Remaining NHL Free Agents And Where They May Go. Part 2

Micheal Bunting is a utility player that has formed into that roll very well. he is capable of playing up and down the lineup when need be with his above average skating and agitating style, Not at all afraid to get into the dirty areas in the O zone, bunting will drive to the net with the puck and camp out in front of it without it. His greatest attribute in my opinion is his ability to be tenacious without taking penalties while drawing players into taking them against him. His high energy relentless game keeps the oppositions eyes on him often allowing him to use his considerable passing skills in tight quarters to create plays. He does have a tendency to burn himself out in the offensive zone and get caught behind the play when trying to get back to his defensive spots but it is a necessary evil for his style really. Best played with more cerebral defensive players like Tolvanen whom we discussed in part one. Like Tolvanen I think he is waiting out some teams to make some room with trades or injuries to give him more options. I think Montreal would be a good landing spot for him but doubt they would be interested in too much term. Montreal could have used his tenacity and net drive in the playoffs in the top 6 though for sure and a line with Evans and Demidov would be great to compensate for his defensive deficiencies. Short of the I could see Winnipeg being very interested, especially if the Hellebuyck trade happens opening up cap space. Detroit will be looking as noted with Tolvanen in part one. Both players could form a nice line in that regard as mentioned. I will put a flyer out there for Carolina to take a stab to bring him in again. 

Poor Logan Stanley. He is a victim of being completely misrepresented. he is often spoken about by media folk as being a shutdown defense first player that bring size and physicality, and there is certainly truth to the last two attributed but the first two? Well he tries for sure but that is about as far as it goes. To be fair Logan does have that sort of effectiveness if deployed against weaker second lines or fourth line competition, but it is average at best, The physicality aspect is awkward looking and often leads to egregious penalties mostly stemming from being a step behind the play and having to compensate for late hits or holds. Stanley does have a boomer of a shot though and if he can find the room to get it off he can create chaos in front of the net and drain a few. He needs big forward support in the D zone as he is limited in ability to make passes when the puck is on his stick and/or a D partner that can back him up when he gets possession which is something he is not bad at doing. In the right situation with a puck moving partner, he can get some licks in and bring some pain while navigating himself to shooting position in the offensive zone that can cash occasionally.

At this point I think St.Louis might be Stanley's best chance of being able to fight for a third pairing against Tyler Tucker who is deployed against very weak comp. and only really has rookie Theo Lindstein to compete with as of now. Stanley stands a chance of winning that race and might be able to pull out a little raise on his previous 1.2 mil for hopefully 2 years to get the chance, Otherwise Montreal looks to be moving away from Xhekaj and Stanley probably offers more that Arber does but likely it would be about the same price as he was at last year. Stanley might have over valued himself on the market and could be forced to league min somewhere if there are no offers from those spots.

Here is my sneaky under the radar pickup. Kurashev was not one to comply with the defensive side of the game most of his career, In fairness it might have had more to do with the fact he was playing for a very weak Chicago team that was often playing from behind and offensive risk was more often the mode more applicable to the situation. whether it be one or the other or both Philipp has formed himself into a very reliable defensively aware player the last two years against impressive quality of opponents. Coach Warsofski found trust in his game to be sure and I am sure he would love to have Kurashev back in some capacity, but with the drafting of young phenom Stenberg and the acquisition of the more physically imposing Mason Marchment it appears that Kurashev is the odd man out. Hard to gauge what the center turned winger's ask is right now but i wouldn't be opposed to 3 plus million for a couple years for him. If I am Winnipeg, I am hot on the phone here and of course as we have mentioned Detroit should be in on anyone with value. Kurashev doesn't bring much of a physical element but seem to be developing into a smart positional forward that does all the things people often miss and go under the radar. Sounds a lot like a Carolina type play. A team like Boston would make sense as they seem to be trying their hardest to keep from a tear down rebuild and Kurashev being only 27 would provide them with a younger player that could contribute for several years.

Thak for reading and look forward to your comments and thoughts,