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The expansion draft is swiftly approaching. Deals will be worked on for teams who want to avoid losing someone for nothing if they feel like there is even a modest return available. Montreal, to their credit, slowed down the thunder by grabbing their first win of the series yesterday. Whenever the final is finished, the horses will be out of the gate and the race to expansion is on.
Mlive did a post on Detroit’s need for right handed players. It’s a “subscription only” article, so you will need to log in to read it. Just for fun, I sorted the list of upcoming free agent forwards that are right handed. I then sorted by goals scored last season. I’m going to list a few of the names that came back. This is just an exercise, some of these players may well re sign with their current team as soon as the expansion draft is over.
Here is the list that was compiled for me. you’ll also notice that I did an age cutoff of 29. That’s just personal preference. There are obviously good free agents in their 30s, but I like to try and keep those signings a little younger when possible.
Here are the top 5 right shot UFAs (under 29) In order of scoring:
Zach Hyman - he had 15 goals and 18 assists in 43 games. I don’t know if Yzerman will make this deal (or if Hyman would want to sign in Detroit). I love the player. But, he is looking for his “cash in” deal. 5 or more years at 5 million or more type numbers. Again, I wouldn’t complain at all to see Zach sporting the Winged Wheel, but it just doesn’t seem realistic. Hyman had two straight 21 goal seasons in the past 2 years with 15 and 10 goals in the seasons prior to those.
Joel Armia - he had 7 goals and 7 assists in 41 games. He’s had some nice playoff moments, scoring 5 goals this post season. I have to believe Montreal will try to keep him in the fold. Listed as a left side or right side winger (I love right shot on the left side). At 28 his cap hit was 2.6 (actual salary 2.4). If he hits the market, no idea what his ask will be. He had a career high 16 goals in 19/20’s shortened season. That was his 4th straight season of 10+.
Evan Rodrigues - another 7 goals and 7 assists but in 35 games. Pittsburgh always seems to have decisions to make. What’s interesting about Rodrigues is that he can also play center. Rodrigues’s career high was 9 goals playing for Buffalo in 18-19. He was on pace for better than that in the shortened season.
Josh Leivo - 6 goals and 3 assists in 38 games. Listed as being able to play either side. Calgary is considering some potentially big changes, Leivo may well test the market. Leivo scored his career high of 14 goals in 18-19 with time split between Toronto and Vancouver
Travis Boyd - 5 goals and 5 assists in 39 games. He’s the second player in the top 5 of scoring that can also play center. His time was split between Toronto and Vancouver. Boyd has never scored more than 5 goals in an NHL season.
**honestly, most of these players just don’t have the scoring history to move the needle a great deal. Hyman is the best of the bunch, for sure. With a chance to grab top 6 minutes, a player can certainly add to those totals if they’re up for the challenge.
You can take a peek through the list and let me know if you think anyone would be a good fit. Again, I’m not implying that Yzerman is going to talk to any of these players. This is just the list that’s available within the “under 30” parameter and a right shot.
I hope you enjoy going through and comparing the players. See you in the comments.
Check out some of my previous posts
The expansion draft is swiftly approaching.
In my third installment of Summer Reading, Chelios found out exactly what Yzerman was like as a leader..
My third “Gear Corner” focused on helmets.
Alex Tanguay is a new assistant coach in Detroit.
I posted about the state of the Wings being at about half of the team it needs to be..
Frank Seravalli’s top 20 list has some options for Detroit.
My second summer reading post took a look at the world’s funniest bar fight.
My second “Gear Corner” talked a bit about gloves.
The Golden Knights are out of the playoffs.
Updated mock drafts have Detroit looking at Wallstedt, Eklund and Edvinsson.
Helm and Filppula could be moving on.
Jared McIsaac may finally be healthy enough to have a solid pro year.
My first “summer reading post” covered Chelios’s career defining fib.
Friday was my first gear corner with Doug Todd from Warrior Hockey.
Albert Johansson won’t be competing for a spot in North America this season
I will be featuring the writings of Kevin Allen for a summer reading program this year. It’s tough to break up the summer months, and the one on one formats that Kevin has perfected is not only a pleasure to read but gives insight that isn’t easy to come by. I’ll be starting with Chris Chelios “Made in America”.
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