NHL Free Agency: The Best of the Rest

While most of the big names went off the board in the opening days of free agency, there's still some quality players to be had on the open market. Here's a quick look at three of the better players still searching for a new team: Martin Biron, Alex Tanguay, and Dennis Seidenberg.

1) Martin Biron. Biron was the weak link in Philadelphia the past two seasons, but he's still a capable NHL goaltender that can fill in as a strong stop-gap for a team in need of a starter. While both Flyers goalies from this past season (Antero Niittymaki being the other) were free agents, Niittymaki has already found a new team, signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Biron? Still available.

Earlier this week Seth Rorabaugh over at Empty-Netters put together a nice piece on where Biron might fit, mentioning the Kings, Coyotes, and Lightning among others.

I like the Kings as a possible destination. They've been somewhat busy this offseason, signing defenseman Rob Scuderi and acquiring winger Ryan Smyth from Colorado, adding not only experience, but also toughness to a young, talented roster. The Kings boast a strong group of forwards led by Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Alex Frolov, and Smyth, and a promising defense anchored by Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Scuderi. The only thing missing, of course, is a goalie. Jonathan Bernier is the future, but he's still only 20 years old and there is absolutely no need to rush him at this point.

2) Alex Tanguay. Now that Ales Kotalik has signed with the Rangers, Tanguay is probably the best top-six winger remaining. One of the many Canadiens that hit free agency this offseason, Tanguay is coming off a 41-point performance in just 50 games in Montreal. Good playmaker that can still come close to 50 assists in a full season.

The negative? He's been a relative non-factor in his recent trips to the postseason, scoring just one goal in his past 15 playoff games, and only three in his past 24.

3) Dennis Seidenberg. Need a shot-blocking defenseman with some offensive ability? Seidenberg is the best one available at this point. He's still only 27 years old and is coming off a career year in terms of points, blocked shots and games played.

Based on the contracts Scuderi and Francois Beauchemin recently signed, he's probably in line for a deal somewhere between $2 and $3 million per season. He might be a good fit for a Columbus team that needs some depth on the blue line and still has over $12 million remaining in cap space.