Colorado Avalanche: Free agency news from around SBN July 1, 2014

First, a list of the top 40 free agents. You shouldn't be surprised that Paul Stastny is ranked #1 on the list. By the way, Ryan O'Reilly is listed as the second top RFA, only behind PK Subban. We have some desirable players. Makes you wonder why we are still such a shitty team, at least according to the "experts" out there.

Next, fans are assured that Ales Hemsky is a valuable option that should not be ignored. "Any contending team that needed a talented winger for a playoff run could have had Ales Hemsky for next to nothing at the NHL trade deadline. Few seemed to have any serious interest. Based on the way he played down the stretch for the Ottawa Senators, that was a pretty big mistake."

However, one should fear Matt Niskanen. Not sure some around MHH feel that way, but hey, to each his own. People seem to forget that Niskanen is gonna need the green to sign with a team, and I'm not talking the kind of green readily available in Colorado now.

We move on to goalies and how their contracts are dumb. "It's an important position, but it's also an incredibly volatile one that is dominated by randomness, late-blooming players, and those who are great one year, only to completely lose it the next." In other words, you're foolish to sign a goalie long term because next year he could be Swiss cheese.

That doesn't mean teams can't use the goalie market to their advantage, though. "One option is to target goalies who have a reasonable track record of success but still aren't regarded particularly highly for whatever reason. Jaroslav Halak is one good example -- his save percentage ranks right up there with the high-end talent, yet he has been traded four times already."