Finding Homes for Free Agent Forwards

Chris Pudsey

2015-06-18

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Martin St. Louis and Justin Williams headline a weak free agent forward class this year. 

First off, congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning the Stanley Cup this week. It was a great season for the Hawks and I will be the first to admit, at the start of the playoffs, I didn't have them even coming close to winning it. Coach Quenneville road his horses to the end, pretty much playing four defensemen until they dropped, and they kept on rolling.  It worked and in the end, that's all that really matters.

Last week, I took a look at some possible landing spots for some pending UFA defensemen. I received some interesting feedback, both in the comments section and also via PM's as to my possible destinations for those I chose to focus on. In this week's Capped, I am going to take a look at some of the pending UFA Forwards and do the same thing as last week.

In doing some research for this week's column, the big thing that jumped out at me was just how poor the list of FA forwards really is this summer. There really are no big names to battle over so it wasn't quite as easy working on this week's list. Either way, here are a few of the forwards and where I think they might go, and how much money they may make.

Martin St. Louis

New York Rangers

Expiring Cap hit:  $5.625M

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ST. LOUIS, MARTIN

75

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Happy 40th birthday to Martin St. Louis today!

With that out of the way, St. Louis has already been informed that the New York Rangers do not plan on bringing him back next year. It really shouldn't come as a surprise. He has seen a decline in his production since coming to the Rangers in a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning two years ago. This past season, his 52 points in 75 games was his lowest scoring total since 2001/02, his second full season with Tampa Bay, when he scored 35 points in 53 games. That being said, he's still a productive player and considering the decline in overall scoring this past season, there's nothing wrong with staying above the 20 goal marker and 52 total points.

Also, considering his age, he has been a very durable and reliable skater. This past season, the seven games he missed was the most during a regular season dating back to that same 2001/2002 season. In 2011/12 he missed five games but other than that, he rarely misses any time. 

My prediction on where he signs:  Pittsburgh Penguins

Other possible destinations:  New Jersey, Montreal

I think he gets a larger financial offer from New Jersey but the chance for St. Louis to line up with Sidney Crosby is just too great to pass up. Not to mention, Pittsburgh is still a contending team and New Jersey simply isn't at this point in his career. 

I can see St. Louis signing a contract worth $2.5 – 3M for two years with the Pens. 

Chris Stewart

Minnesota Wild

Expiring Cap hit:  $4.15M

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STEWART, CHRIS

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14

22

36

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-26

88

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The 27-year-old Stewart has everything that NHL GM's dream about. He has the size (6'2", 230 pounds) and the skill to be one of the leagues better power forwards yet his career has been as up and down like a yo-yo.

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