One free agent every NHL team should sign this offseason

Ottawa Senators: James van Riemsdyk, Left Wing

The Ottawa Senators are in a tough spot. Star defenseman Erik Karlsson is on the books through next summer, but there has been constant talk throughout the season that he’s played his last game for them. There were plenty of rumors that he would be traded at the deadline, though he wasn’t. Those could reappear ahead of the draft or throughout the entire offseason.

Karlsson is going to command a heck of a lot of money, and they still have to pay Mark Stone this year while paying Matt Duchene next year. Ryan Dzingel scored 23 goals this year and he’s also on the market in 2019. We don’t think this is a team to blow up, although Ottawa appears to have its finger over the button. It’s only a year removed from the Eastern Conference Final. And they did take the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games.

So maybe let’s not panic simply because the Senators dropped from 98 points to 67. That’s an atrocious landslide, but we’ve seen teams do the opposite. The Colorado Avalanche had something of a 40-plus point swing the other direction to make the playoffs this year and take Nashville to a Game 6. Now they look like a team ready to contend. Ottawa can do the same.

We won’t lie to you though. The Sens need help. Help on offense, Karlsson needs a solid defensive partner, and they need better goaltending. Craig Anderson is signed through 2021 but gave up nearly three and a half a game with a save percentage under .900. That’s bad. Mike Condon had similar numbers. That’s also bad. In Anderson’s case, it was a rough year after having a few solid ones so we will let the netminding slide in that no free agents are coming to take his place.

Really, they need someone to score goals. There was no 30 goal scorer on this team which is abysmal. Well, if you sign James Van Riemsdyk, now you have one. He scored 36 last year and would be a good complement to Duchene and Stone. He’s also 29 so he has good years ahead of him. The catch is that he’s going to cost a pretty penny and Ottawa doesn’t have a bunch of roster spots not filled by contracts.

But this is a move that could put them at least back in the talk of competing in the Eastern Conference. It could also add bargain players where needed to bolster areas like the penalty kill or shot blocking. Hey, Ian Cole is still on the board and he’s a cheap option that can kill penalties rather well. We just gave you free advice. Please take it.