The NHL's Best Remaining Free Agents at Each Position

Free agency, when done properly, can propel teams to the next level. It creates less strain on the organization's youth and fortifies a team's depth.

Smart teams hunt for free agent value. Smart teams typically wait until the dust settles. Smart teams don't spend $70 million in the first 10 minutes of free agency and smart teams are always going to get the best value players. We are now just a week removed from the feeding frenzy that takes place every year when the clock strikes noon on July 1.

There is still plenty of talent to be found in the free agent pool if you know where to look. This is where general managers earn their salary by getting crafty and approaching the construction of a roster with pinpoint accuracy.

It's harder to hit and miss at this time because the stakes are so much lower. A one-year deal for a small percentage of a team's overall salary cap is a tremendously low risk maneuver. There's no long term impact there if the player can't perform up to the team's standards.

Here, for the patient ones who know and embrace the concept of a team budget, are the best remaining players at each position.

Center: Derek Roy
Derek Roy, 31, has quietly had a strong career, mostly with the Buffalo Sabres. He's been bounced around a little over the past three seasons, with stops in Dallas, Vancouver and St. Louis, as his numbers have been declining. That's not to say, he's not a valuable third-line center who can provide a stabilizing veteran presence for a team not ready to hand the keys to a player without NHL experience.

Last season, by all measures, was a down year for Roy, with the St. Louis Blues, one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the competition was more difficult on a consistent basis, but he was on a good team and put into very favorable positions to succeed offensively. He was a positive possession player and finished with 37 points.

One stark difference last year that could be some cause for concern, was Roy's usage. He played, according to numbers compiled by Extra Skater, some extremely sheltered minutes on the Blues and saw a dramatic decrease in the quality of competition he saw on a nightly basis. Using the chart below from Extra Skater, you can that Roy saw highest percentage of offensive zone starts on the entire team.

That's what you get at this time of the summer now. Incomplete players, whom, if deployed properly, can help any contending team.

Left Wing: David Booth
When not hunting majestic creatures that look like something out of a children's fantasy trilogy, Booth can be a very effective winger. He's only broken the 30 goal threshold once and reached 40 points three times in his career, but unfortunate injury luck has kept him consistently off the ice in his NHL career. He's got the talent to score and provide very strong third line minutes with the ability to hop up to the second line in a pinch. A team thin down the left side could absolutely use his talent in a sheltered role.

Booth's offensive zone start ratio is under 50 percent, so for a team that relies on their third line to progress play while taking sheltered starts, you could do a lot worse than Booth. Hopefully, for the team that signs him, Booth will be hunting for goals.

Right Wing: Dustin Penner
Breakfast carbs jokes aside, Dustin Penner has been a part of some really good hockey teams and always given those teams great minutes. The right winger is the prototypical third line player, with a big frame and a penchant for working all areas of the ice. He's defensive responsible and always makes the most out of the minutes he's given.

Penner is a plus possession player, sensing a theme? That's one of the most underrated market qualities, especially in the players considered cast-offs, the guys that can be had for a under the market value of some of the bigger name free agents.

Now, at 31-years-old, the two-time Stanley Cup champion can provide a stabilizing veteran presence. He's offensive contributions after be traded to the Washington Capitals last season trailed off, but with the Anaheim Ducks last season, he tallied 32 points in 49 games, an impressive scoring rate for a guy that could be had on the cheap.

Defense: Michael Del Zotto
The arguments against Del Zotto are plentiful. He's yet to master the speed of the game in the defensive zone and positionally, he's often a drain on his teammates due to his inability to help move the puck away from his goalie.

Del Zotto, in his time with the Rangers, was seen as the future of their power play and the puck moving defenseman the team coveted since the departure of franchise-great Brian Leetch. His first pass can be dazzling sometimes and dismal others. He has the propensity to try the home run pass more over the safe option, allowing plays to fizzle before they can be properly set. There was the thought that under Alain Vigneault, he would thrive in New York. That wasn't the case when he was shipped out mid-season.

The unrestricted free agent is a high-risk, high-reward signing. His possession numbers were positive last season, but his starts were extremely sheltered in New York and his erratic play made him expendable a team that loved defensive depth. For the right team, he could be a great bottom pairing defenseman that helps the second power play unit. At worst, he's a healthy scratch and the seventh defenseman, but if the term is right, it's a risk worth taking.

Goaltender: Ilya Bryzgalov (I guess.)
Do I have to pick one? No really? Okay, in a dire situation, the only goaltender who played any sort of meaningful minutes last season—and stands out in a truly special way—that could contribute to a team is Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov, 34, was made a wealthy man by the Philadelphia Flyers and showed his dedication to the game last year, climbing the ranks from the minor leagues to gain a spot on the Edmonton Oilers roster. There, he had a reasonably strong even strength save percentage at 92.3 percent, higher than both Tim Thomas and Martin Brodeur. A team desperately looking for that number two option could do a lot worse than Bryzgalov.

Honorable Mention: Andrei Loktionov
I would be remiss to not mention, that Andrei Loktionov is a player whose skill set could help any team. It was a virtual toss-up between Loktionov and Roy for the top remaining center spot, with Roy taking it pretty much solely on career numbers, showing that there's a high upside there in the right situation. But Loktionov, has shown flashes of three-zone skill and high possession numbers.