The NHL had a vision for unrestricted free agency. Every July 1st would feature fields of free ranging talent being picked over by a few NHL teams. Every team would be able to address needs and rebound from bad years by adding the players they needed at a reasonable cost to make themselves competitive again.
In some cases it has worked out. The Philadelphia Flyers finished last in the league in 2006/07, eleven points behind the Phoenix Coyotes. They immediately revamped their team through free agency and added Martin Biron, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, and Daniel Briere. They traded for Braydon Coburn, Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith. After dropping 45 points in the standings the year before they managed to regain 39 points in the standings in 2007/08. They jumped from worst team in the league into the eastern final playoff series in one year.
Instead of this owner's Utopia however most teams looking for unrestricted free agents find themselves with few or no prospects. This years crop of UFA's seems especially thin. Montreal's ...
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Article written by Scott Weldon