The Most Overrated & Underrated NHL Free Agents Still Available

During the first week of the NHL's 2015 free-agency period, we've gotten a good dose of player movement around the league—big trades and massive contracts for restricted free agents as well plenty of signings of unrestricted players.

Due to tight salary-cap limitations and maybe even some restraint shown by the league's general managers, this year's free-agent frenzy hasn't been quite as unbridled as we've seen in the past. 

Some of the highest-profile players on the UFA list are still looking for new homes—and some potential bargains could be available for savvy teams looking to add depth to their roster.

Here's a look at the most overrated and underrated unrestricted free agents who are still on the market. Players have been selected based on their past performances and projections moving forward.

Overrated: Cody Franson

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Age:  27

Previous Contract Status:  Signed one-year contract worth $3.3 million with Toronto Maple Leafs on July 21, 2014, shortly before his arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin.

2014-15 Stats:

• with Toronto Maple Leafs: 55 GP, 6-26-32
• with Nashville Predators:  23 GP, 1-3-4

Franson's 36 points in 2014-15 mark an NHL career high.

Why He's Overrated: Cody Franson came of age under the NHL's most intense spotlight in Toronto—a big-bodied defenseman with a right-handed shot and some offensive skill. But the Leafs were never willing to commit to Franson as a franchise player, so now he's testing the market.

Doug Harrison of CBC Sports cites Franson as one "of the better unrestricted free agents still available" and suggests he's looking for upward of $5 million a season on his new deal.

But buyer beware—Franson's production and ice time dropped dramatically when he joined the Nashville Predators before the trade deadline. His consistency and his defensive play are suspect and, despite his 6'5" frame, he has never recorded more than 30 penalty minutes in an NHL season.

Franson looks like he has all the tools to be a top-four anchor, but he'll have trouble living up to expectations once he inks a juicy long-term contract.

Underrated: Mike Santorelli

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Age:  29

Previous Contract Status:  Signed one-year contract worth $1.5 million with Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent on July 3, 2014.

2014-15 Stats:

• with Toronto Maple Leafs: 57 GP, 11-18-29
• with Nashville Predators:  22 GP, 1-3-4

Why He's Underrated: A 20-goal scorer with the Florida Panthers back in 2010-11, versatile forward Mike Santorelli had almost played himself out of the NHL by the 2013-14 season, when he signed a one-year deal for the league-minimum salary with his hometown Vancouver Canucks.

Santorelli's high level of fitness and hard-working style endeared him to then-Vancouver coach John Tortorella before he suffered a season-ending injury midway through that season.

That half-year's work was enough to earn him a free-agent deal at nearly three times the money last summer with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he worked his way up the lineup and delivered a good return on investment.

Packaged with Franson as part of Toronto's pre-deadline deal with Nashville, Santorelli's effectiveness dropped off when new coach Peter Laviolette elected to use him on the wing instead of at center.

If signed as a playmaker at a reasonable price point, Santorelli has a chance to become a feel-good story of free agency for the third consecutive season.

Overrated: Alexander Semin

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Age:  31

Previous Contract Status:  Was bought out of five-year contract with $7 million cap hit by the Carolina Hurricanes after two seasons.

2014-15 Stats:

• with Carolina Hurricanes: 57 GP, 6-13-19

Why He's Overrated: Oh, the temptation! Alexander Semin's a three-time 30-plus goal scorer—a supremely skilled Russian whose calling cards are his offensive creativity and his excellent shot.

He's also inconsistent, which is why the Washington Capitals let him bolt for Carolina as a free agent during the summer of 2012.

Initially, Semin delivered on his one-year, $7 million deal, posting 44 points in 44 games during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

But his play sputtered as soon as he signed his long-term five-year contract. Semin dropped to a career-low 19 points in a 2014-15 that included wrist surgery and nine games where he was listed as a healthy scratch, according to the Hockey News.

With big money in his pocket from his buyout, Semin has said he'll accept a one-year contract for another fresh start, per Igor Eronko of Russia's Sport-Express.

A short-term return to form is far from guaranteed at this point. Even if Semin does well in his new home, will he eventually hoodwink another team into offering him an overvalued long-term deal?

Underrated: Eric Fehr

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Age:  29

Previous Contract Status:  Signed two-year contract extension with cap hit of $1.5 million with Washington Capitals on April 24, 2013.

2014-15 Stats:

• with Washington Capitals: 75 GP, 19-14-33

Why He's Underrated: Like Semin, Eric Fehr started his NHL career as a first-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals. But Fehr took a long time to develop and peaked at 21 goals and 39 points in 2009-10. During the summer of 2011, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for little more than spare parts.

After a disastrous season with the Jets, Fehr returned to Washington after the lockout on a contract that paid just $600,000. During his second tour of duty, Fehr settled into a role as a solid checking center on the run-and-gun Capitals, contributing at both ends of the ice. Fehr's 19 goals and 33 points in 2014-15 were both the second-highest totals of his career.

Fehr will bring a big 6'4" frame, good hands and a strong work ethic to the team that signs him—and he shouldn't be too expensive. An excellent depth choice for teams that are shorthanded up the middle.

Overrated: Christian Ehrhoff

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Age:  33

Previous Contract Status:  Signed one-year contract worth $4 million with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2014, after being bought out of his previous deal by the Buffalo Sabres.

2014-15 Stats:

• with Pittsburgh Penguins: 49 GP, 3-11-14

Why He's Overrated: Back in 2010-11, Christian Ehrhoff ran the point on what was then the NHL's best power play with the Vancouver Canucks. He posted 50 regular-season points as the Canucks captured the Presidents' Trophy and reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

That performance was enough to earn him a $40 million free-agent deal with the Buffalo Sabres—one that was bought out last season with seven years remaining.

The Pittsburgh Penguins thought they were getting a bargain when they inked Ehrhoff to a one-year, $4 million contract last summer. Early in the season, their power play executed at a record-setting pace, but injuries to Ehrhoff and the team soon derailed any signs of promise.

Ehrhoff's time as a Penguin ended with a whimper after concussion symptoms kept him out of the lineup for most of the second half. Now four seasons removed from his career year, it's no longer clear whether he'll be able to get back to that level again.

Underrated: Matt Irwin

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Age:  27

Previous Contract Status:  Signed two-year contract extension with $1 million cap hit with San Jose Sharks on April 3, 2013.

2014-15 Stats:

• with San Jose Sharks: 53 GP, 8-11-19

Why He's Underrated: Rather than having a 50-point season under his belt, Matt Irwin has scored 50 points in his entire NHL career, but he's also a former San Jose Sharks defenseman, shoots left and is almost exactly the same size as Ehrhoff.

He's also six years younger than Ehrhoff and outperformed him on the stats sheet last season.

Despite being used as a seventh defenseman for much of last season in San Jose, Irwin scored a career-high eight goals. He doesn't come with the same pedigree as a player like Ehrhoff, but he's an inexpensive depth defenseman whose best years could be ahead of him at 27 years old.

Overrated: Chris Stewart

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Age:  27

Previous Contract Status:  Signed two-year contract with $4.15 million cap hit with St. Louis Blues on July 19, 2013, shortly before his arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin. 

2014-15 Stats:

• with Buffalo Sabres: 61 GP, 11-14-25
• with Minnesota Wild: 20 GP, 3-8-11

Why He's Overrated: Big Chris Stewart played a power forward's game with the Colorado Avalanche in 2009-10, recording a career-high 28 goals and 64 points as a 22-year-old.

Since that time, he has struggled with consistency. His salary went up but his production went down through stints in St. Louis and Buffalo.

Stewart showed a spark of potential after his 2015 trade-deadline move to Minnesota, posting 11 points in 20 regular-season games but just two assists in the playoffs. The Wild don't have the cap space to bring him back, but the team that's tempted to pay for his potential will almost certainly end up disappointed.

Underrated: Maxim Lapierre

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Age: 30

Previous Contract Status:  Signed two-year contract with cap hit of $1.1 million with St. Louis Blues as an unrestricted free agent on July 5, 2013

2014-15 Stats:

• with St. Louis Blues: 45 GP, 2-7-9
• with Pittsburgh Penguins: 35 GP, 0-2-2

Why He's Underrated: Maxim Lapierre won't get a team a whole lot of points, but he's a big-bodied grinder who skates well, plays a defensively responsible game and is best-known for getting under the skin of his opponents.

Considering his style of game, Lapierre's also remarkably durable. He'll give a team honest bottom-six minutes at center or on the wing and help his teammates play a little bigger—all for a relatively low price tag.

All stats from NHL.com. Salary information from General Fanager.