Following up on my look at the remaining unrestricted free agent forwards, here's a gander at the blueliners still available. For a stats legend, see Behind The Net:
| Even Strength | TM | GP | TOI | QCMP | Pt/60 | GFON/60 | GAON/60 | Diff | |
| 1 | OSSI VAANANEN | VAN | 49 | 14.07 | -0.01 | 0.70 | 2.78 | 2.09 | 0.69 |
| 2 | PAUL MARA | NYR | 75 | 13.73 | -0.01 | 0.52 | 2.33 | 2.04 | 0.29 |
| 3 | M. DANDENAULT | MTL | 41 | 10.28 | -0.06 | 1.42 | 2.56 | 1.85 | 0.71 |
| 4 | ALEXEI SEMENOV | S.J | 47 | 11.81 | 0.00 | 0.76 | 1.94 | 1.73 | 0.21 |
| 5 | DENNIS SEIDENBERG | CAR | 70 | 16.34 | 0.02 | 0.89 | 2.10 | 2.36 | -0.26 |
| 6 | JAY MCKEE | STL | 69 | 13.53 | -0.03 | 0.45 | 2.38 | 1.99 | 0.39 |
| 7 | CORY MURPHY | T.B | 32 | 12.31 | -0.07 | 0.91 | 2.13 | 1.37 | 0.76 |
| 8 | M-A BERGERON | MIN | 72 | 12.96 | -0.04 | 0.90 | 2.44 | 2.06 | 0.38 |
| 9 | KEN KLEE | PHX | 71 | 13.21 | -0.08 | 0.64 | 2.50 | 1.79 | 0.71 |
| 10 | CHRISTIAN BACKMAN | CBJ | 56 | 12.46 | -0.07 | 0.26 | 2.15 | 1.63 | 0.52 |
| 11 | NATHAN OYSTRICK | ATL | 53 | 13.67 | -0.02 | 0.83 | 2.40 | 2.57 | -0.17 |
| 12 | MAREK MALIK | T.B | 42 | 15.18 | 0.00 | 0.47 | 2.07 | 2.45 | -0.38 |
| 13 | DEREK MORRIS | NYR | 74 | 15.98 | 0.02 | 0.61 | 1.78 | 2.49 | -0.71 |
| 14 | PHILIPPE BOUCHER | PIT | 41 | 15.19 | -0.07 | 0.48 | 2.31 | 1.83 | 0.48 |
| 15 | MATHIEU SCHNEIDER | MTL | 67 | 15.48 | -0.01 | 0.69 | 2.60 | 2.95 | -0.35 |
| 16 | MARTIN SKOULA | MIN | 81 | 16.49 | 0.01 | 0.54 | 1.93 | 2.61 | -0.68 |
| 17 | ANDREW ALBERTS | PHI | 78 | 13.10 | -0.06 | 0.65 | 2.53 | 2.29 | 0.24 |
| 18 | PATRICE BRISEBOIS | MTL | 62 | 12.28 | -0.05 | 0.71 | 2.29 | 2.36 | -0.07 |
| 19 | TEPPO NUMMINEN | BUF | 57 | 13.63 | -0.06 | 0.77 | 2.24 | 2.55 | -0.31 |
| 20 | JASSEN CULLIMORE | FLA | 68 | 14.69 | -0.06 | 0.54 | 1.92 | 2.52 | -0.60 |
| 21 | NICK BOYNTON | FLA | 68 | 13.28 | -0.13 | 1.20 | 2.92 | 2.66 | 0.26 |
| 22 | FRANCIS BOUILLON | MTL | 54 | 13.72 | -0.03 | 0.65 | 2.11 | 3.00 | -0.89 |
| 23 | BRET HEDICAN | ANA | 51 | 13.98 | -0.09 | 0.34 | 2.52 | 2.86 | -0.34 |
| 24 | GREG DE VRIES | NSH | 71 | 12.82 | -0.10 | 0.33 | 1.98 | 2.84 | -0.86 |
| 25 | DENIS GAUTHIER | L.A | 65 | 11.66 | -0.11 | 0.32 | 1.90 | 2.77 | -0.87 |
These are the only 25 UFA defencemen who played regularly in the NHL last season, with only Sergei Zubov of note left off the list (he played under 30 games, which was my cutoff). In terms of even-strength play, I think Dennis Seidenberg may offer the best value, as he logged big-time minutes last season on a team that went to the conference finals and will likely at this point come fairly cheap. He's also young and made just more than $1-million last season.
Ossi Vaananen, Paul Mara, Mathieu Dandenault (who doubles as a forward often), Alexei Semenov, Jay McKee and Marc-Andre Bergeron are also decent options here, although you'll note that the majority of the players listed here score low on quality of competition. Seidenberg's an exception, as is Derek Morris and Martin Skoula.
After the jump, a look at potential power play quarterbacks and penalty kill specialists.
| Power Play | TM | GP | TOI | Pt/60 | GFON/60 | GFOFF/60 | Diff | |
| 1 | CORY MURPHY | T.B | 32 | 3.83 | 3.92 | 6.86 | 6.18 | 0.68 |
| 2 | MATHIEU SCHNEIDER | MTL | 67 | 3.50 | 3.58 | 8.70 | 6.73 | 1.97 |
| 3 | M-A BERGERON | MIN | 72 | 3.09 | 3.51 | 6.75 | 7.38 | -0.63 |
| 4 | DENNIS SEIDENBERG | CAR | 70 | 2.70 | 3.49 | 6.66 | 5.96 | 0.70 |
| 5 | TEPPO NUMMINEN | BUF | 57 | 1.89 | 3.34 | 5.56 | 7.62 | -2.06 |
| 6 | PAUL MARA | NYR | 75 | 2.55 | 3.13 | 5.32 | 3.03 | 2.29 |
| 7 | PATRICE BRISEBOIS | MTL | 62 | 2.72 | 2.49 | 4.26 | 8.03 | -3.77 |
| 8 | PHILIPPE BOUCHER | PIT | 41 | 2.27 | 1.93 | 6.44 | 4.67 | 1.77 |
| 9 | DEREK MORRIS | NYR | 74 | 2.19 | 1.11 | 3.33 | 6.22 | -2.89 |
| 10 | CHRISTIAN BACKMAN | CBJ | 56 | 2.12 | 1.01 | 2.52 | 5.68 | -3.16 |
Not a lot of options here now that Francois Beauchemin's off the table, although Cory Murphy played big minutes with the man advantage in Tampa Bay and racked up some decent points. He would be a good fit somewhere as a No. 6 or 7 defender who plays on the power play somewhere.
Schneider also helped in that role in Atlanta and Montreal and may have something left at a steep discount, while Seidenberg's versatility shows here.
No world beaters, though, certainly. These would all be second unit guys.
| Penalty Kill | TM | GP | TOI | GAON | GAON/60 | GAOFF/60 | Diff | |
| 1 | NICK BOYNTON | FLA | 68 | 1.32 | 5 | 3.35 | 6.76 | -3.41 |
| 2 | GREG DE VRIES | NSH | 71 | 1.82 | 6 | 2.78 | 5.88 | -3.10 |
| 3 | FRANCIS BOUILLON | MTL | 54 | 1.93 | 9 | 5.19 | 8.27 | -3.08 |
| 4 | PAUL MARA | NYR | 75 | 1.83 | 4 | 1.75 | 4.48 | -2.73 |
| 5 | ANDREW ALBERTS | PHI | 78 | 2.38 | 13 | 4.20 | 6.45 | -2.25 |
| 6 | MAREK MALIK | T.B | 42 | 2.61 | 11 | 6.02 | 8.15 | -2.13 |
| 7 | JASSEN CULLIMORE | FLA | 68 | 1.78 | 9 | 4.46 | 6.47 | -2.01 |
| 8 | DEREK MORRIS | NYR | 74 | 2.01 | 16 | 6.45 | 6.94 | -0.49 |
| 9 | KEN KLEE | PHX | 71 | 1.78 | 17 | 8.07 | 8.55 | -0.48 |
| 10 | DENIS GAUTHIER | L.A | 65 | 2.53 | 16 | 5.84 | 5.59 | 0.25 |
| 11 | MARTIN SKOULA | MIN | 81 | 2.58 | 13 | 3.74 | 3.30 | 0.44 |
| 12 | DENNIS SEIDENBERG | CAR | 70 | 2.44 | 18 | 6.33 | 5.87 | 0.46 |
| 13 | OSSI VAANANEN | VAN | 49 | 2.82 | 15 | 6.51 | 5.10 | 1.41 |
| 14 | JAY MCKEE | STL | 69 | 3.07 | 26 | 7.37 | 4.40 | 2.97 |
| 15 | PHILIPPE BOUCHER | PIT | 41 | 1.93 | 16 | 12.16 | 7.47 | 4.69 |
Mara had a very strong year on a good Rangers penalty kill, but really didn't log big minutes there. Few of these players did, although some big bodies like Andrew Alberts, Marek Malik and the like could help a team in a specialized role.
The Ducks, Bruins, Blue Jackets, Devils, Flyers, Penguins and Blues could all use another blueliner.


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