NHL Free Agents: 5 Bargains Under One Million Dollars

The NHL free agent feeding frenzy has slowed down to a steady trickle.  Buffalo, Florida, and Philadelphia have made significant changes to their rosters.  Anaheim, Nashville, and New Jersey have done very little via trades or free agency. 

General Managers across the league are always looking for ways to improve their teams with the best possible value.  Most of the high profile free agents that remain are either expensive, old, or both.   

There are still some free agents that represent solid value for teams with roster spots left to fill. 

Each of these five players is young, has good upside and made less than $1 million last season.

Ray Emery

28 year old Ray Emery has played in Ottawa, Philadelphia, and Anaheim.  He had a few workmanlike seasons for Ottawa and Philadelphia. It was this past season that he seemed to finally blossom as a professional hockey player.

Though he only played in 10 games last season he posted an excellent 2.28 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.  He led his team on a hot streak down the stretch and performed well in the playoffs.

Goalies are often late bloomers.  Emery has potential to become a solid starter at some point in the near future. 

Last season Emery made $500,000.

Sami Lepisto

Sami Lepisto is a 26 year old defenseman from Finland.  At 6' and 195 pounds he certainly isn't the biggest defenseman.  He is, however, a smooth skating defenseman who plays with intelligence and gives great effort on every shift. 

He made his mark playing for Finland in the Olympics and at the World Championships.  Last season while splitting time between Phoenix and Columbus he played in 70 games, scored four goals and had 12 assists.  He also proved his value as a defensive player by posting a +10 plus/minus rating. 

Sami would provide great value as a high energy, defensively responsible, puck mover in a third pairing of defensemen. 

Last season Sami made $800,000.

Frans Nielsen

Frans Nielsen is a native of Denmark.  The Danish center weighs in at 6', 187 pounds and 27 years of age. 

Last season he posted 13 goals and 31 assists in 71 games.  More impressively, on a team that wasn't very good he posted a superb +13 plus/minus rating (which tied for best on the team).

Frans is a shootout savant registering a blistering 62.5 percent on shootouts (5/8).

He also wore the A which shows that he has leadership qualities and the respect of his teammates.  Hard work at both ends of the ice make him a valuable player.

Last season Frans made $525,000.

Rob Schremp

Rob Schremp is only 25 and has very good upside potential.  The issue with him is injuries.  He played 63 games last season and only 44 the season before.

When healthy this 5'11" 200 pound center can be a productive player.  He posted 13 goals and 13 assists.  Rob also had a robust shooting percentage over 15 percent last season. 

He is also a player who doesn't leave his team short handed.  Last season he only spent 16 minutes in the sin bin.

In shootouts Rob embarrassed goalies to the tune of 57 percent (4/7).

Rob made $750,750 last season.

Kyle Wellwood

Kyle Wellwood isn't a standout in any one particular area.  He is only 5'10" and 181 pounds.  He isn't the fastest or the strongest player in the NHL. 

Last season, the winger played in just 35 games accumulating five goals and eight assists.  The two prior seasons, he put up 25 and 27 points respectively.  His career high was 45 points in 2005-2006 with Toronto.

While Kyle isn't great at anything, he is good at most things.  He is a steady player who has a good hockey I.Q.  Kyle is an accurate shooter who can provide a legitimate scoring threat to a third line. 

One key advantage that Kyle has is that he has played on some very good hockey teams and knows how to win.

Last season, Kyle made $650,000.