The Fifth Liners

Admittedly this year's Free Agency pool was only ankle deep and compared to previous seasons there was not the big names for bidding.  However, there were still some bargains to be had and there was flurry of signings come July 1st. Here are my personal top 3 picks Justin Williams  Although William's goal production had been slowing the last few years at LA, the Washington Capitals have got themselves a bargain. Williams at 33 is still an effective right wingers which can be used to anchored the second or third line. The Capitals with the exception of Ovechkin and Holtby are a team that still needs rounding out. Williams also have extensive experience of the post season, including three Stanley Cup wins. His Conn Smyth Trophy  win in 2014 shows just what an asset he can be to a team.  P A Parenteau  Things didn't end happily in his season in Montreal, but 32 year old Parenteau still has life left in him. Signing for the Toronto Maple Leafs is a smart mo...

Playoffs without the Detroit Red Wings are like picnics without sandwiches or Coach Maclean without his 'tache. It just doesn't happen. It hasn't happened for over 20 years either. The Wings are currently sat seventh in the Western Conference and came very close to dropping to 8th. Two things in Detroit's favour are that their next game is against eighth placed St Louis at the Joe Louis. In addition to this, Mike Babcock's team have a 4 point cushion over the teams outside the conference top 8. At this late stage of the season, that small cushion could have a huge impact. Detroit's second road game in as many days was against bottom-of-the-conference Colorado at the Pepsi Center. Mark Olver cancelled out Pavel Datsyuk's opener before Gustav Nyquist gave the Wings the edge again with the first period ending 2-1. That's how the score stayed until 6 minutes into the third when P.A. Parenteau deflected the puck past Jimmy Howard to draw the Avs equa...