2015 NHL Free Agents: Projected Landing Spots for Top Players

The 2015 NHL free-agent class may seem like one of the weakest in recent memory on the surface, but there will still be plenty of high-impact players available on the open market.

It is rare for true superstars to hit free agency these days since teams tend to lock their best players up with long-term contracts. There are often savvy veterans and diamonds in the rough out there for the taking, though, and they can often be had at discounted prices.

With many teams and their fanbases looking toward the offseason, here is a look at some of the top impending free agents along with predictions for where they will ultimately land.

Martin St. Louis

New York Rangers winger Martin St. Louis has been among the NHL's greatest all-time overachievers since entering the league in 1998. Despite being listed generously at 5'8", St. Louis has racked up nearly 400 career goals and over 1,000 career points with Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and Rangers.

He is approaching the twilight of his career at 39 years of age, but he is still an effective player.

With over 20 goals and 50 points for the 2014-15 season, St. Louis has provided the Rangers with great secondary scoring to complement Rick Nash.

St. Louis will never again approach the level he played at when he won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2003-04, but his presence is hugely beneficial regardless.

James O'Brien of Rotoworld is hopeful that St. Louis' career is far from over:

Based on comments he made in December, tt seems as though St. Louis feels the same way. According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, St. Louis believes he still has some good years left in him.

"

I feel good physically. The last four or five years, it's like people have been waiting for me to slow down. But the thing is, I had a bad season here or there when I was 30, 31, but it's not because I was old. It just wasn't a good season. 

When I physically don't feel like I can do the things I want to do, I think then will be the time. But I don't know when that time's gonna be. It's definitely not now.

"

In addition to that, St. Louis expressed his desire to remain with the Rangers.

"Yeah, this is definitely the place I want to play," St. Louis said. "There's no doubt."

Provided the Blueshirts want him back and provide him with a fair offer, it is tough to envision him going elsewhere. St. Louis is a fiercely loyal player, as evidenced by the fact that he spent parts of 13 years in Tampa Bay.

St. Louis sounds as though he would love to end his career with the Rangers, and that is the likeliest scenario since he has been such a good fit.

Mike Green

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green has spent all 10 of his NHL seasons with the Washington Capitals, but it is entirely possible that the two sides will part ways during the offseason.

The 29-year-old blueliner has been among the best offensive defensemen in hockey since 2007, and that type of skill will be highly sought-after on the open market. He enters free agency coming off his best season since 2009-10, when he racked up 76 points, which bodes well for him in terms of landing a big contract.

All things being equal, Green would seemingly prefer to remain with the Caps in 2015-16 and beyond, based on his comments to Ian Oland of RussianMachineNeverBreaks.com.

"My heart is in Washington," Green said. "It always will be until something else happens. My focus is here. My focus is winning a championship here and giving that to the fans. As an organization, that's what we want as a team. I'm a part of that until the day I die or retire."

Unfortunately for Green, that feeling may not be mutual. Per Zac Boyer of The Washington Times, the Capitals didn't make an effort to negotiate a new deal with Green entering the 2014-15 campaign:

Green has proven his worth since then with 45 points and a plus-15 rating in 72 games, but with other offensive-minded defensemen like John Carlson and Matt Niskanen on the roster, the Caps' front office may ultimately decide that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

The Calgary Flames are a team worth watching in relation to Green due to the fact that they have a ton of salary-cap space and are already a playoff-caliber team.

Adding Green to a group that already includes Mark Giordano would be huge and make the Flames an even more dangerous team offensively due to the ability of their defensemen to jump into the play.

Devan Dubnyk

Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images

Goalie Devan Dubnyk has always shown flashes of potential, but it wasn't until his trade to the Minnesota Wild this season that he showed just how good he can be.

Dubnyk was a huge part of Minnesota's push toward the playoffs, and he may have earned himself a big contract.

With a 1.73 goals-against average and .938 save percentage, it isn't a stretch to say that Dubnyk has been the NHL's best goaltender since being traded from the Arizona Coyotes. The Wild are likely well aware of that, which is why they could opt to keep him.

According to Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press, Wild owner Craig Leipold would like to see the 28-year-old goalie stay:

The allure of free agency could force Dubnyk out of Minnesota, but despite his excellent play, the Wild are one of the few teams that may be willing and able to offer him a full-time starting job in 2015-16.

There are a few clubs across the league with unsettled goalie situations, though, which means he should garner at least some interest. The main team Minnesota may have to contend with is the Buffalo Sabres, who dealt a pair of starting goalies in Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth at the trade deadline.

Buffalo is very much in the market for a starter and could prove attractive to Dubnyk due to the young, talented defense corps it is building.

Spotrac indicates the Sabres will have money to spend as well, which should put them in the driver's seat when it comes to landing Dubnyk.

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