Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 The first day of NHL Free Agency starts tomorrow, so I thought it would be fitting to do a preview the class of free agents and make some signing predictions. Top Free Agent Centers Claude Giroux Nazem Kadri Vincent Trocheck Ryan Strome Dylan Strome Paul Stastny Evan Rodrigues Chris Tierney Top Free Agent Left Wingers Johnny Gaudreau Ondrej Palat Evander Kane Max Domi Nino Niederreiter Andrew Copp Andre Burakovsky Ilya Mikheyev Dominik Kubalik Calle Jarnkrok Oskar Lindblom Sonny Milano Mattias Janmark Top Free Agent Right-Wingers David Perron Phil Kessel Reilly Smith Alexander Radulov Frank Vatrano Vladislav Namestnikov Danton Heinen Tyler Motte Top Free Agent Defenseman John Klingberg Nick Leddy Olli Maatta Josh Manson Justin Schultz Ben Chiarot PK Subban Dan DeKeyser Anton Stralman Calvin DeHaan Nikita Zadorov Ian Cole Brett Kulak Justin Braun Top Free Agent Goalies Darcy Kuemper Jack Campbell Ilya Samsonov Thomas Greiss Martin Jones Braden Holtby Jaroslav Halak Free Agent Signi...

 The Colorado Avalanche got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, so they will certainly be active in free agency to bolster their roster, in an attempt to build a championship roster. Heading into the Free Agency period, the Colorado Avalanche has about 25.5 million in cap space to spend, but before going out and signing new players, they will need to take care of some of their own free agents. Colorado has 9 UFAs; notable UFAs include Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad, Pierre Eduoard-Bellemare, Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert and Patrik Nemeth. The Avs also have 3 RFAs; notable RFAs include Cale Makar and Tyson Jost. Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert, Patrik Nemeth don't get re-signed, so they walk to free agency. The top two UFAs that Colorado needs to re-sign are Gabriel Landeskog and Philipp Grubauer. Landeskog is the Captain of the team, so he should be the first priority; the Avs should pay Landeskog anywhere from 6-8 million for a long-term contract. Landeskog...