Fansided

25 top NHL free agents teams will be dying to sign in 2018

By David Rouben

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders battle for the puck during their game at the Barclays Center on October 30, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders battle for the puck during their game at the Barclays Center on October 30, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – APRIL 30: Riley Nash #20 of the Boston Bruins against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 30, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)”n
TAMPA, FL – APRIL 30: Riley Nash #20 of the Boston Bruins against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 30, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)”n /

7. Riley Nash

One complication that arose when the Bruins traded for Rick Nash is that it put him in direct competition with another R. Nash. Box score guys had an especially tough time keeping up, since they had to write out the first three letters of their first names every time in order to differentiate from one another. But while one is an aging winger that suffered an injury towards the end of the season, the other is a 29-year-old center who stepped up when players around him got hurt.

Riley Nash turned heads whenever Patrice Bergeron was out of the lineup and he was called upon to take his spot. While Bergeron is a dominant two-way centre, Nash simply focused on the defensive aspect in that same role so that Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak could roam free on offense.

Why he’s in demand: Nash’s defined role is a checker who fills out the bottom six. His numbers are never going to wow you, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable on the offensive end. During the month that Bergeron was out, Nash stepped into his role and scored 13 points in as many games. In the one playoff game Bergeron missed, Nash was a factor in the Bruins’ first two goals.

Once the playoffs started and the team relied heavily on their top line, Nash’s production was non-existent. But any Bruins fan will tell you he had a tremendous impact on the team.

Teams with the best chance to sign him: The Bruins should do everything they can to re-sign Nash. It’ll be hard to replace the intangibles and team chemistry that he brought to the table. If they can’t bring him back, he could fill the same role on the Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks. The former, especially, have practically modelled themselves after the 2011 Cup winning Bruins and Nash would serve as an excellent complement to Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter.

Given how few centers will be on the market, and how much some GMs love intangibles, Nash could be in line for a huge raise. However, he must be put in the right system in order to get the most out of him.

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