NHL Free Agency Buzz: Rumblings on where the top free agents could land

Vincent Lecavalier, Philadelphia Flyers (5 years, $22.5 million)

Pascal Dupuis, Pittsburgh Penguins (4 years, $15 million)

Patrick Elias, New Jersey Devils (3 years, $16.5 million)

Daniel Briere, Montreal Canadiens (2 years, $8 million)

(Signing Tracker Updated throughout the day)

Clarkson has visited the Ottawa Senators and the Edmonton Oilers and the sweepstakes are said to be coming down to the Maple Leafs, Senators or Oilers, though he also visited the Columbus Blue Jackets, per Bob McKenzie of TSN. Rumblings have Clarkson to nab over $6 million per season on a six to seven year deal.

Signed: Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 years – $36.75 million

2. Nathan Horton, RW

Horton will not be returning to Boston and took a free agent visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s looking for a quiet team and city, which makes Columbus a very strong possibility.

Signed: Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 years – $37.1 million

3. Daniel Alfredsson, RW

Alfredsson is said to be given serious consideration to leaving Ottawa.  He’s down to considering Ottawa, Boston or Detroit.

Signed: Detroit Red Wings, 1 year, $5.5 million

4. Stephen Weiss, center

Coming off an injury plagued season, it hasn’t stopped interest in Weiss which is strong around the league. Detroit, Washington, St. Louis, Nashville, Toronto and Phoenix are among the five to six teams going hard after Weiss. Most teams have him as the No. 1 rated center on the board with Lecavalier signed. Toronto might be making the hardest push for Weiss.

Signed: Detroit Red Wings, 5 years, $24.5 million.

5. Valtteri Filppula, center

The center market is flooded with Weiss, Tyler Bozak, Mike Ribero among others. A lot of the same teams are going after the same guys but there’s been a lot of chatter connecting Filppula to Tampa Bay for a few weeks now, along with Washington.

6. Mike Ribeiro, center

Coming off a 49 point season, Ribeiro won’t return to Washington but a like a lot of centers on this market, he’s drawing strong interest around the league. The reason he won’t return to Washington is that he’s seeking a four to five year deal and is 33 years old. The usual suspects seeking centers include Toronto, Nashville,  Detroit, Tampa Bay, Phoenix, Calgary, and St. Louis. The Leafs are high on the playmaking center but keep an eye on Phoenix.

Signed: Phoenix Coyotes, 4 years – $22 million

7. Rob Scuderi, defensemen

The top defenseman on the market, Scuderi has an offer on the table from LA that he is still considering, but he’s had his agent check into fits in the Eastern Conference as he would like to move back to the Eastern Conference and to a less hectic city. Despite little cap space, the speculation of a return to Pittsburgh is out there and there was contact on Wednesday between the two sides, although the Penguins would have to get creative to make something happen. The agent at least has the Kings brass believing a return to Pittsburgh is in play, according to league sources, who say which is fueling some of this speculation. The Islanders, Hurricanes, and Maple Leafs are among four to five teams in the East that have shown interest in Scuderi. Don’t rule Pittsburgh out just yet as something appears up with them breaking off talks with Cooke and Adams the past couple days.

Signed: Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 years – $13.5 million

8. Jarome Iginla, RW

Agent Don Meehan tells me interest has been good for Jarome and it’s believed Phoenix, St. Louis and Detroit are among the teams he’s spoken with. The interesting thing with those three teams is they also have a center very high on their wishlist’s and from Detroit and St. Louis, interest is just preliminary. Iginla has long had interest in joining the LA Kings and if Scuderi signs elsewhere they could become in play and give the money that would have went to Scuderi to Iginla.  One league source said keep an eye on the Ottawa Senators if they miss out on Clarkson and Alfredsson signs with Detroit or Boston.

Signed: Not Signed

9. Ray Emery, Goaltender

With the Flyers out of the mix for Tim Thomas, all signs point to Emery signing with the Flyers today.

Signed: Philadelphia Flyers, 1 year – $1.75 million

10. Ryane Clowe, LW

Many around the league believe Clowe has a deal in the works with the New Jersey Devils. They are the clear front runner for Clowe.

Signed: New Jersey Devils, 5 years – $24.25 million