Top 50 Players in the AHL Free Agency Market

Free agency in hockey is going to be starting in just over 24 hours and while everyone is focused on the NHL, a few hundred dedicated AHL fans are hoping that they’re teams will land some top free agents as well.  Jonathan Bombulie (covers the WB/S Penguins) put together this excellent list of the top free agents that are likely to play in the AHL next season.

Any team that can land Alexandre Giroux, Darren Haydar or a Corey Locke will immediately go from being an AHL team with no expectations to a playoff contender.  Add Steve MacIntyre to your lineup and you immediately have someone that will protect your teams assets.

Along with a team becoming a contender in the AHL, a lot of these players will also help boost the numbers of an NHL teams prospects and help them get promoted to the show much faster.

Here’s the list:

1. Alexandre Giroux, Her 29 139 goals the last two years (counting playoffs)
2. Darren Haydar, LE 30 If he stays in North America, an all-time AHL great
3. Brett Sterling, Chi 26 Will get you 30 goals, might get you 50
4. Corey Locke, Hart 26 Point totals the last three years: 85-79-72
5. Tim Stapleton, Chi 28 Made his name in Europe, awesome last two seasons
6. Dan Jancevski, Tex 29 Aside from one bad year in Norfolk, a big, physical winner
7. Tyler Weiman, LE 26 Imagine what he could do on a good team
8. Andrew Hutchinson, Tex 30 A puck-moving winner
9. Danny Groulx, Wor 29 One-time top prospect broke through last year
10. Jared Ross, Adk 27 Struggled a bit last year, but a proven AHL scorer
11. Tim Brent, Tor 26 You can bank on 60 AHL points
12. Chris Minard, Spr 28 He’d be higher up if not for concussion problems
13. Danny Syvret, Adk 25 I’ve always found him an impact AHL defenseman
14. Kyle Wilson, Her 25 Goal totals in the AHL: 24-28-30-24
15. Jamie Johnson, Roch 28 Back from Europe to put up 70-point season
16. Dany Sabourin, Pro 29 A consistent AHL performer for almost a decade
17. Garrett Stafford, Tex 30 Practically a lock for 40 points from the blue line
18. Trevor Smith, Bri 25 Coming off a down year, but he’s a 30-goal guy
19. Derek Smith, Bing 25 Had 14 goals, 51 points in breakthrough season
20. Sean Sullivan, SA 26 Had 12 goals, 49 points and is young enough to improve
21. Bryan Rodney, Alb 26 Always looked great handling puck vs. Penguins
22. Kyle Greentree, Rock 26 Legit AHL sniper
23. Peter Mannino, Chi 26 Coming off huge year: 25-6-1, .921 save percentage
24. Mike Glumac, Ham 30 AHL goal totals: 20-33-21-27-32-25
25. Curtis Sanford, Ham 30 Coming off big year: 23-11-3, .916 save percentage
26. Tim Conboy, Alb 28 Defenseman with snarl
27. Matt Climie, Tex 27 Goalie made a name for himself in playoffs
28. Steve MacIntyre, Roch 29 No debate: The baddest man in the league
29. Mark Flood, Bri 25 Good character, puck-moving ability
30. Greg Mauldin, Bri 28 Exciting player, 50 goals last two years combined
31. Mike Angelidis, Alb 25 Prototypical hard-nosed checking line center
32. Jeremy Williams, GR 26 Big-time AHL scorer the last two years
33. Jon DiSalvatore, Hou 29 Between 20 and 22 goals all seven years in AHL
34. Ben Walter, Low 26 He’ll get you 20 goals, 50 points
35. Shawn Belle, Ham 25 Big strong kid who could still get better
36. Greg Moore, Syr 26 Had 66 points two years ago
37. Dean Arsene, Spr 29 Hard-nosed winner
38. Andre Deveaux, Tor 26 Led Marlies in points, PIMs
39. Joey Crabb, Chi 27 Had breakthrough 24-goal season
40. Josh Tordjman, SA 25 Four straight 20-win seasons in San Antonio
41. Chris Lee, WBS 29 Finished in top 20 in AHL defenseman scoring
42. Alex Henry, Ham 30 Massive defenseman with snarl
43. Nolan Yonkman, Mil 29 Massive defenseman with snarl
44. Boyd Kane, Her 32 You might not like his style, but he wins
45. Joey Mormina, Adk 28 Missed Lovejoy, but still a decent year
46. Jordan Smotherman, Syr 24 Big guy who will get you double-digit goals
47. Zach FitzGerald, Alb 25 Big, mean, led league with 311 PIMs
48. Nathan Smith, Hou 28 Does the little things
49. Robbie Earl, Hou 25 More talent than his numbers show
50. Joey MacDonald, Tor 30 Stops pucks, wins fights

The list could probably be debated and there’s probably players left off, but stick tap to Bombulie for spending time putting something like this together.

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