NHL Free Agents 2015: The Best Bargain Player Available at Every Position
The start of NHL free agency in most years sees a flurry of high-profile players signed to rich long-term contracts. This summer was different, with most deals featuring shorter terms and reasonable dollar figures.
Now we're more than two weeks in and at the point where the deals tend to be short-term bargain contracts. A good example would be the Anaheim Ducks' recent signing of Chris Stewart; as the Orange County Register's Eric Stephens noted, the term on his deal is just one year at $1.7 million.
With prices coming down on free agents and the market still boasting some significant players, which ones are worth special attention for teams still looking for help? This slideshow endeavors to highlight those players.
Left Wing: Jiri Tlusty
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Like a few players on this list, Tlusty's ranking suffers a bit owed to an unimpressive showing following the NHL trade deadline. He scored just one goal in 24 games with the Winnipeg Jets (both regular season and playoffs).
Teams should probably consider the circumstances involved there. Tlusty fired 28 shots, converting at just a 4.6 shooting percentage. He's a 13 percent shooter over his career, so this clearly seems to be an aberration.
In Carolina, Tlusty played in all situations, including the penalty kill. Primarily a secondary offensive option, 2014-15 was the first time in three seasons in which he failed to score at least 15 goals; he tallied just 14 thanks to his late-season slump. He scored 23 during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
He's big (6'0", 209 lbs), young (turned 27 in March) and he's likely to make some team very happy it took a chance on him.
Other significant options: Curtis Glencross, Sean Bergenheim, Lee Stempniak, Erik Cole
Centre: Matt Cullen
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At the start of free agency, I compiled a reference list of free agents, including their total advanced stats over the last three years. For forwards, I ranked that list by even-strength points per hour. Martin St. Louis, who won the scoring title in 2012-13, was unsurprisingly at the top of the list.
The second name, though, was surprising: Matt Cullen.
Cullen played depth minutes in Nashville but offered surprising scoring punch, managing 1.70 points per hour. For the sake of comparison, that's the same per-minute scoring rate the Boston Bruins' David Krejci managed last season.
Cullen turns 39 in November. But he's still scoring and killing penalties, and at the right dollar figure he could be a nice veteran insurance option for an NHL team.
Other significant options: James Sheppard, Jarret Stoll, Mike Santorelli, Derek Roy
Right Wing: Eric Fehr
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Eric Fehr checks a lot of boxes that NHL teams value.
He's big (6'4", 212 lbs). He'll turn 30 in September, so there's still some tread on the tires. He's a natural right wing, but he can (and has) played all three forward positions. He logs tough defensive minutes at even strength and provides value on the penalty kill.
He chips in offensively too, having averaged 16 goals and 32 points over the last two seasons, despite primarily playing a depth defensive role.
He's basically the definition of a perfect third-line winger, providing value in a lot of areas, and he's still looking for a home for 2015-16.
Other significant options: Alex Semin, Scottie Upshall, Martin Erat, Michael Ryder
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Left Defence: Christian Ehrhoff
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Christian Ehrhoff is a bona fide top-four defenceman. Those are generally hard players to find on July 1, let alone two weeks into free agency. Yet here he is, and apparently he's even willing to accept another one-year deal.
Agent Rick Curran confirmed as much to Jason Brough of NBC's Pro Hockey Talk, saying his client "doesn’t mind having the flexibility of a single year commitment. He’s confident in his ability to provide a valued role to the right team."
Ehrhoff plays in all situations, averaging nearly 18:00 per game at even strength alone for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, and additionally averaging roughly 2:00 per game on both the power play and penalty kill.
Other significant options: Jan Hejda, Andrej Meszaros, Michal Rozsival
Right Defence: Cody Franson
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Cody Franson's list of attributes is pretty impressive. It's generally pretty hard to find 27-year-old right-shooting rearguards who stand 6'5" still scrambling for work, but that's the situation Franson finds himself in, in no small part thanks to a disappointing stint with the Nashville Predators post-trade deadline.
Too much weight seems to be given to that performance. Back in Toronto, Franson played in all situations, adding a heavy slap shot to the power play, formidable size to the man advantage and two-way ability at even strength.
Franson made $3.3 million last season, and while he may have entered free agency looking for a raise, both the size and likelihood of that raise get slimmer with each passing day.
Other significant options: Marek Zidlicky, Brett Bellemore
Goaltender: Ray Emery
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At most positions, free agency still offers up some intriguing names. That trend ends in net, where Ray Emery seems to be the last free agent of real significance left.
Emery struggled for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, going 10-11-7 with a 0.894 save percentage. It's the third time in the last four seasons that he's finished the year with a number south of 0.905, though it's worth keeping in mind that the lone exception saw him go 17-1-0 with a 0.922 save percentage for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13.
At this point, Emery will probably be fortunate if he gets an NHL contract. He spent 2008-09 in the KHL, and it reinvigorated his career. So perhaps another trip to Europe is in the cards.
Other significant options: Peter Budaj
Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and war-on-ice.com.
Jonathan Willis covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for more of his work.
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