One free agent every NHL team should sign this offseason

The NHL playoffs are ongoing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to every team’s eventual offseason. While clubs are still vying for the Stanley Cup, others are checking their pocketbooks to see who they might sign in free agency to get back in the game. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one potential target for every franchise.

The NHL free agency period begins July 1, and aside from the postseason and maybe the draft, this is always one of the most talked about and significant portions of the year. To miss out on a big acquisition could make or break a season. Likewise, signing a stud won’t always net success. The Dallas Stars can tell you that. One year ago they were crowned champions of the offseason only to miss the playoffs altogether.

This time around, we’re nearing what will ultimately be viewed as the John Tavares/John Carlson sweepstakes. They aren’t the only high quality names available, though, and since we’re always in the spirit of giving, we’d like to offer one free agent to make every team better.

Before we start, let’s lay out some ground rules:

1. No player will be used more than three times. Should Tavares not happen to land for your favorite squad, tough cookies.
2. The salary cap, which is estimated to rise from the current $75 million to somewhere around $82 million, is in play. As we don’t yet know where exactly it will land, we’re going with $80 million for the sake of argument. Besides, who doesn’t love an extra $5 million in cap space? Salary cap projections, current figures and more can be found at capfriendly.com and spotrac.com.
3. No player shall resign with their current team. Why not? Because that’s no fun, and also because we said so.

Here we go.

Anaheim Ducks: Patrick Maroon, Left Wing

Where to start? The Anaheim Ducks need a lot of players. While they made the postseason this past year, it’s hard to figure that one guy will come in and transform the club with so many areas needing to be filled. Especially when the Ducks are cash-strapped.

Currently, they’d be looking at about $15 million in cap space for the 2018-19 season. That sounds like a ton, except that they have a mountain of free agents and restricted free agents residing on their roster. Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are both due an upgrade in pay. Defenseman Brandon Montour could be looking for a pay raise. Francois Beauchemin and Kevin Bieksa aren’t likely to be around, as they sit on the wrong side of 35. They also have to consider whether or not they want to continue with Ryan Miller as backup goaltender. He will be on the books for $2 million next year. While he had a fine season, he turns 38 in July.

Anaheim could use scoring help after finding themselves 19^th in total goals for, so the pick here is Maroon. He’s a solid option for a decent price, making $2 million, though that amount is sure to go up a bit. He put in 17 goals as a part of both the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. He also scored 27 the year before while hitting 42 points. Maroon won’t wow anyone, but with five Ducks forwards set to hit the market (three of whom are 35 or older), Maroon would give this club a boost and some stability. He also played with Anaheim way back when so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a familiar face come back to town.