NHL Free Agents 2011: 5 Free-Agent Targets Every Team Should Avoid

As we creep toward the commencement of NHL training camps, there aren't many impact players left on the free-agent market, as the most coveted targets were inked to deals over a month ago.  

However, there are some names still available that will attract interest from teams looking to add a complementary piece or two before the season begins, though many of them may not be the worth the hassle.  

A good portion of the players remaining on the market are still available because they didn't have positive impacts with their previous teams, so clubs looking to make late additions to their rosters should look elsewhere.  

With that in mind, here are the top five available free agents that teams should avoid.  

5. Pascal Leclaire

At one point, Pascal Leclaire was considered to be the future of the Columbus Blue Jackets in between the pipes.  The former eighth overall pick had one decent season as the Jackets' starting goaltender, but since then has been wildly inconsistent in both Columbus, and more recently, Ottawa.  

Leclaire has been plagued by injuries for the last several seasons, but even when healthy, he has been unreliable, which is why Ottawa made the move to bring in Craig Anderson at the 2011 trade deadline.  

Teams still in search of a backup goaltender should look elsewhere, because Leclaire didn't seem comfortable in that role with the Senators, and at just 28, he probably believes he can still be a No. 1 guy in this league.  

Leclaire would be better suited going overseas to find a team he could start for, and then potentially making a comeback to the NHL a year or two down the road.  

4. Rob Schremp

Many hockey fans have seen the now-famous YouTube video of Rob Schremp mesmerizing a goaltender with his puck skills during the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2006-07 Skills Competition, as the young forward demonstrated his almost prodigal talent.  

However, Schremp's NHL-calibre skills seem to begin and end with his stick-handling abilities, as his game hasn't made the transition to the next level at this stage in his career.  Now 25, Schremp is running out of time to prove that he can adapt the way he plays in order to fit the more physical, two-way style of the NHL.  

Though he received a good amount of time on the New York Islanders scoring lines and power play over the course of the last two seasons, Schremp has scored just 20 goals in 114 career games.  

He'll likely receive at least a training camp offer from an NHL team looking to bolster its offense, but Schremp has shown that his main concern is scoring pretty goals, and not necessarily doing what it takes to win games.  He should be avoided by all NHL teams, largely because the amount of offense he brings to the table is outweighed by his me-first attitude.  

3. Kyle Wellwood

Kyle Wellwood was once projected to be a top-two-line pivot for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he tallied over 40 points in each of his first two NHL seasons.  

However, since then, Wellwood's career has been on a decline, as the Leafs grew tired of his regularly poor fitness, and he was acquired by the Canucks during the 2008-09 season.  

While his fitness has reportedly been better since his days in Toronto, the issue with Wellwood is he's basically a strictly offense-type of player, and isn't capable of playing a bottom-six role effectively.  He's not quite productive enough to be a top-two-line player, so he's not an exceptionally useful player because he's not versatile.  

Teams looking for a playmaker as a stopgap, such as Vancouver (since Ryan Kesler underwent surgery this week), should look elsewhere, because Wellwood hasn't shown he has the skating abilities to be a scoring center at the NHL level.  

2. Marty Turco

For the better part of the last decade, Marty Turco has been considered one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League, but his stock has dropped exponentially since the end of the 2009-10 season.  

After the Dallas Stars opted not to re-sign Turco in the summer of 2010, Turco was inked to a one-year deal by the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks to step in and fill the void left by Antti Niemi.  

Instead, Turco faltered badly down the stretch, and ultimately lost the starting job to youngster Corey Crawford, who outplayed Turco thoroughly.  

Turco's 3.02 goals-against average was by far the worst of his NHL career, and he seemed unhappy as a backup.  The fact that Chicago let him go demonstrates that it didn't believe he was a good option for the role of understudy, so other teams in search of a backup should stay away.  

The two-time All-Star isn't worth taking a flyer on, unless a general manager out there still believes he's capable of being a starter once again.

1. Owen Nolan

Owen Nolan was one of the best power forwards of the 1990s, but at age 39, it's unlikely he can provide much of an impact at the NHL level.  

As of today, the Vancouver Canucks have reportedly extended a tryout offer to Nolan for the team's training camp in September, as they search for offense in the absence of Ryan Kesler.  

While the idea of Nolan returning to the NHL for one last run at the Stanley Cup would make for a good story, it's not an option the Canucks should pursue too seriously.  Nolan is a player who thrives while playing on a team's top two lines, but at this point in his career, he just doesn't have the speed to fill that role.  

He played in Europe last season, and put up solid numbers, but he's only hit 40 points once in his last three NHL seasons, and that was with a mediocre Minnesota Wild team.  

Nolan was an exceptional player in his prime, but he's not going to be the offensive contributor he was even two seasons ago, especially on an offensively stacked team like the Vancouver Canucks.  The Canucks would be better suited giving an opportunity to a younger player, because the Canucks will be in need of speed in the absences of Kesler and Mayson Raymond.