A look at pending UFAs

Trade deadline day is about the business of hockey, not the game. If it was really about teams trying to find the final piece of the puzzle to push them over the top, teams would have stopped trying to find it long ago.

— Tom Benjamin

The trade deadline is one of those occasions that isn't just for the contenders; it's also a chance for the also-rans to retool and ship out pending free agents for something of value.

Just try and tell a fan of the Flyers that the Alexei Zhitnik or Peter Forsberg deals were fruitless exercises last season. Atlanta and Nashville may not have made their way any closer to the Stanley Cup, but Philadelphia certainly did.

The wide majority of the deals we're going to see over the next two weeks are going to involve pending unrestricted free agents, players without deals next season on teams that are either out of the race or on the fringe.

For a lot of teams, it's getting something for nothing.

Here's a look at the most high-profile pending UFAs, by position, and with those most likely to be moved in bold:

	Forwards	TM	2007-08
1	SAKIC, JOE	COL	$6,750,000
2	FEDOROV, SERGEI	CBJ	$6,080,000
3	HOSSA, MARIAN	ATL	$6,000,000
4	NASLUND, MARKUS	VAN	$6,000,000
5	SUNDIN, MATS	TOR	$5,500,000
6	SHANAHAN, BRENDAN	NYR	$5,300,000
7	SELANNE, TEEMU	ANA	$5,158,696
8	DEMITRA, PAVOL	MIN	$4,500,000
9	SATAN, MIROSLAV	NYI	$4,255,000
10	HOLIK, ROBERT	ATL	$4,250,000
11	NAGY, LADISLAV	L.A	$3,750,000
12	SAMSONOV, SERGEI	CAR	$3,525,000
13	WEIGHT, DOUG	ANA	$3,500,000
14	COMRIE, MIKE	NYI	$3,375,000
15	STRAKA, MARTIN	NYR	$3,300,000
16	MORRISON, BRENDAN	VAN	$3,200,000
17	RYDER, MICHAEL	MTL	$2,950,000
18	FEDOTENKO, RUSLAN	NYI	$2,900,000
19	CONROY, CRAIG	CGY	$2,850,000
20	GELINAS, MARTIN	NSH	$2,850,000
21	ROBERTS, GARY	PIT	$2,500,000
22	LANGKOW, DAYMOND	CGY	$2,442,000
23	ROLSTON, BRIAN	MIN	$2,432,000
24	LAPOINTE, MARTIN	CHI	$2,400,000
25	VYBORNY, DAVID	CBJ	$2,200,000
26	RECCHI, MARK	ATL	$2,000,000
27	NOLAN, OWEN	CGY	$2,000,000
28	SMOLINSKI, BRYAN	MTL	$2,000,000
29	PECA, MICHAEL	CBJ	$1,915,000
30	AVERY, SEAN	NYR	$1,900,000
31	PROSPAL, VACLAV	T.B	$1,900,000
32	BRUNETTE, ANDREW	COL	$1,600,000
33	HUNTER, TRENT	NYI	$1,550,000
34	COOKE, MATT	VAN	$1,508,333
35	PERREAULT, YANIC	CHI	$1,500,000
36	SANDERSON, GEOFF	EDM	$1,500,000
37	THORNTON, SCOTT	L.A	$1,500,000
38	GRATTON, CHRIS	T.B	$1,500,000

	Defencemen	TM	2007-08
1	REDDEN, WADE	OTT	$6,500,000
2	BLAKE, ROBERT	L.A	$6,000,000
3	FOOTE, ADAM	CBJ	$4,600,000
4	NORSTROM, MATTIAS	DAL	$4,250,000
5	STUART, BRAD	L.A	$3,500,000
6	BOYLE, DAN	T.B	$3,333,333
7	MARA, PAUL	NYR	$3,000,000
8	WARD, AARON	BOS	$2,750,000
9	MALIK, MAREK	NYR	$2,500,000
10	HEDICAN, BRET	CAR	$2,432,000
11	JACKMAN, BARRET	STL	$2,200,000
12	CARNEY, KEITH	MIN	$2,100,000
13	ROZSIVAL, MICHAL	NYR	$2,100,000
14	KALININ, DMITRI	BUF	$2,000,000
15	TARNSTROM, DICK	CBJ	$2,000,000
16	SMITH, JASON	PHI	$1,976,000
17	SCHULTZ, NICK	MIN	$1,850,000
18	EATON, MARK	PIT	$1,600,000
19	CAMPBELL, BRIAN	BUF	$1,500,000
20	MILLER, AARON	VAN	$1,500,000
21	WESLEY, GLEN	CAR	$1,400,000
22	ZYUZIN, ANDREI	CHI	$1,400,000
23	BRISEBOIS, PATRICE	MTL	$1,400,000
24	RACHUNEK, KAREL	N.J	$1,400,000
25	SALVADOR, BRYCE	STL	$1,400,000
27	LILES, JOHN-MICHAEL	COL	$1,325,000
28	HILL, SEAN	MIN	$1,325,000
29	COMMODORE, MIKE	CAR	$1,250,000
30	VANDERMEER, JAMES	PHI	$1,225,000
31	MODRY, JAROSLAV	L.A	$1,200,000
32	CHELIOS, CHRIS	DET	$1,150,000
33	NUMMELIN, PETTERI	MIN	$1,100,000
34	ORPIK, BROOKS	PIT	$1,037,500
35	HEJDA, JAN	CBJ	$1,000,000
36	LILJA, ANDREAS	DET	$1,000,000
37	MEZEI, BRANISLAV	FLA	$825,000
38	MONTADOR, STEVE	FLA	$800,000
39	HAINSEY, RON	CBJ	$737,500
40	MCCARTHY, STEVE	ATL	$725,000
41	BERARD, BRYAN	NYI	$725,000
42	SAUER, KURT	COL	$719,250
43	DIPENTA, JOE	ANA	$700,000
44	STREIT, MARK	MTL	$600,000

	Goaltenders	TM	2007-08
1	KOLZIG, OLAF	WSH	$5,450,000
2	THEODORE, JOSE	COL	$5,333,333
3	HASEK, DOMINIK	DET	$4,100,000
4	HUET, CRISTOBAL	MTL	$2,875,000
5	JOSEPH, CURTIS	CGY	$1,673,148
6	GRAHAME, JOHN	CAR	$1,400,000
7	HEDBERG, JOHAN	ATL	$1,000,000
8	HOLMQVIST, JOHAN	T.B	$1,000,000
9	LALIME, PATRICK	CHI	$950,000
10	THIBAULT, JOCELYN	BUF	$760,000
11	VALIQUETTE, STEPHEN	NYR	$617,500
12	AULD, ALEXANDER	BOS	$600,000
13	SANFORD, CURTIS	VAN	$600,000
14	ELLIS, DAN	NSH	$500,000
15	DUBIELEWICZ, WADE	NYI	$500,000
16	CONKLIN, TY	PIT	$500,000

Now, a lot of these players aren't going anywhere, but these lists do give you an idea of who's not locked up next season — and as we saw in the Senators-Hurricanes swap yesterday, that can play a big role in what teams are willing to part with.

If Carolina, still very much in the race, was willing to deal two key veterans given their contract status, then more teams are sure to follow.
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