Well, I thought I would have a quick peek to see who tops the list of restricted free agents still looking for a new deal, heading into August. I'm sure there has to be a reason why some of these kids are still without a contract, but I'm not totally surprised to see a lack of offer sheets out on them, just because there are some pretty high priced compensation packages out there to snag them.
| OFFER | COMPENSATION |
| $1,020,348 or below | None |
| Over $1,020,348 to $1,545,981 | Third-round choice |
| Over $1,545,981 to $3,091,963 | Second-round choice |
| Over $3,091,963 to $4,637,944 | First-round and third-round choice |
| Over $4,637,944 to $6,183,925 | First-round, second-round and third-round choice |
| Over $6,183,925 to $7,729,907 | Two first-round choices, one second- and one third-round choice |
| Over $7,729,907 | Four first-round choices |
Now, I don't think there are any players on this list looking to score a team four 1st round picks, but teams are definitely thinking twice about what they are risking when offering sheets to some of these RFAs. Look at San Jose offering
Niklas Hjalmarsson a deal, it would have been a good risk to move a 1st and a 3rd for him, if they signed him.
Anyways, let's have a look at the RFAs, shall we?
Antti Niemi, goalie
2010 Points: 67, 53rd overall, 14th among goalies
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $827,000
Now, this is a little unfair to put Niemi on, but I haven't had a good chance to write about him yet. Niemi was awarded an arbitration decision of $2.7 million, to which the Blackhawks are still mulling over at the time of writing this post. This could switch him over to the unrestricted free agent side, if the Blackhawks walk away, but I imagine the team will sign him and then move him afterwards. It's a good deal for a lot of teams, 1-year and $2.7 million.
Bobby Ryan, forward
2010 Points: 64, 60th overall, 43rd among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $1.921 million
Coming off his entry-level deal, Bobby Ryan is getting stuck between a rock and a hard place with the Anaheim Ducks. I don't think there is any doubt that the Ducks would love to get him signed on to a deal, but the word is that the Ducks are hard up for some working cash and Ryan could be in for a pretty good pay day. After a 35-goal season in 2010, I could see him wanting a $3.5 million or more deal, likely for the long-term. Unfortunately, I would also imagine that the Ducks are thinking, let's get through this season at a more cost-efficient price and then we can talk money next Summer.
Chris Stewart, forward
2010 Points: 64, 61st overall, 44th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $850,000
Also coming off an entry-level deal, Chris Stewart also had a pretty good year for the Avalanche, among one of the younger teams in the NHL. Stewart scored 28 goals for the Avs and should be a pretty good option for some pool teams in the coming year, once he's signed, of course. Stewart is a 2006 1st rounder, who jumped on the bandwagon as a gunner and didn't disappoint. He will probably be looking for some solid scratch in his new deal, but this was the first season that he was really showing flashes at the elite level. Hesitation to sign him to too long or too much is understandable.
James Neal, forward
2010 Points: 55, 93rd overall, 66th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $850,000
There's lots to like about James Neal, he's looked pretty sharp down in Dallas over the past couple seasons. I currently having the Stars with plenty of cap space under the ceiling, but with the lack of a Neal signing and some extra moves during free agency, I would suggest that they might not be playing with much of a budget this Summer and Neal is likely going to have to bite the bullet on this one. He's a good goal scorer and it would put a lot of pressure on the Stars if an offer sheet of about $3 million came in for Neal. That would only warrant a 2nd round pick, a good deal for such a good player.
Patric Hornqvist, forward
2010 Points: 51, 115th overall, 86th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $713,000
In reading today,
I have seen a tweet suggesting that Hornqvist and the Predators are very close to a new deal, which would strike him off this list right away. He emerged as a valuable member of the Predators in the regular season and should be getting a pretty reasonable deal out of Nashville. Hornqvist doesn't have a long reputation of being a good goal scorer in the league, which should hurt his negotiating power, but there should be a nice reward for his good 2010 season.
Steve Downie, forward
2010 Points: 46, 150th overall, 112th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $822,000
Downie is an interesting case for the Tampa Bay Lightning this Summer. Downie, known more as an agitating, rough & tumble forward, really came to light on a line with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, which all of a sudden boosted his value, both fantasy-wise and likely with negotiating a new deal. Downie had 46 points and could be a bargain pick in your pool, if you're looking for some improving players. He's due for a raise, but how much will GM Steve Yzerman give?
Niclas Bergfors, forward
2010 Points: 44, 161st overall, 120th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $818,000
Bergfors was having a pretty good year with the New Jersey Devils before getting dealt down to Atlanta in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal at the deadline. In Jersey, he was scoring at 0.5 points-per-game, which looked pretty good on him and then after the move to Atlanta, he picked up his socks and made good use of the Thrashers' desire to have him, scoring at 0.63 points-per-game. Any improvement is a good one, in my books. He should see a nice raise, especially if the Thrashers want him to be that guy.
Sam Gagner, forward
2010 Points: 41, 187th overall, 137th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $1.625 million
The argument pending on Sam Gagner is whether or not he has really lived up to expectations with the Oilers or not. He has been a very streaky player for the Oilers and now the team is bringing up the next crop of young talent, putting some more pressure on Gagner, possibly even giving him someone to play with. The Oilers are starting to count their pennies with some of these large entry-level deals coming onto their books and Gagner may have to take a pay cut, if he wants to guarantee a spot on the team this year.
Erik Johnson, defense
2010 Points: 39, 198th overall, 25th among defense
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $3.7 million
Finally, a defenseman hits the list and it's a pretty good one. Erik Johnson is coming off his entry-level deal after being the 1st overall pick in 2006. Johnson has shown some real flashes of becoming a franchise defender and on the St. Louis Blues, he gets every opportunity to grow and evolve into one. His bonuses on his entry-level deal were pretty big and other than missing an entire year after a freak accident with a golf cart, he has shown that he should be getting paid as a top 30 defenseman in the league. There really is no need for the Blues to be in a big hurry in signing Johnson, as he will likely be looking at $4 million per season, which gets costly. His deal will get done eventually.
Peter Mueller, forward
2010 Points: 37, 218th overall, 157th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $1.7 million
Kind of like Blake Wheeler, Mueller is a kid that has given some NHL teams a real hard time without proving much to anyone and I find it really unusual that they think they can call the shots a bit. Sure, Wheeler did well in his arbitration hearing, but Mueller will look at that and say, why not me? If the Avalanche are going to play a bit of hardball with Chris Stewart, I don't think they will be in any hurry to meet demands by Mueller. Budget teams definitely have a lot more power to play with at the negotiating table than some cap ceiling teams, especially with RFAs.
Bryan Little, forward
2010 Points: 34, 247th overall, 177th among forwards
2010 Salary Cap Hit: $900,000
Quietly doing a good job in Atlanta, Little has found a nice home with the Thrashers, but has been a little too hot & cold for management's liking. Little was able to post 51 points in the 2009 season, but only 34 points in 2010, so there could be some trouble coming to an agreement right away between the two sides. The Thrashers are a growing team and I would have to think that Little is going to be a part of it, I just don't know how effective he will be with the club in 2010, but that will also depend on who he lines up with.
Another signing from the One To Watch paragraphs of Pool Outlooks, the Ducks signed one of their up-and-coming players in Kyle Palmieri, giving him a 3-year deal with a cap hit of $1.075 million per season with all bonuses included. Palmieri, a 26th overall pick in 2009, is a bit of a smallish centre, but has demonstrated some good playmaking skills at the international junior level and at the university level, so there should always be a market for a guy like that at the pro level, if he can make sure his progress keeps in line with playing with the big boys. Palmieri is still only 19 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to develop with the club, but at least he has his papers to jump right into the mix, if he's good enough.
He could have been picked as the number one overall player in the Entry Draft, so he is going to be paid like the number one player in the Entry Draft. Tyler Seguin signed his entry-level deal on Tuesday, a 3-year deal said to be worth upwards of $3.75 million with hitting his bonuses, which sounds about right for the guy who was neck-in-neck down the home stretch with Taylor Hall, according to many scouts. The next question becomes, how do the Bruins manage to fit him under the cap for the 2011 season, if he's good enough to make the team?
The rumours were indeed true that the Thrashers only acquired Donald Brashear to buy out the remaining 1-year, $1.4 million deal he had after acquiring him from the Rangers. Since the deal was a 35+ contract, meaning Brashear signed the deal after turning 35 years old, the Thrashers will have to absorb the entire cap hit for only the one season in the buyout and now he is an unrestricted free agent once again.
Unrestricted free agent forward Glen Metropolit has decided not to wait around in North America for a new contract, as he has decided to take a deal in Switzerland, not sure if there is an NHL out clause in the deal, but I think we can expect him to play abroad for at least another season.
The Ducks, cap-wise, are in pretty decent shape, having 17 players on their table above for the annual cap hit of $43.1 million, giving them ample room to fill some holes at a good cost, including signing restricted free agent, Bobby Ryan. The Ducks need two more forwards and three defensemen to really stay deep enough to start the season, but if they have full intentions on being a cap team, they have more than enough scratch to fill the needs well, just a question of being filled well enough.
Johnson only managed to play in his 2nd full season with the Blues after missing the 2009 season with a knee injury, thanks to a freak accident, but came back pretty strong in the 2010 season, scoring 10 goals and 29 assists in 79 games for the Blues. That was good enough to have him ranked 25th among all blueliners and puts him in prime picking position for the 2011 season pools, as he is only going to get better from here.
So, now the Blackhawks are going with a veteran choice in net and it should save them a good number of pennies to what their other option was to be. Turco was let go as a free agent by the Dallas Stars, who opted to go with Kari Lehtonen as their number one guy for the coming season, ending an era that included a Stanley Cup in Dallas, thanks in large part to Turco. Unfortunately, Turco did not have the best 2010 season with the Stars, but by his numbers, it wasn't the worst year either. In 53 appearances, Turco came away with a 22-20-11 record, which is still technically above .500, with 4 shutouts and 4 assists, giving him 56 pool points in the year, ranking him 23rd among all goalies. Turco is known to have better numbers, but the team in front of him didn't help him out a great deal and Turco didn't look all that sharp at a number of points in the season either.
By the end of the 2010 season, Deslauriers was taking most of the starts in the Edmonton nets, but for as admirably as he played, the team in front of him was already beaten and broken and the wins were few and far between. At the end of the year, he finished with a 16-28-4 record with 3 shutouts and 3 assists for 41 points and the 29th rank among all goalies in my pool rankings. That's actually a pretty good record for a goalie on a last place team. I know the games I watched saw him play pretty well, but couldn't overcome some poor defense and was left hanging a lot.