This has been a very odd offseason in terms of free agents. Normally, there are a flurry of moves on the first day, and still a decent amount on the next few days. Most if not all of the big names are gone by day 5 or so, leaving a few minor signing here and there for the rest of the summer. This year however, it has been quite different. There were a ton of signings the first day, and there has been almost nothing overly significant since then. A lot of big names are still out there and it doesn't seem as though they'll be signing anytime soon. For me this is awful, because I'll still be checking rumors and Twitter buzz all summer and get nothing from it. I would prefer everyone going at once to this, and in a best case scenario, four or five guys going a day steadily all summer.
So to keep me occupied, I have speculated on team's targets and player's destinations. I took a look at players under contract for each team to put together their depth charts and identify their needs. Then I took a look at remaining free agents and determined what players would fill those needs and also be good fits on that team or in that city. Next I went team by team and picked the top 5 targets each team should go after if I were the GM, and then the top 5 destinations where each player would fit in. Below is what I came up with. Note: I totally ignored RFAs for this. I left them off the rosters as if they were nonexistant, so many of these teams needs will shift when they get their RFAs signed.
For now here's just the Targets Section:
TOP 5 TARGETS FOR EACH TEAM
Anaheim Ducks
Needs: 2nd line center, forward depth, defensive depth
Targets: Kyle Wellwood, Cam Barker, Colby Armstrong, Jerred Smithson, Tom Poti
Arizona Coyotes
Needs: top six wings, forward depth, scoring
Targets: Chad LaRose, Peter Mueller, Kyle Wellwood, Guillaume Latendresse, Brad Boyes
Boston Bruins
Needs: 3rd line wing
Targets: Chad LaRose, Brad Boyes, Brenden Morrow, Damien Brunner, Daniel Cleary
Buffalo Sabres
Needs: top 6 center, top 6 wing, defense
Targets: Toni Lydman, Matthew Lombardi, Tom Gilbert, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Brenden Morrow
Calgary Flames
Needs: top 6 forwards, defense, goalie
Targets: Toni Lydman, Ilya Bryzgalov, Steve Montador, Tom Gilbert, Marc-Andre Bergeron
Carolina Hurricanes
Needs: forward depth, defense
Targets: Ian White, Brenden Morrow, Tom Poti, Vinny Prospal, Matthew Lombardi
Chicago Blackhawks
Needs: nothing
Targets: nobody
Colorado Avalanche
Needs: 4th line, wings, defense
Targets: Tom Gilbert, Mark Fistric, Brad Boyes, Toni Lydman, Guillaume Latendresse
Columbus Blue Jackets
Needs: top 9 forwards, defense
Targets: Tom Gilbert, Mark Fistric, Kyle Wellwood, Mark Eaton, Guillaume Latendresse
Dallas Stars
Needs: top 6 wing, forward depth
Targets: Damien Brunner, Mason Raymond, Daniel Cleary, Brad Boyes, Kaspars Daugavins
Detroit Red Wings
Needs: above average defensemen, depth scoring
Targets: Toni Lydman, Tom Gilbert, Chad LaRose, Kyle Wellwood, Guillaume Latendresse
Edmonton Oilers
Needs: defense, goalie
Targets: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Toni Lydman, Tom Poti, Ian White, Roman Hamrlik
Florida Panthers
Needs: scoring
Targets: Kaspars Daugavins, Brad Boyes, Chuck Kobasew, Guillaume Latendresse, Alexei Ponikarovsky
Los Angeles Kings
Needs: top 6 wing, forward depth
Targets: Chad LaRose, Damien Brunner, Daniel Cleary, Brenden Morrow, Brad Boyes
Minnesota Wild
Needs: top 6 wing, top 6 center, top 4 defensemen
Targets: Mark Fistric, Douglas Murray, Vinny Prospal, Ian White, Damien Brunner
Montreal Canadiens
Needs: scoring depth
Targets: Guillaume Latendresse, Chad LaRose, Kaspars Daugavins, Damien Brunner, Vinny Prospal
Nashville Predators
Needs: scoring
Targets: Chad LaRose, Damien Brunner, Vinny Prospal, Peter Mueller, Guillaume Latendresse
New Jersey Devils
Needs: top 6 center
Targets: Damien Brunner, Mikhail Grabovski, Matthew Lombardi, Nikolai Antropov, Scott Gomez
New York Islanders
Needs: top 6 forwards, defense, goalie
Targets: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Toni Lydman, Tom Gilbert, Steve Montador, Douglas Murray
New York Rangers
Needs: top 9 forwards, top 6 defensemen
Targets: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Ian White, Ryan Whitney, Guillaume Latendresse, Mason Raymond
Ottawa Senators
Needs: defense
Targets: Toni Lydman, Wade Redden, Mark Eaton, Tom Gilbert, Steve Montador
Philadelphia Flyers
Needs: depth wings
Targets: Chad LaRose, Steve Sullivan, Kaspars Daugavins, Chuck Kobasew, Peter Mueller
Pittsburgh Penguins
Needs: forward depth
Targets: Chad LaRose, Kaspars Daugavins, Colby Armstrong, Jerred Smithson, Kyle Wellwood
San Jose Sharks
Needs: 4th line
Targets: Chad LaRose, Colby Armstrong, David Steckel, Jerred Smithson, Kaspars Daugavins
St. Louis Blues
Needs: top 6 center
Targets: Kyle Wellwood, Tim Connolly, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Antropov
Tampa Bay Lightning
Needs: 3rd line, 4th line wings, defense, goalie
Targets: Carlo Colaiacovo, Tom Gilbert, Tim Connolly, Kyle Wellwood, Chad LaRose
Toronto Maple Leafs
Needs: top 6 center, 4th line wings, defense
Targets: Ian White, Carlo Colaiacovo, Kyle Wellwood, Tom Gilbert, Mark Fistric
Vancouver Canucks
Needs: top 6 wing, top 9 forwards, top 6 defensemen
Targets: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Mark Fistric, Matthew Lombardi, Guillaume Latendresse, Ryan Whitney
Washington Capitals
Needs: top 6 forwards, defense, goalie
Targets: Mikhail Grabovski, Damien Brunner, Toni Lydman, Mason Raymond, Nikolai Antropov
Winnipeg Jets
Needs: 2nd line center, top 6 wings, forward depth, defense, goalie
Targets: Tom Gilbert, Brad Boyes, Vinny Prospal, Mark Eaton, Tim Connolly
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