Western Conference UFAs

Anaheim
UFAs: LW Vaclav Prospal, LW Markus Naslund

Situation: With a possible retirement of Markus Naslund the re-signing of Vaclav Prospal will be paramount. As both left wingers are the Ducks' best and there is no clear cut front runner to take their place. It will be a rough ride if the Ducks do not have a plan in place to replace the aging wingers.

Calgary
UFAs: C David Legwand, C Nik Antropov, RW Miroslav Satan, D Chris Therien, D Sami Kapanen

Situation: It is a bit of a change in guard for the Flames. Signing at least one of thier UFA centers will be a priority for them as youngsters Wellwood and Esposito may not be ready to carry the full load of centering the Flames. Miroslav Satan will probably be the fall guy for the Flames to open up salary cap to sign their RFAs. He maybe valuable to the Flames but he is replaceable. The Flames could very well loose their top 2 defenceman to retirement as Kapanen and Theirien are entering their last years in the FNHL. If they can find the room to resign one of them, it would be to their advantage, or they could simply take the cap savings and shop elsewhere.

Chicago
UFAs: D Denis Gauthier

Situation: With the Hawks looking to out with the old and bring in the new, it appears as though Gauthier's time may be limited in Chicago but lack of true veteran defensive depth, the Hawks may very well extend Gauthier a contract if the price is right.

Colorado
UFAs: LW Petr Cajanek, RW Wayne Primeau, G Manny Legace, G Jocelyn Thibault

Situation: With both goalies on the hook for new contracts and no suitable replacements in sight, the Avalanche will be looking to resign Thibault once more to guide them as their starting goalie. Petr Cajanek would be an average player on any other team but with the Avalanche he is the top dog. He will be looking for another contract making about the same as he is now, will Colorado step up? or will they rely on youth to complete their rebuild?

Columbus
UFAs: None at the time of publication.

Dallas
UFAs: LW Matt Pettinger, D Richard Matvichuk

Situation: The Stars are sitting quite well without relying on any aging talent. They are restocking the cupboard with new young players so resigning Matt Pettinger will be the least of their worries. Matvichuk will probably retire but if not, he cannot expect to haul anywhere near the $7.5 million contract he once did. His earning days are near over and with Dallas shedding older talent, they may just decide to part ways with the once nasty defenceman.

Detroit
UFAs: LW Tyler Arnason, RW Niklas Sundstrom, D Tomas Kloucek, D Kenny Jonsson

Situation: More than likely Aranson will be resigned but of course it will take a slim raise to get him back to the fold. If the price is right defenceman Kenny Jonsson will most likely be re-signed. As for the rest of the Wing's free agents, they will probably look to promote from within or resign them for a bargain price.

Edmonton
UFAs: C Jason Arnott, C Steve Begin, D Chris Pronger, D Aaron Ward, D J-F Fortin

Situation: With the club's best center and defenseman up for contract renewal it will be a big offseason for the Oil. Pronger is the league's best defenceman and has been forever, his current $10 million price tag almost still seeems to cheap for him. He will look for Jagr money and he will get it. But will it be from Edmonton? In Arnott the Oilers will have to make a tough decision on their top forward, but more than likely GM Burns will deal him off for more rebuilding tools. As for the rest of the Oilers free agents, they are a dime-a-dozen and will be signed only if there is a need an the price is right.

Los Angeles
UFAs: LW Serge Aubin, D Barret Jackman, D Branislav Mezei, G Derek Gustafson

Situation: The Kings have set themselves up so well that their UFAs are simply pluggers and fillers and unless the GM has a spot for them in his heart, most if not all of them will be replaced or re-signed at a bargain price. Derek Gustafson could find himself the odd man out if youngster goalie Riku Helenius develops the way management thinks he can.

Minnesota
UFAs: D Sean Brown

Situation: Although Minnesota isn't the deepest team in terms of defense. They can do without Sean Brown. Unless he comes cheap, the Wild will most likely find outside help to cover for Brown's absense.

Nashville
UFAs: C Boyd Devereaux, RW Jaromir Jagr, D Maxim Kuznetsov, G Andrew Raycroft

Situation: Devereaux and Kuznetsov are expendable and are probably playing their last games this season in Nashville. Jaromir Jagr on the other hand is proabably playing his last games of his career. At the age of 39, it would appear as though the Pred's best player will be retiring at season's end, thus giving the Preds a whole lot of cap room. As for Raycroft, it is highly doubtful that he will be resigned with the emergence of Cam Ward as his replacement.

Phoenix
UFAs: C Dave Scatchard, LW Josh Green, RW Martin Havlat

Situation: Phoenix will be looking to resign veteran winger Martin Havlat. His contributions to the team are too much to really put a price tag on so with that being said, the Coyotes will be looking towards a considerable payraise for the star winger. As for Scatchard and Green, their re-signing will hinge on the development of farm talent that could easily replace the two forwards.

San Jose
UFAs: C Brian Rolston, C Brendan Morrison, LW Mike York

Situation: The Sharks are a re-tooling team and will be looking at the performance of their UFAs this year to see if it will be worth resigning them next year. Brian Rolston will probably look at retirement but could be an affordable resigning for another year if he decides to play again. Brendan Morrison will be looking at a significant pay cut to stay with the Sharks, but his abilities make him a prime candidate of an overpriced offer from another team. Mike York will probably resign at around the same rate with the Sharks as he is their best left winger.

St Louis
UFAs: C Artem Chubarov, LW Bates Battaglia, D Philippe Boucher, D Adrian Aucoin, D Mathieu Dandenault, D Brian Rafalski

Situation: The Blues have been the doormat team of the FNHL for some time. The current GM seems intent on bringing them up from the ashes, he will have his work cut out for him. The Blues will have alot of problems on defence if most of their defencemen retire or walk away. Currently the Blues top 3 defenceman are 38 years old and are overpriced and will probably retire. This departure of defenceman will leave the Blues with alot of capspace and perhaps they will use it to look for help elsewhere. Let's hope.

Vancouver
UFAs: D Scott Neidermayer

Situation: With the emergence of young defencemen Cam Barker and Jack Johnson, the Canucks will probably let Neidermayer walk unless he signs a more affordable deal. At the age of 38, Neidermayer is more than expected to retire thus freeing up some valuable cap space the Canucks can use to resign restricted free agent Rich Nash.