NHL Free Agents 2015: Top Players on Market Following Stanley Cup Final

The Chicago Blackhawks may be settling down from their victory parade on Thursday afternoon to help bring in the offseason, but that does not mean that the NHL is afforded any downtime.

With plenty of household names on the trading block, the NHL's free-agency pool will also be teeming with big-time talent.

Below is a list of notable free agents going into the offseason with a closer look at some of the most valuable ones.

Name	Pos.	Age	2014-15 Team
Francois Beauchemin	D	35	Anaheim Ducks
Matt Beleskey	LW	27	Anaheim Ducks
Daniel Briere	RW	37	Colorado Avalanche
Matt Cullen	C	38	Nasvhille Predators
Devan Dubnyk	G	29	Minnesota Wild
Patrick Eaves	RW	31	Dallas Stars
Christian Ehrhoff	D	32	Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Fehr	RW	29	Washington Capitals
Mike Fisher	C	35	Nasvhille Predators
Tomas Fleischmann	LW	31	Anaheim Ducks
Cody Franson	D	27	Nasvhille Predators
Michael Frolik	LW	27	Winnipeg Jets
Simon Gagne	LW	35	Boston Bruins
Sergei Gonchar	D	41	Montreal Canadiens
Mike Green	D	29	Washington Capitals
Dany Heatley	LW	34	Anaheim Ducks
Barret Jackman	D	34	St. Louis Blues
Paul Martin	D	34	Pittsburgh Penguins
Zbynek Michalek	D	32	St. Louis Blues
Annti Niemi	G	31	San Jose Sharks
Johnny Oduya	D	33	Chicago Blackhawks
Rich Peverley	C	32	Dallas Stars
Mike Ribeiro	C	35	Nasvhille Predators
Brad Richards	C	35	Chicago Blackhawks
Michael Ryder	RW	35	New Jersey Devils
Andrej Sekera	D	29	Los Angeles Kings
Devin Setoguchi	RW	28	Calgary Flames
Carl Soderberg	C	29	Boston Bruins
Martin St. Louis	RW	40	New York Rangers
Drew Stafford	RW	29	Winnipeg Jets
Antoine Vermette	C	32	Chicago Blackhawks
Joel Ward	RW	34	Washington Capitals
Justin Williams	RW	33	Los Angeles Kings
Marek Zidlicky	D	37	Detroit Red Wings

Devan Dubnyk, G, Minnesota Wild

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Dubnyk might be the most chased-after free agent in the NHL this summer. Breaking into the league in 2009 with the Edmonton Oilers, he made stops in Nashville and Arizona before being dealt to the Wild 19 games into 2014-15.

With the Wild suffering from horrendous goaltending midway through the season, Dubnyk was brought in to provide help and never relinquished the role.

In 39 games, he went 27-9-2 with a .936 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average. The only goalie who would come close to those numbers in that stretch was Montreal's Carey Price.

The Wild will be doing everything they can to hold on to Dubnyk, as he was the centerpiece of their playoff run last season. Dubnyk's agent, Mike Liut, spoke with ESPN's Pierre LeBrun about the goalie's situation.

"There’s always impediments to getting to an agreement, particularly in the free-agent/salary-cap world," Liut said. "But Devan, playing in Minnesota, you want that kind of success, you want to play in an environment where you have that and you want to build off it."

Dubnyk played behind a talented and fairly young defensive corps that includes Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba. It did plenty to help him stack those numbers during the season.

If he does test the waters, there won't be many teams offering that kind of defensive help.

Mike Green, D, Washington Capitals

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

When healthy, Mike Green has proven that he is one of the most consistent defensemen in the NHL. After another solid season in which he recorded 45 points on 10 goals and 35 assists, Green is going to receive plenty of interest from the free-agency market.

Green posted a plus-15 rating on the season, and the Canadian Press' Stephen Whyno believes it will be a successful offseason for the defenseman:

Teams will be willing to make big-money offers to Green, which is a problem for Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. ESPN's Craig Custance reports:

"

Green had a salary-cap hit of $6 million, and with the raises coming for the other Capitals free agents MacLellan wants to retain, that number doesn’t work. Any deal to stay in Washington would have to be less than that, likely significantly less, and this is Green’s last chance at another big contract in the NHL.

"

Sides lacking defensive depth that need an offensive-minded defenseman will be looking hard at Green. Ansar Khan of MLive.com and CSNPhilly.com's Tom Dougherty and Tim Riday suggested that the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers could pursue Green.

Mike Ribeiro, C, Nashville Predators

Bill Smith/Getty Images

Ribeiro will be garnering a lot of attention this offseason. The 35-year-old center has scored 15 or more goals in 10 of the last 11 seasons.

While his age will turn off some suitors, teams that are under that "win-now" mentality will take a chance on him.

But Ribeiro was an important asset to the Predators last season, and according to Kristopher Martel of Fox Sports Tennessee, he and fellow free-agent pivot Mike Fisher are "actively working alongside their respective agents and general manager David Poile to potentially resume their role with the Predators."

In his first year with Nashville in 2014-15, Ribeiro scored 15 goals and added 47 assists for 62 points on the season.

While both sides are trying to rework a deal to keep him in Nashville, Ribeiro's agent, Don Meehan, already has his game plan, explaining it to the Tennessean's Adam Vingan:

"

Our focus would be to be proactive with Nashville, for Mike to stay in Nashville. But that would all be conditional upon how Nashville reacts to that. If we have something that's fair, then we'll engage. If we don't, then we have no choice but to go to free agency, but that's not our priority. It's not our first choice.

...

One year would be unacceptable. We would want something longer than one year. We've indicated that to (Poile).

"

Ribeiro will be an attractive option to teams looking for a center to anchor a second line that can help develop top-six wingers.

Stats courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com