NHL Free Agency 2011: The One Free Agent Piece That Puts Every Team over the Top

The NHL offseason is only a few weeks old. For those diehards in every NHL city and the spaces between, the wait for the 2011-2012 season has seemed like counting seconds between Feb. 29's on the calendar.

With the draft in our rear-view mirror and the Winnipeg Jets back where they belong, free agency is the next blip before a long summer of questions.

"Did my team make the right move?"

"I cannot believe we landed that guy!"

"How could they miss out on so-and-so?"

"Our cap is looking so bad, I hope the Mayans were right about 2012!!"

These are some of the questions and phrases that expect to be uttered by NHL followers after the first few days of July.

On the eve of free agency, it seems like a good idea to pair a player up with every NHL team. The purpose is to find a guy who helps put every team over the top.

What does "over the top" mean?

It could mean the difference between making the playoffs or not.

For some it means changing the culture in a losing dressing room.

Others it could be the one guy needed to stay near the top of the mountain. 

Honestly, for this slideshow, believe it to mean whatever you want it to be.

Anaheim Ducks

Player: Teemu Selanne

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 196 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Anaheim Ducks

2010-2011 Stats: 73 games, 31 goals, 49 assists, 49 PIM (regular season); 6 games, 6 goals, 1 assist, 12 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Selanne is a sure Hall of Famer who can still fill up the net.

Boston Bruins

Player: Erik Cole

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 205 lbs.

Position: LW/RW

2010-2011 Team: Carolina Hurricanes

2010-2011 Stats: 82 games, 26 goals, 26 assists, 49 PIM (regular season)

What He Adds: A team that won the Cup does not need much tweaking, but Cole is a Recchi-type who could fit in well.

Buffalo Sabres

Player: Christian Ehrhoff

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 203 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Team: Vancouver Canucks

2010-2011 Stats: 79 games, 14 goals, 36 assists, 52 PIM (regular season); 23 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 16 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Ehrhoff is a star on the blue line.

Calgary Flames

Player: Steve Montador

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 211 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Team: Buffalo Sabres

2010-2011 Stats: 73 games, 5 goals, 21 assists, 83 PIM (regular season); 6 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 8 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Montador has solid NHL blue-line work.

Carolina Hurricanes

Player: Matt Bradley

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 205 lbs.

Position: W

2010-2011 Team: Washington Capitals

2010-2011 Stats: 61 games, 4 goals, 7 assists, 68 PIM (regular season); 9 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Bradley brings size, leadership and a do-it-the-right-way approach.

Chicago Blackhawks

Player: Mike Rupp

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 230 lbs.

Position: C/LW

2010-2011 Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

2010-2011 Stats: 81 games, 9 goals, 8 assists, 124 PIM (regular season); 7 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Rupp is a great guy to have in the room, with size, grit and a potential screen on the power play.

Colorado Avalanche

Player: Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 201 lbs.

Position: G

2010-2011 Team: Toronto Maple Leafs

2010-2011 Stats: 33 games, 11 wins, 1,633 MIN, 2.87 GAA, .900 SV percentage

What He Adds: A fresh start in goal, both for the team and Giguere.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Player: James Wisniewski

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 205 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Team: New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens

2010-2011 Stats: 75 games, 10 goals, 41 assists, 38 PIM (regular season); 6 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 7 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Wisniewski would be a spark on the blue line to go with the newly-acquired Jeff Carter up front.

Dallas Stars

Player: Steve Eminger

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 202 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Team: New York Rangers

2010-2011 Stats: 65 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 22 PIM (regular season)

What He Adds: Eminger is a relatively young defenseman to add to the lineup.

Detroit Red Wings

Player: Evgeni Nabokov

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 200 lbs.

Position: G

2010-2011 Team: SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)

2010-2011 Stats: 22 games, 8 wins, 1,230 MIN, 3.02 GAA, .888 SV percentage

What He Adds: Nabokov is a player who wants back in to the NHL, just not for the Islanders. While not a free agent, the Isles would send him packing for Detroit for the right price.

Edmonton Oilers

Player: Ed Jovanovski

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 210 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Teams: Phoenix Coyotes

2010-2011 Stats: 50 games, 5 goals, 9 assists, 39 PIM (regular season); 4 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 2 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Jovanovski has more than 1,000 games of NHL experience and leadership.

Florida Panthers

Player: Tomas Kopecky

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 200 lbs.

Position: C/RW

2010-2011 Teams: Chicago Blackhawks

2010-2011 Stats: 81 games, 15 goals, 27 assists, 60 PIM (regular season); 1 game, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Kopecky is a skill player the team hopes can take the next step.

Los Angeles Kings

Player: Simon Gagne

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 193 lbs.

Position: LW

2010-2011 Teams: Tampa Bay Lightning

2010-2011 Stats: 63 games, 17 goals, 23 assists, 20 PIM (regular season); 15 games, 5 goals, 7 assists, 4 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Gagne is a talented but enigmatic player to pair with their set of skilled forwards.

Minnesota Wild

Player: Jussi Jokinen

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 190 lbs.

Position: LW

2010-2011 Team: Carolina Hurricanes

2010-2011 Stats: 70 games, 19 goals, 33 assists, 24 PIM (regular season)

What He Adds: Jokinen is a talented forward who can also earn some extra points in the shootout.

Montreal Canadiens

Player: Maxime Talbot

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 191 lbs.

Position: C/W

2010-2011 Teams: Pittsburgh Penguins

2010-2011 Stats: 82 games, 8 goals, 13 assists, 66 PIM (regular season); 7 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 14 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Talbot brings hustle, penalty killing, timely goals and leadership.

Nashville Predators

Player: Jason Arnott

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 220 lbs.

Position: C

2010-2011 Teams: New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals

2010-2011 Stats: 73 games, 17 goals, 14 assists, 40 PIM (regular season); 9 games, 1 goal, 5 assists, 2 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Arnott adds leadership, potential for additional needed goal-scoring and defensive responsibility.

New Jersey Devils

Player: Zach Parise

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 195 lbs.

Position: LW

2010-2011 Team: New Jersey Devils

2010-2011 Stats: 13 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 PIM (regular season)

What He Adds: When healthy, Parise is a legitimate scoring threat and top-tier player.

New York Islanders

Player: Sean Bergenheim

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 205 lbs.

Position: W

2010-2011 Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

2010-2011 Stats: 80 games, 14 goals, 15 assists, 56 PIM (regular season); 16 games, 9 goals, 2 assists, 8 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Bergenheim adds timely goals, grit and hard work.

New York Rangers

Player: Michael Ryder

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 186 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Boston Bruins

2010-2011 Stats: 79 games, 18 goals, 23 assists, 26 PIM (regular season); 25 games, 8 goals, 9 assists, 8 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Ryder brings talent at forward, potential help on the power play and championship experience. He may not be Brad Richards, but he is one of the top players available in this year's free agent class.

Ottawa Senators

Player: Nikolay Zherdev

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 203 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Philadelphia Flyers

2010-2011 Stats: 56 games, 16 goals, 6 assists, 22 PIM (regular season); 8 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 2 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Zherdev is a talented, but enigmatic forward. To turn things around, Ottawa may have to take a chance like this.

Philadelphia Flyers

Player: Ville Leino

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 183 lbs.

Position: F

2010-2011 Team: Philadelphia Flyers

2010-2011 Stats: 81 games, 19 goals, 34 assists, 22 PIM (regular season); 11 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 0 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Leino is a skilled forward who should see an increased role based on the amount of goals traded away from the Philly lineup in the past few weeks.

Phoenix Coyotes

Player: Tomas Vokoun

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 195 lbs.

Position: G

2010-2011 Team: Florida Panthers

2010-2011 Stats: 57 games, 22 wins, 3,224 MIN, 2.55 GAA, .922 SV percentage

What He Adds: Vokoun could replace Ilya Bryzgalov and give the team a chance to stay afloat—on the ice, I mean.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Player: Jaromir Jagr

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 242 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Avangard Omsk (KHL)

2010-2011 Stats: 49 games, 19 goals, 31 assists, 48 PIM (regular season); 14 games, 2 goals, 7 assists, 8 PIM

What He Adds: Jagr is a capable scoring threat to play on either of the top two lines and power play; it might also repair his image going back to the city where his NHL career started.

San Jose Sharks

Player: Tomas Kaberle

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 214 lbs.

Position: D

2010-2011 Teams: Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins

2010-2011 Stats: 82 games, 4 goals, 43 assists, 18 PIM (regular season); 25 games, 0 goals, 11 assists, 4 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Kaberle is a skilled defenseman who could help reshape the blue-line, help on power play and add championship experience.

St. Louis Blues

Player: Raffi Torres

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 216 lbs.

Position: LW

2010-2011 Team: Vancouver Canucks

2010-2011 Stats: 80 games, 14 goals, 15 assists, 78 PIM (regular season); 23 games, 3 goals, 4 assists, 28 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: A pot-stirring forward, Torres adds character to a young lineup.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Player: Steven Stamkos

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 188 lbs.

Position: C

2010-2011 Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

2010-2011 Stats: 82 games, 45 goals, 46 assists, 74 PIM (regular season); 18 games, 6 goals, 7 assists, 6 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Stamkos will be a perennial Art Ross, Maurice Richard and Hart Memorial Trophy candidate.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Player: Brad Richards

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 198 lbs.

Position: C

2010-2011 Team: Dallas Stars

2010-2011 Stats: 72 games, 28 goals, 49 assists, 24 PIM (regular season)

What He Adds: Richards is an excellent playmaker and the top free agent of this class.

Vancouver Canucks

Player: Radim Vrbata

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 190 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Phoenix Coyotes

2010-2011 Stats: 79 games, 19 goals, 29 assists, 20 PIM (regular season); 4 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 0 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Vrbata is a player with good scoring ability who may raise his game with new surroundings and linemates.

Washington Capitals

Player: Troy Brouwer

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 214 lbs.

Position: LW

2010-2011 Team: Chicago Blackhawks

2010-2011 Stats: 79 games, 17 goals, 19 assists, 38 PIM (regular season); 7 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 11 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Brouwer brings size and ability, along with championship experience.

Winnipeg Jets

Player: Teemu Selanne

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 196 lbs.

Position: RW

2010-2011 Team: Anaheim Ducks

2010-2011 Stats: 73 games, 31 goals, 49 assists, 49 PIM (regular season); 6 games, 6 goals, 1 assist, 12 PIM (playoffs)

What He Adds: Selanne is a sure Hall of Famer who can fill up the net still.

Okay, so I used him twice. If Winnipeg can get their team back, I say dream big and go for "The Finnish Flash" for one last run.