5 free agents the Florida Panthers can sign to get back to playoffs

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA FEBRUARY 14, 2018: Olympic Athlete from Russia Ilya Kovalchuk looks on in their men's preliminary round ice hockey match against Slovakia during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at the Gangneung Hockey Centre. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images) /

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2. LW James van Riemsdyk

James van Riemsdyk led the Toronto Maple Leafs with 36 goals during the regular season, and he was second on the team with a career-high 11 power play goals, just in time to be an unrestricted free agent. But with William Nylander set to become a restricted free agent, and Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner both eligible to sign contract extensions, some decisions will have to made by whoever winds up calling the shots for the Maple Leafs in the wake of general manager Lou Lamoriello stepping aside.

Winding up on the fourth line by the time the Maple Leafs were on their way out of the playoffs, van Riemsdyk tallied three goals and four points (two points in one game) with a minus-4 plus/minus over the seven games against the Boston Bruins. The Toronto Star put van Riemsdyk among Toronto’s looming free agents who are pretty much as good as gone, for what that’s worth.

James van Riemsdyk will be one of the top wingers on the free agent market this summer, with a multi-year deal worth $5-$6 million per year a fairly easy projection. That could be a little rich for the Panthers, with projected cap space just north of $9 million. But they need a forward with some scoring prowess, and all options have to be open.

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