2008 UFA Rankings

Centers:

1- Mats Sundin (74 GP: 32 G, 46 A, 78 PTS, 55.2 FO%, +17)
2- Brendan Morrison (39 GP: 9 G, 16 A, 25 PTS, 45.1 FO%, -3)
3- Bobby Holik (82 GP: 15 G, 19 A, 34 PTS, 58.4 FO%, -14)
4- Michael Peca (65 GP: 8 G, 24 A, 36 PTS, 52.7 FO%, -1)
5- Ryan Johnson (79 GP: 5 G, 13 A, 18 PTS, 54.5 FO%, -2)

Left Wingers:

1- Kristian Huselius (81 GP: 25 G, 41 A, 66 PTS, +10)
2- Cory Stillman (79 GP: 24 G, 41 A, 65 PTS, -15)
3- Andrew Brunette (82 GP: 19 G, 40 A, 59 PTS, +5)
4- Markus Naslund (82 GP: 25 G, 30 A, 55 PTS, -7)
5- Sean Avery (57 GP: 15 G, 18 A, 33 PTS, +6)

Right Wingers:

1- Marian Hossa (72 GP: 29 G, 37 A, 66 PTS, -14)
2- Jaromir Jagr (82 GP: 25 G, 46 A, 71 PTS, +8)
3- Pavol Demitra (68 GP: 15 G, 39 A, 54 PTS, +9)
4- Radim Vrbata (76 GP: 27 G, 29 A, 56 PTS, +6)
5- Miroslav Satan (80 GP: 16 G, 25 A, 41 PTS, -11)

Defencemen:

1- Brian Campbell (83 GP: 8 G, 54 A, 62 PTS, +8)
2- Wade Redden (80 GP: 6 G, 32 A, 38 PTS, +11)
3- Michal Rozsival (80 GP: 13 G, 25 A, 38 PTS, +0)
4- Brooks Orpik (78 GP: 1 G, 10 A, 11 PTS, +11)
5- Mark Streit (81 GP: 13 G, 49 A, 62 PTS, -6)

Goaltenders:

1- Cristobal Huet (32-14-6, 2.32 GAA, .920 SV%)
2- Jose Theodore (28-21-3, 2.44 GAA, .910 SV%)
3- Ty Conklin (18-8-5, 2.51 GAA, .923 SV%)
4- Ray Emery (12-13-4, 3.13 GAA, .890 SV%)
5- Olaf Kolzig (25-21-6, 2.91 GAA, .892 SV%)

NHL RFAs Update

As you may have known, today was the last day NHL GMs could tender offers to their restricted free-agents. Players who weren't tendered offers will become unrestricted free-agents sunday July 1st.

Here is a list of "important" players who weren't offered any contracts:

F Michel Ouellet (PIT)
F Jiri Notvotni (WAS)
F Kris Beech (WAS)
F Adam Hall (MIN)
F Juraj Kolnik (FLA)
F Nikita Alexeev (CHI)
F Jamie Lundmark (LAK)
F Jaroslav Balastik (CLB)
F Dimitry Afanasenkov (PHI)

D Doug Janik (TB)
D Karel Rachunek (NYR)
D Aaron Johnson (CLB)
D Andy Hilbert (BOS)

G Curtis Sanford (STL)
G Alex Auld (FLA)
G Sebastien Caron (ANA)
G Yutaka Fukufuji (LAK)
G Barry Brust (LAK)

PS. This post will be updated all day long.

So the Countdown begins...

With a mere 6 days remaining before this year's UFAs hit the market, here is a special feature dedicated to the top player at every position of this year's UFA class.

5) Goaltending: Dominik Hasek

The Dominator proved he still had gas remaining in the tank this season while compiling a 38-11-6 record with a 2.05 GAA and .913 SV%.

Eventhough those stats speak for themselves, Hasek was protected by an all-star defense, composed by guys like Matthieu Schneider, Nick Lidstrom and Chris Chelios. Hasek's key to success is health and good defense. If both elements are combined, he is in for a big success.

The only question is if a quality team is in need of a goalie?

All the teams currently in the hunt for a starting goalie possess a mediocre defense and are in need of a starter that can play every game, which spells disaster for Hasek if he is not re-signed by the Wings. Think of Phoenix, Boston, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay as "those teams".

In an other scenario than returning to the Wings, Hasek's comeback tour seems to be in jeopardy.

Rumor Central

CAR/PHI- Per Canada.com, the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes are working on a trade that would send defenseman Joni Pitkanen to the 'Canes. The Flyers are rumored to be interested in veterans Niclas Wallin and Mike Commodore.

DET- According to the Detroit News, Wings' GM Ken Holland will not offer forward Kyle Calder a contract for next season. And, per the Detroit Free Press, his odds of re-signing veteran defenseman Matthieu Schneider are quite slim. They also suggest that he will pursue an easier route, trying to re-sign Todd Bertuzzi.

PHI- According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren's top priority this offseason is to bring a legitimate no.1 center to the City of Brotherly Love. Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez seem to be among their top choices.

WWIB Annual UFA Rankings

Since there is a slim week left before these guys hit the market, here are their rankings (the list will be updated if any of these guys are retained by their current teams):

Top 15 UFA Centers:

Chris Drury: Great leader, player, guy. Thrills in the clutch.

Daniel Briere: Gritty speedster. Full of offensive potential.

Peter Forsberg: Peter Forsberg.

Scott Gomez: Best playmaker on the market.

Michael Nylander: 2nd best playmaker on the market.

Robert Lang: Can score and can pass. Good on the faceoffs.

Alexei Yashin: Even though plagued by injuries, he's worth it. Great offensive ability.

Jozef Stumpel: BIG.

Michael Peca: Grittiest centerman in recent years, fantastic on faceoffs. Best defensive forward.

Mike Comrie: Small, but dangerous. Officially armed and dangerous.

Viktor Kozlov: BIG.

Yanic Perreault: Best faceoff-man in the NHL.

Todd White: Speedy, versatile, can play any role.

Bryan Smolinski: BIG.

Josef Vasicek: Young, great hands and size.

Top 5 UFA Left Wingers:

Ryan Smyth: Gritty, filled with offensive prouesse. Great leader.

Brendan Shanahan: Gritty, isn't scared of anybody. He'll still be fighting and scoring at 40.

Paul Kariya: 3rd best playmaker on the market.

Jason Blake: Uses his small body for any cause. Great scorer. Loves to finish any play with a G.

Keith Tkachuk: BIG, versatile, good playmaker.

Top 5 UFA Right Wingers:

Teemu Selanne: On the upside. Might retire.

Dainius Zubrus: Young, BIG and very skilled. Needs to be playing with a star player to succeed.

Bill Guerin: Struggled in SJ while being on the 2nd line. Has to be on any team's 1st line to succeed.

Todd Bertuzzi: BIG and tough. Everybody's scared of him.

Petr Sykora: Streaky, but has a good offensive ability.

Top 10 UFA Defensemen

Brian Rafalski: Does it all: Offense and Defense. One of the best powerplay quarterbacks.

Scott Hannan: Best shut-down defenseman in the NHL.

Tom Preissing: Good offensive ability, very good defensive ability.

Sheldon Souray: One of the best offensive defensemen in the league, a pilar of weakness on D.

Matthieu Schneider: Aging, but still producing.

Roman Hamrlik: Great puck distributer. Great vision.

Brad Stuart: Overrated. OK defenseman.

Brent Sopel: Good all-around d-man.

Greg De Vries: Good offensively, average defensively.

Top 5 UFA Goalies:

Dominik Hasek: A qualified starting goalie.

Mathieu Garon: Still young, needs to have a tremendous defense to succeed.

Jocelyn Thibault: Good backup, reliable for 20+ starts a season.

Sean Burke: Aging, but is still stopping pucks heading his direction. Reliable.

Kevin Weekes: Injured last season, no data.

Rumor Central

FLA- Panthers' GM Jacques Martin is expected to offer a flurry of contracts before July 1st, the date unrestricted free-agents hit the open market. Martin needs to re-sign several restricted free agents including forward Stephen Weiss, defenseman Noah Welch and either goalie Alex Auld or goalie Craig Anderson. He is also expected to tender qualifying offers to defensemen Steve Montador and Alex Semenov. With those previous attempts at re-signing numerous players, Juraj Kolnik will not be re-signed, as the Panthers need to set a clear budget for this year's free-agent signings and are in need of a more productive forward than Kolnik. Several free-agents are on the Panthers' randar, including forwards Slava and Viktor Kozlov, as well as Todd White. Martin might also consider re-signing forwards Martin Gelinas and Jozef Stumpel, but his clock is ticking, since he has 7 more days to offer them offers they have to consider and then either accept or decline. Basically the Panthers, if they are willing to re-sign both veterans, have one offer to give them, since if the afforementioned players reject them, there likely will be no more time left before they hit the market, or July 1st.

NJ- Per Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Lou Lamoriello, currently without a head coach, has contacted Brian Sutter. Sutter was last an NHL coach in 2005, for the Chicago Blackhawks, a period of time which tarnished his, up to that point in time, highly recognised coaching ability.

NYR- According to John Dellapina of the New York Daily News, the 2nd round selection of big Quebec League goalie Antoine Lafleur in this year's draft could spell the end for goaltending prospect Al Montoya with the Rangers. Montoya was drafted 6th overall in the 2004 entry draft which means he is 22 years old and still hasn't had a "serious" stint with the Rangers. He is currently "blocked" by Rangers' starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist, whereas Lafleur, won't, since he is 7 years younger than the Swedish 'keeper, who is 25.

UFA- Alexei Yashin's agent indicates that if an NHL team does not offer the veteran center an "attractive" offer, over the "10 cents on the dollar" they expect they will sign him for, he might play in europe, for the "top dollar".