Continuing on the "Free Agent Frenzy" pieces, we have the ten best defensemen available come July 1st. In what is rapidly becoming an aging position, the market for defensemen is sure to be big for teams looking to add that big physical presence or that puck-moving defensemen to put their club over the edge for the Stanley Cup.10) Mathieu Schneider - What a year it's been for the 40 year old defensemen. Schneider's season began in Anaheim, but not for long as he was sent to Atlanta before the season began in a cap-crunching move. In Atlanta, Schneider was relied upon to become a pivotal role player on the Thrashers powerplay. However, the Schneider experiment failed as in 44 games the blue-liner had just 4 points on the Thrashers powerplay and was traded to Montreal days before the trading deadline. In Montreal, Schneider provided a spark to the revitalized Canadiens powerplay with 14 out of his 17 points coming on the powerplay. By season's end, Schneider was battling shoulder injuries and was useless in the Habs 4 game sweep out of the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. Even at 40, Schneider can provide a great veteran presence on a blue-line and is still a very capable weapon for any team's powerplay. His pay day will undoubtedly not be nearly as lucrative as his current 5.6 million dollar salary.
9) Niclas Havelid - Along with Schneider, Niclas Havelid found himself to be exiting Atlanta during the week of the NHL Trade Deadline. The 36 year old's 190 blocked shots put him among the Devils/Thrashers leader and with 37 takeaways he's still a very valuable defensive minded defensemen. With a 2.7 million dollar cap hit, Havelid's future with the Devils is uncertain. The Devils already have their hands full trying to hold on to goaltender Scott Clemmensen, defensive forward John Madden, defensemen Johnny Oduya and speedy winger Brian Gionta so it's entirely possible that Niclas Havelid could be seeking a new home come July.
8) Johnny Oduya - Along with Havelid, 27 year old defensemen Johnny Oduya is another Devil without a contract. In just his 3rd full NHL season, all with the Devils, Oduya is certainly developing a name for himself as a clutch defensmen. 3 of his 7 goals in the 2008-09 campaign came in the final five minutes of the game and 8 of his 22 assists came with under five minutes left in play. After two straight seasons with a +/- over 20 and when you factor in his youth Oduya is certainly a player who can fly under the radar in Newark. His current cap hit of 600,000 is nothing and will certainly get a nice pay raise, likely double his current salary whether it be from the Devils or perhaps the Calgary Flames to re-join coach Brent Sutter as the Flames are in the market for a lower tier defensemen this off-season.
7) Derek Morris - It can be said that 2008-09 was somewhat of a underachieving year for Edmonton native and 'Yotes/Rangers defensemen Derek Morris. The 30 year old's play in the desert took a hit as he struggled to post solid numbers under coach Wayne Gretzky and found himself traded to the Big Apple in a deadline deal. His decrease in powerplay points will surely hurt 1996's 13th overall draft pick in this year's market. Although Morris' numbers picked up in New York with the Rangers, how could a team be sold that Morris wouldn't throw in the proverbial towel if he signs with a team that ends up being a non-contender as he displayed in Phoenix? Morris will surely find a team to sign with and probably with ease, but I for one am doubting the notion that any team is going to offer him more than the 3.9 million dollars a year salary he currently makes or even as much.
6) Francois Beauchemin - Chances are if F.B had played in more than 20 games this year for the Anaheim Ducks he'd be higher on this list. However, due to a torn ACL Beauchemin missed the final 62 games of the Ducks regular season before returning to the line-up for Anaheim's push towards their second Stanley Cup in 3 years. In Francois' 20 regular season games, he scored 4 goals, including 2 game winning goals and tallied 1 assist. In 13 post-season games for Anaheim, Beauchemin registered 31 hits and finished with a +1, showing potential suitors that his physical game was still there even after the surgery. In all likelihood, the team that can sign Francois Beauchemin to a contract this off-season will be making one of the better choices in the sure to be wild free agency market.
5) Scott Niedermayer - The only reason he's lower on this list is because he's pretty much a lock to return to the Anaheim Ducks. How much does the captain still have left in the tank? The soon to be 36 year old blue-liner still has his scoring touch, registering 59 points in 82 games with the Ducks. With Pronger now a member of the Flyers, the load on Scott's back may have just gotten a little bit heavier.
4) Mattias Ohlund - Vancouver's alternate captain and all-time scoring leader among defensemen Mattias Ohlund is set for a new contract. The 32 year old Swede is coming off yet another strong season for the Canucks where he led the Vancouver blue-line to their second divisional title since 2006-07. Ohlund's +14 was second to Willie Mitchell (+29) for the lead on the Canucks point. Ohlund was still a premiere force on the defensive aspect of the Canucks game as he blocked over 150 shots and led the Canucks in shifts and shifts per game. There's no denying that Ohlund's services are greatly taken on any team and with the Canucks having their plate full with re-signing the Sedins, extending Luongo and looking to make a splash in the free agent market it's possible that the 2006 Olympic gold medalist will be moving to another city.
3) Rob Blake - Will age ever catch up to Rob Blake? It doesn't appear to be, for the time being. The 39 year old former King, Avalanche and now Shark had his best season since 2005-06 as he and Dan Boyle became one of the best defensive pairings in the National Hockey League. Blake's +15 was the best among Sharks defensemen and his 45 points were second only to Dan Boyle. With age, the concerns about endurance become a big issue with teams interested in the services of the 18 year NHL veteran. However, Blake's 26.8 shifts a game average and 21+ minutes of time on ice per game give teams reason to not be concerned.
2) Michael Komisarek - Loathed by Boston, loved by Montreal and an undeserving All-Star. Just a few terms and situations that can be used to describe 6'4 Habs defensemen Michael Komisarek. Whether you love his style of play or not (personally, I hate it. Eye-gouging and turtling have never been huge in my book.) fact remains that he's one of the best stay-at-home defensemen in the NHL. The rumored asking price for Komi has become one of the better laughs in the NHL as Komisarek's agent reportedly wants a 5 year contract worth atleast 35 million dollars in total. One issue for potential suitors of the 27 year old bruiser is his lack of showing up in the Canadiens first round series against the Boston Bruins, where his poor attitude was shown as he found himself ejected from Game 4 following a cowardly attack on Milan Lucic from behind after losing a fight against his arch-rival. If the Habs chose to move on from Komisarek and attempt to sign Bouwmeester, Beauchemin or Ohlund I'd expect to see Komisarek dawn the blue, orange and white and sign with the New York Islanders.
1) Jay Bouwmeester - Undoubtedly the biggest prize of the deadline and now the off-season in the market of defensemen is Florida Panthers 6'4 blue-liner Jay Bouwmeester. Following another 40+ point season in Sunrise, Florida it appears Jay-Bo is ready for his big pay day. His 20 powerplay points and upside certainly put the 25 year old at the top of every NHL GM's July 1st wish list. Despite the upside, Bouwmeester's 'disappearance' during the Panthers push to making the playoffs could be a turn-off to some teams who could view this as a sign that perhaps Jay couldn't handle the pressure and intensity of a hockey town or the playoffs. No matter how badly he performed for the last month of the season when looking at his -9 after the trading deadline, Bo's undoubtedly getting his big payday from some team out there.
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