With the regular season quickly approaching, free-agents around the league are entering training camps in hopes of getting a contract and being in the game come early October.
There are many teams around the National Hockey League that have holes to fill, whether it be due to actual voids in their respective rosters, or due to injuries sustained by their current contracted players.
Despite the fact that the free-agent market list has dwindled significantly, there are still some primed names available for teams to scoop up at what, by now, will likely be a bargain basement price.
Veteran center Brendan Morrison has accepted a professional tryout with the Vancouver Canucks. Morrison, 35, played 74 games with the Washington Capitals last season notching 12 goals and 30 assists with an impressive +23 rating. In 829 career regular season games he has scored 187 goals, 360 assists, and 424 penalty minutes. His invite is a clear sign Vancouver is stacking up with full intentions of challenging for the Cup.
The Pitt Meadows, B.C. native has split his 12 years between five teams, but the majority of his time was spent with the Canucks between 1999 and 2008. In 543 games as a Canuck, Morrison tallied 136 goals and 257 assists and ranks 11th all-time in franchise scoring.
Morrison stands a very good chance of making this team, but his main competition is youngster Cody Hodgson. Hodgson is the Canucks’ highly touted and very anticipated 20 year-old 2008 first round draft pick (10th overall), but has struggled with back injury which has seriously hindered his development. Morrison will have to work extremely hard not only to get a contract, but potentially just to stay in the NHL.
"There is a little greater sense of urgency knowing you don't have a contract in place and you are trying to earn a contract.” Morrison said during camp training. “I feel I do have good credentials coming in. But in this business, it's what have you done for me lately?"
Morrison is not the only former Canuck with an invite to training camp in Vancouver. 33 year-old 1995 (66th overall) draft pick of the Canucks, Peter Schaefer, has also appeared on a tryout basis.
Schaefer was traded to Ottawa in 2002 for current veteran defenseman Sami Salo. Schaefer scored 96 points in his two years in Ottawa before being traded to Boston in 2007, his last appearance to the date in the NHL. Schaefer played in Providence in the AHL in 2008-2009, and will hope only for a two-way contract with the Canucks.
Kyle Wellwood heads into camp for the Phoenix Coyotes after two years with the Vancouver Canucks. Wellwood, 27, had virtually no shot at achieving optimal ice-time in Vancouver this year as his lackluster 14 goals and 25 points last year would shuffle him down the charts in a hurry.
"I just wanted to get an opportunity to play with some good players and get a chance to maybe play a little more," said Wellwood. "It was a long summer trying to find a spot. Phoenix has got some great wingers and a great team here already. I'm hoping to come in and add something."
Wellwood, 27, has never developed into a full-blown point producer in the National Hockey League over his first five seasons, but could provide some assets to a team weak down the middle. Wellwood has his work cut out for him, though, as Phoenix already has big name centers such as Martin Hanzal, Vernon Fiddler, recently signed Eric Belanger, and the emerging Kyle Turris under contract for this coming season.
"I haven't been in the position too often where I knew how things would work out," said Wellwood. "The only difference is I don't have anything to fall back on. I'm just going in and trying to earn my way into a contract."
34 year-old Shane Hnidy will also be working hard in the Coyotes’ camp for a contract.
The 9 year veteran defenseman stands a better chance than Wellwood at making this roster, coming off of a pretty solid defensive year with the struggling Minnesota Wild. Hnidy scored 2 goals and 12 points in 70 games with a -6 rating last year after signing a one-year deal with the Wild in July of 2009.
Even Hnidy will be fighting for ice time in the desert as he will likely slide in at the six/seven spot on the Coyotes defensive pairings should he get the contract. If he doesn’t, I find it hard to believe that there’s not one team in the NHL that could really use his services.
Andreas Lilja is one of the top defenders on the open market at the moment, as his training camp gets under way in San Jose.
Lilja, 35, is a 9 year veteran that plays a very sound defensive game. He has spent his last five years with the Detroit Red Wings and collected his only Stanley Cup with the team in 2007-2008. The assistant coach at that time was current head coach (of the Sharks), Todd McLellan.
"He's going to make it a more competitive camp because he's a veteran player," McLellan said in a release. "He is familiar with the coaching staff and our system because it is similar to what he came from. Once camp starts, he is like any other player, and his play will dictate whether he gets a contract."
Lilja is a solid defender that despite not having any real scoring touch, can still play the puck well. He stands a great chance of cracking this roster as San Jose has gotten much younger on the back end with the retirement and loss of Rob Blake.
Friday was the first time veteran forward Wayne Primeau has shown up to a training camp without a contract in his 15 years in the NHL.
"I figured, you know, I am here and it gives me the opportunity to continue to skate instead of skating by myself," Primeau said Friday. "(I'll) enjoy it and see where everything falls into place."
Primeau is attempting to crack the new-look Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster this year after finishing out his remaining contract term with the Leafs last year where he posted 3 goals and 8 points in 59 games. He was acquired from the Flames in July, 2009.
"I enjoy being around the young guys, I like the kids here," said Primeau. "I feel that I have some experience I can lend to the guys and hopefully they see that too."
Primeau is 774 games experienced over his 15 year NHL career and his biggest asset is the heart in which he plays with. The 34 year-old will be hard-pressed to make the Leafs’ roster this year as the bottom lines have filled up with youth and new faces since Brian Burke’s shake-up began two years ago.
The New York Rangers have a full camp with the likes of NHL players’ Ruslan Fedotenko, Garnet Exelby, and Alexei Semenov trying to crack the roster.
Fedotenko stands a pretty good chance at making this roster if he is willing to sign for a very low price. His numbers of recent years don’t really fulfill the Rangers’ needs, but his nine seasons and two Stanley Cup championships (2003, 2008) may put him above the rest. (For the full write-up on Fedotenko, click here for my previous article.)
Exelby and Semenov battle for a spot that may not exist. This could be the Rangers’ initiative to give these two a chance for the rest of the NHL to see in pre-season, but each of them do possess a hard hitting ability that could see the Rangers’ defense toughen up a bit.
Each of the players here are NHL players, but will each have to make sacrifices monetarily to prove they’re still that.
Jonathan Cheechoo will be working hard to make the Dallas Stars roster.
Dallas may in fact be the best place available for Cheechoo with the rebuild mode kicking in under Joe Nieuwendyke.
Jonathan won the scoring title coming off of the lockout in 2005-2006 with 56 goals but has backslid dramatically every season since. He was traded to the Senators in September of 2009, and proceeded to fail them terribly in the 2009-2010 season just posting 5 goals and 9 assists with a -13 rating. He was waived in February of 2010 and only managed to post 8 goals and 14 points with a -7 rating in the AHL. In June the Senators bought out the 30 year-old’s contract as it looked likely the former Rocket Richard winner’s career was over. (For Dustin Lundberg’s full write-up on Cheechoo click here, it’s a great read.)
Bill Guerin heads into camp for the Philadelphia Flyers as the most experienced and proven player working for a contract this off-season. 39 year-old Bill Guerin is a two times Stanley Cup winner with 1,263 games experience. His departure from Pittsburgh could well be Philadelphia’s reward as Guerin seems intent to stay in Pennsylvania.
"I really thought this would be a good fit for me," Guerin told CSNPhilly.com. "Besides the logistics for my family and personal things, this is a good fit for me hockey-wise and probably the best out there with a chance to win. I'm in the twilight of my career and I want to win."
The Flyers came up just shy of a Stanley Cup championship last year and a veteran presence that can still produce could be exactly what they need to get themselves over the hump.
Out of every player attending training camps at the moment, Guerin stands the best chance of all in attaining a contract and his demeanor and personality shouldn’t make a negotiation impossible. Guerin is a leader and a winner, and they Flyers will do whatever it takes to get him in an orange sweater. This does come at the expense of a good player though, as Guerin’s potential arrival will filter out a player like Darroll Powe, Andreas Nodl, or Dan Carcillo. (For a full write-up on Guerin’s attendance to the Flyer’s camp, click here for my previous article.)
Here's a look at some of the players with NHL experience who will be on tryouts at training camp:
Anaheim - Joe DiPenta, Stephane Veilleux.
Atlanta - Enver Lisin, Kyle McLaren.
Boston - Brian McGrattan.
Columbus - Dan Fritsche.
Dallas - Jonathan Cheechoo.
Florida - Tyler Arnason.
New Jersey - Marcus Nilson.
N.Y. Rangers - Garnet Exelby, Ruslan Fedotenko, Alexei Semenov.
Philadelphia - Bill Guerin.
Phoenix - Shane Hnidy, Kyle Wellwood.
San Jose - Andreas Lilja.
Tampa - Eric Perrin.
Toronto - Wayne Primeau
Vancouver - Brendan Morrison, Peter Schaefer.
Washington - Matt Hendricks.
*note: This article was set to be released a few days ago, but due to computer and personal issues I apologize it is so late and we will be right back on schedule ahead of next week.
- Kendall Grubbs
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