Evaluating the remaining UFAs: Defencemen Edition

by James Mirtle on Jul 7, 2009 9:07 AM CDT in Free Agency Comment 12 comments

Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Dennis Seidenberg, right, checks Chuck Kobasew.

Following up on my look at the remaining unrestricted free agent forwards, here's a gander at the blueliners still available. For a stats legend, see Behind The Net:

	Even Strength	TM	GP	TOI	QCMP	Pt/60	GFON/60	GAON/60	Diff
1	OSSI VAANANEN	VAN	49	14.07	-0.01	0.70	2.78	2.09	0.69
2	PAUL MARA	NYR	75	13.73	-0.01	0.52	2.33	2.04	0.29
3	M. DANDENAULT	MTL	41	10.28	-0.06	1.42	2.56	1.85	0.71
4	ALEXEI SEMENOV	S.J	47	11.81	0.00	0.76	1.94	1.73	0.21
5	DENNIS SEIDENBERG	CAR	70	16.34	0.02	0.89	2.10	2.36	-0.26
6	JAY MCKEE	STL	69	13.53	-0.03	0.45	2.38	1.99	0.39
7	CORY MURPHY	T.B	32	12.31	-0.07	0.91	2.13	1.37	0.76
8	M-A BERGERON	MIN	72	12.96	-0.04	0.90	2.44	2.06	0.38
9	KEN KLEE	PHX	71	13.21	-0.08	0.64	2.50	1.79	0.71
10	CHRISTIAN BACKMAN	CBJ	56	12.46	-0.07	0.26	2.15	1.63	0.52
11	NATHAN OYSTRICK	ATL	53	13.67	-0.02	0.83	2.40	2.57	-0.17
12	MAREK MALIK	T.B	42	15.18	0.00	0.47	2.07	2.45	-0.38
13	DEREK MORRIS	NYR	74	15.98	0.02	0.61	1.78	2.49	-0.71
14	PHILIPPE BOUCHER	PIT	41	15.19	-0.07	0.48	2.31	1.83	0.48
15	MATHIEU SCHNEIDER	MTL	67	15.48	-0.01	0.69	2.60	2.95	-0.35
16	MARTIN SKOULA	MIN	81	16.49	0.01	0.54	1.93	2.61	-0.68
17	ANDREW ALBERTS	PHI	78	13.10	-0.06	0.65	2.53	2.29	0.24
18	PATRICE BRISEBOIS	MTL	62	12.28	-0.05	0.71	2.29	2.36	-0.07
19	TEPPO NUMMINEN	BUF	57	13.63	-0.06	0.77	2.24	2.55	-0.31
20	JASSEN CULLIMORE	FLA	68	14.69	-0.06	0.54	1.92	2.52	-0.60
21	NICK BOYNTON	FLA	68	13.28	-0.13	1.20	2.92	2.66	0.26
22	FRANCIS BOUILLON	MTL	54	13.72	-0.03	0.65	2.11	3.00	-0.89
23	BRET HEDICAN	ANA	51	13.98	-0.09	0.34	2.52	2.86	-0.34
24	GREG DE VRIES	NSH	71	12.82	-0.10	0.33	1.98	2.84	-0.86
25	DENIS GAUTHIER	L.A	65	11.66	-0.11	0.32	1.90	2.77	-0.87

These are the only 25 UFA defencemen who played regularly in the NHL last season, with only Sergei Zubov of note left off the list (he played under 30 games, which was my cutoff). In terms of even-strength play, I think Dennis Seidenberg may offer the best value, as he logged big-time minutes last season on a team that went to the conference finals and will likely at this point come fairly cheap. He's also young and made just more than $1-million last season.

Ossi Vaananen, Paul Mara, Mathieu Dandenault (who doubles as a forward often), Alexei Semenov, Jay McKee and Marc-Andre Bergeron are also decent options here, although you'll note that the majority of the players listed here score low on quality of competition. Seidenberg's an exception, as is Derek Morris and Martin Skoula.

After the jump, a look at potential power play quarterbacks and penalty kill specialists.

	Power Play	TM	GP	TOI	Pt/60	GFON/60	GFOFF/60	Diff
1	CORY MURPHY	T.B	32	3.83	3.92	6.86	6.18	0.68
2	MATHIEU SCHNEIDER	MTL	67	3.50	3.58	8.70	6.73	1.97
3	M-A BERGERON	MIN	72	3.09	3.51	6.75	7.38	-0.63
4	DENNIS SEIDENBERG	CAR	70	2.70	3.49	6.66	5.96	0.70
5	TEPPO NUMMINEN	BUF	57	1.89	3.34	5.56	7.62	-2.06
6	PAUL MARA	NYR	75	2.55	3.13	5.32	3.03	2.29
7	PATRICE BRISEBOIS	MTL	62	2.72	2.49	4.26	8.03	-3.77
8	PHILIPPE BOUCHER	PIT	41	2.27	1.93	6.44	4.67	1.77
9	DEREK MORRIS	NYR	74	2.19	1.11	3.33	6.22	-2.89
10	CHRISTIAN BACKMAN	CBJ	56	2.12	1.01	2.52	5.68	-3.16

Not a lot of options here now that Francois Beauchemin's off the table, although Cory Murphy played big minutes with the man advantage in Tampa Bay and racked up some decent points. He would be a good fit somewhere as a No. 6 or 7 defender who plays on the power play somewhere.

Schneider also helped in that role in Atlanta and Montreal and may have something left at a steep discount, while Seidenberg's versatility shows here.

No world beaters, though, certainly. These would all be second unit guys.

	Penalty Kill	TM	GP	TOI	GAON	GAON/60	GAOFF/60	Diff
1	NICK BOYNTON	FLA	68	1.32	5	3.35	6.76	-3.41
2	GREG DE VRIES	NSH	71	1.82	6	2.78	5.88	-3.10
3	FRANCIS BOUILLON	MTL	54	1.93	9	5.19	8.27	-3.08
4	PAUL MARA	NYR	75	1.83	4	1.75	4.48	-2.73
5	ANDREW ALBERTS	PHI	78	2.38	13	4.20	6.45	-2.25
6	MAREK MALIK	T.B	42	2.61	11	6.02	8.15	-2.13
7	JASSEN CULLIMORE	FLA	68	1.78	9	4.46	6.47	-2.01
8	DEREK MORRIS	NYR	74	2.01	16	6.45	6.94	-0.49
9	KEN KLEE	PHX	71	1.78	17	8.07	8.55	-0.48
10	DENIS GAUTHIER	L.A	65	2.53	16	5.84	5.59	0.25
11	MARTIN SKOULA	MIN	81	2.58	13	3.74	3.30	0.44
12	DENNIS SEIDENBERG	CAR	70	2.44	18	6.33	5.87	0.46
13	OSSI VAANANEN	VAN	49	2.82	15	6.51	5.10	1.41
14	JAY MCKEE	STL	69	3.07	26	7.37	4.40	2.97
15	PHILIPPE BOUCHER	PIT	41	1.93	16	12.16	7.47	4.69

Mara had a very strong year on a good Rangers penalty kill, but really didn't log big minutes there. Few of these players did, although some big bodies like Andrew Alberts, Marek Malik and the like could help a team in a specialized role.

The Ducks, Bruins, Blue Jackets, Devils, Flyers, Penguins and Blues could all use another blueliner.

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Comments

Alexei Semenov will be a good pick up for any team willing to slate him into a bottom pairing. He made a lot of strides at the end of last season, and had one helluva work ethic during his time in San Jose.

Not a game changer by any means, but the price tag should be more than reasonable. Still a little miffed at Wilson for letting him walk.

Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution

by Mr. Plank on Jul 7, 2009 9:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

TEPPO NUMMINEN!

I know there’s no place on the Sabres for him, but we are lacking good accents on the team, now that he, Max and Spacek are gone.

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Jul 7, 2009 9:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe Tyler Myers can fake a Drago-like “I must break you” Russian accent.

by Afino on Jul 7, 2009 10:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dandenault turned down a deal from Boston because he still wants to be a Hab. Gotta admire that loyalty.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Jul 7, 2009 10:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Kurtis Foster anyone?

Dude has fantastic Behind the Net numbers for last year. Yes, it’s from only a 10 game sample due to a broken leg at the beginning of the season (also why he doesn’t appear on the list above), but he’s definitely worthy of a $1-1.5m contract for the 5/6 slot on most teams.

Being a Lemaire alumnus, he should be defensively and positionally aware, and he’s huge: 6’5" 220.

What’s not to like?

by OperatorNumber79 on Jul 7, 2009 10:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The broken leg came last season against the San Jose Sharks- Torrey Mitchell and Foster were in a race for an iced puck and he slammed into the boards. Terrible stuff to watch.

That might be a concern going forward for GM’s, but yes, he did have excellent BTN numbers last season.

Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution

by Mr. Plank on Jul 7, 2009 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unless he’s signed somewhere this morning that I’ve missed, Steve Eminger should be on this list. Florida didn’t qualify him. He played 71 games and in his 50 games with Tampa he was playing about 23-24 minutes a night without completely drowning. He’s a hell of a lot better than Denis Gauthier at least.

by Robert Cleave on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs