The Year of the RFA



The top 3 draftees from 2008 will command a big pay-day this summer



As the offseason approaches, one of the themes to this summer will be the amount of high quality restricted free agents available. Steven Stamkos, Zach Parise, Shea Weber and Drew Doughty headline the list but the following players are also available:

• Keith Yandle
• Andrew Ladd
• Zach Bogosian
• Ryan Callahan
• Brandon Dubinsky
• Luke Schenn
• Tyler Bozak

Its a long list, but a RFA's carry price tags that go beyond their salary. Depending on what an RFA is signed for, the team losing the player receives compensation in the form of draft picks. If a team (other than Tampa Bay) sign Steven Stamkos, who presumably deserves over the $7,835,219 threshold, that team would give up their next four first round draft choices to the Lightning. There are five other levels of compensation that vary by salary, each of them less costly than the last.

For some franchises, the repercussions of giving away valuable picks pushes them away from RFA's. In other cases however, teams may see that it wont hurt them to give up the picks, so they go after the player. Of the high profile players we have named, many will stay put because they will sign big money contracts that will put them in the highest compensation thresholds.

There is some speculation around Vancouver that Weber could be destined for the Canucks. I am a supporter of this move, BUT Nashville is bringing him to arbitration, and the fact they can match any offer we make puts me in a cautiously optimistic state. Seriously though, imagine Weber in a Canucks uniform alongside Bieksa, Hamhuis, Edler and Ballard (who can't be possibly be as bad as he was).

Stamkos is another RFA that will likely stay put, as probably will Doughty. Both players' teams have made it clear they intend to sign them. The Lightning are not going to walk away from Stamkos, a top 3 player in the NHL today and the franchise cornerstone. The Kings are building towards something great and I would be extremely surprised to see Doughty walk away. They have plenty of cap room for any situation that should arise, however.

Among the other RFA's however, there are some players that could change teams. After signing $100 million dollar man Ilya Kovalchuk last summer, New Jersey is in a cap crunch and it's very much a reality that Parise could leave. Zach Bogosian was packed and ready to leave Atlanta, but now its Winnipeg and that may change his thinking. No matter where he goes, Bogosian is primed for a big year, and when he does breakout, he will be a major force.