2011 NHL Unrestricted Free Agency - Sloppy Seconds

A couple of years ago, I took a crack at creating a roster out of free agency leftovers a few days after free agency opened.  66% of the voters thought that team sloppy seconds team would make the playoffs.

This year the challenge is a bit more difficult as I've decided to make a sloppy seconds team based on the free agents still available one week after unrestricted free agency opened.  There's almost no chance this team makes the playoffs unless it was placed in the Northwest and the Sedins both took ill.  After the jump, team Sloppy Seconds makes it's debut.

Cory Stillman - Vinny Prospal - Teemu Selanne
J.P. Dumont - Chris Drury - Sergei Samsonov
Petr Prucha - Brendan Morrison - Chris Clark
Nikolay Zherdev - John Madden - Mike Grier


Scott Hannan - Bryan McCabe
Shane O`Brien - Paul Mara
Brent Sopel - Jack Hillen


Ray Emery
Ty Conklin

Bench:  Kyle Wellwood, Karlis Skrastins, Sami Lepisto

Other possibilities:  Fernando Pisani, Marek Svatos, Steve Bernier, Mike Comrie, Alex Kovalev, Anton Stralman,Craig Rivet

This squad is a lot short at center and terribly short on scoring.  There are some able role players here - Chris Clark is still able to play seconds in a checking role and an apt penalty killer, as is Mike Grier.  Petr Prucha is always capable defensively against lower-level minutes.  Cory Stillman looked very good when matched against tough minutes last year in Florida. Zherdev is on the team because someone needs to score goals and he's worth the risk, Kyle Wellwood is a fine replacement player for a number of people in this lineup.  Zherdev and Wellwood on the power play with Selanne, Dumont and Prospal isn't going to scare anyone, but there is some power play talent there.

The defense is a strange collection of guys who take too many penalties and don't move the puck that well.  McCabe and Mara can run the power play and Hannan, O'Brien, Sopel and Hillen aren't a terrible penalty killing crew.

Goaltending is a problem, but then again, at least Sloppy Seconds isn't paying eleventy billion dollars for Ilya Bryzgalov.  If Emery stays healthy and the good Ty Conklin shows up, this might be enough to get NHL average goaltending.  Unfortunately, with the team in front of them Sloppy Seconds needs Dominik Hasek in his prime.