Mark Cuban and his team as a comparison. The Stars are caught between rebuilding and "re-assembling" their non-playoff team from last year. Spent a lot of money on guys over 40.

Detroit Red Wings

Tradition: A

Fans: A+

Arena: A

City: C-

Coach: A+

Roster: A

Grade: A

Presumptuous title of "Hockeytown" makes Detroit one of the most polarizing teams in hockey. You hop on the bandwagon, or tune in to hate them. Tough city to play in given recent economic woes, but loyal fan base and top notch ownership.

Edmonton Oilers

Tradition: A

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: B

Coach: C

Roster: B+

Grade: B+

Oilers have top notch young talent on bench and behind it with rookie head coach. Can't get the number one pick every year, and fans will get impatient if this group doesn't start winning again soon.

Florida Panthers

Tradition: C

Fans: C-

Arena: B

City: A

Coach: B

Roster: B

Grade: C

Miami is a football and basketball town first. LeBron and company make south beach fans forget that they also have a hockey team in the winter months. Panthers remain competitive despite lukewarm support.

Los Angeles Kings

Tradition: B+

Fans: A

Arena: B

City: B

Coach: A

Roster: A

Grade: A

Amazing run resulted in franchise's first title. Kings fans need to stop acting like they knew this was their year though. Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Angels, UCLA and USC all headlined before Kings in SoCal. Super-talented roster should make defending the Stanley Cup interesting. Glamour city reached glory that the Great One couldn't deliver 20 years ago.

Minnesota Wild

Tradition: C

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A+

Coach: B

Roster: B+

Grade: A-

Obviously the Wild made the biggest moves this off-season, but they need to stay healthy and get to the playoffs before they make assumptions of grandeur. Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of the best hockey locations in the NHL, and the Wild will surely improve their bottom half attendance standing next year.

Montreal Canadiens

Tradition: A+

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A+

Coach: C

Roster: B

Grade: A-

Who wouldn't want to play for the New York Yankees of hockey? Unless you hate the Yankees. Montreal is the preeminent location that all young hockey spark plugs aspire to. The most dominant franchise in hockey and possibly team sports in North America the Canadiens rank at the top despite a wretched season last year.

Nashville Predators

Tradition: C

Fans: B

Arena: A

City: A

Coach: A

Roster: B+

Grade: B+

Nashville has shaken the concept of a non-traditional hockey market. The Bridgestone Arena was rocking this spring for the playoffs, but the Predators fell short of expectations. Who would have thought that a hockey team in "Music City" would have expectations when they made the playoffs?

Losing Suter was a bad sign though, and they need to keep captain Shea Weber happy to stay relevant.

New Jersey Devils

Tradition: A

Fans: D+

Arena: B

City: C

Coach: B

Roster: B

Grade: B

I graded the fans harshly because despite (almost) always being in the playoffs the Devils have no excuse for finishing between Tampa Bay and Florida for attendance last year. Hey New Jersey fan(s), you do realize your team was playing for the Stanley Cup last year right?

Ownership unrest and losing Parise will almost certainly see the Devils take a step back next year, but will anyone care?

New York Islanders

Tradition: B+

Fans: C

Arena: D

City: A

Coach: B

Roster: B+

Grade: B

I expect to get crushed by the Islander fans for ranking you at a "C", but look at the attendance figures. The Isles have a really good nucleus of young players on the roster moving forward and could take a huge step in the right direction this year.

New York Rangers

Tradition: B+

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A

Coach: A

Roster: B+

Grade: A

The Rangers are New York's glamour team that don't want you to remember that they have the same number of titles as their step-brothers on Long Island.

They probably would like you to forget that they only have one title since World War II. That being said, the Broadway faithful still pack the Garden every night to see their beloved blueshirts.

Ottawa Senators

Tradition: B

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: B+

Coach: B

Roster: B+

Grade: A-

Hard not to rate a Canadian team high and the Senators are no exception. Great fan support, a nice blend of young and old talent. The Senators have built a nice foundation for success.

Philadelphia Flyers

Tradition: B+

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A

Coach: B+

Roster: A

Grade: A

Philadelphia is as passionate a sports town as any other. They love their Flyers and have high expectations for them. Emerging superstar Claude Giroux and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov lead a young and talented cast.

Phoenix Coyotes

Tradition: C

Fans: D

Arena: B

City: A

Coach: A

Roster: C+

Grade: C

The Coyotes seem to have finally found some owners that want to keep the team in Phoenix. That begs the question: Is this a good thing?

Last in attendance by a mile or two, the Coyotes and the NHL have to consider the big picture. If they are hemorrhaging money in the desert, they might need to find some greener pastures.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Tradition: A

Fans: A

Arena: A+

City: B+

Coach: B+

Roster: A

Grade: A

The Penguins and their high-octane offense can lure any free agent in with the promise of statistical inflation playing alongside Crosby and Malkin.

A new arena, great ownership and a city that is reinventing itself make the Penguins a viable free agent locale.

St. Louis Blues

Tradition: B

Fans: B

Arena: B+

City: B

Coach: A

Roster: A

Grade: A-

The Blues won't sneak up on anybody this year for sure, but Ken Hitchcock will have his boys ready for another playoff run after a premature exit this year. The Blues are young and talented and play in a great sports city. A Stanley Cup might vault them ahead of the miserable NFL Rams in popularity.

San Jose Sharks

Tradition: B

Fans: A+

Arena: A+

City: A+

Coach: B

Roster: A

Grade: A

Hockey purists will hate to hear this, but San Jose is fast becoming one of the best hockey towns in the league.

With the NBA's Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings as their only winter competition, the Sharks feed off three metropolitan markets: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

Great ownership, great location and passionate fans make San Jose a perfect destination. A title or at least an appearance in the Final needs to happen for the Sharks to be more viable.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tradition:B

Fans: B

Arena: B

City: B

Coach: B+

Roster: B+

Grade: B+

The Lightning are building around one of the most exciting players in the NHL.

If they can get into the playoffs, Stamkos might actually get some prime-time coverage to showcase his talents.

Bringing Steve Yzerman from the Detroit front office could be the key to sustained improvement in spite of his limited experience.

Tampa suffers from an inconsistent fan base that can improve with some regular visits to the postseason.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Tradition: A

Fans: A+

Arena: A

City: A+

Coach: A

Roster: B

Grade: A-

The Leafs have all the makings for success in the NHL, but have been playoff no-shows since the labor lockout in 2004-05.

Despite the poor showing the fan base for Toronto is the most loyal in sports. The only down side to playing in Toronto would be the unofficial appointment of "franchise savior" to get the Leafs back to prominence.

Vancouver Canucks

Tradition: B

Fans: A

Arena: A

City: A+

Coach: B

Roster: A

Grade: A-

The Canucks play in front of some equally-hungry fans, but have been treated to more playoff heartache lately than their compatriots in Toronto (who would be happy just to get there).

A beautiful city, passionate fans and regular postseason appearances are everything a free agent could want.

Washington Capitals

Tradition: B

Fans: A

Arena: A+

City: B

Coach: C

Roster: A

Grade: B+

The Capitals will always be second fiddle to the Redskins in spite of Daniel Snyder's dumpster fire of an NFL team.

The Washington Nationals and Bryce Harper could potentially push Ovechkin and the Capitals further down the food chain.

The Capitals are most noted for regular season success and playoff flame-outs lately. A new coach and a healthy, talented roster could be a welcome sight for a new signing.

Winnipeg Jets

Tradition: B

Fans: A+

Arena: A+

City: B

Coach: B

Roster: B

Grade:B+

Think Winnipeg was happy to have the NHL back in town?

Sure they technically play in the Southeast division, but no one in Manitoba seemed to care. The Jets took over the MTS Centre from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, immediately turning it into one of the loudest venues in the NHL.