How much would Hamhuis want?? 5+ million??

Why is Marc Andre Bergeron only paid 750k? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought he was wayy better than that salary indicates.

Well, it's time to start thinking what moves to make in the offseason. We obviously need to make several moves and with Hank and Toni be UFAs, I thought I would start with D-men. We do have 6 or 7 guys who can potentially fill the roster, but it would leave us very young in the back. With the exception of Myers, I think defense requires more of a veteran presence. That being said, I will list the top 25 guys available UFA d-men this summer. I am going to leave out anyone over the age of 35, mainly because I don't want our big signing to be a 39 y/o Foote or Sydor. I will rank them by what they made this season.

Pavel Kubina $5
Paul Martin $4.5
Brett Clark $3.5
Willie Mitchell $3.5
Derek Morris $3.3
Mike Van Ryn $3.35
Randy Jones $3
Joe Corvo $2.75
Anton Volchenkov $3.2
Dennis Seidenberg $2.25
Dan Hamhuis $2.5
Shaone Morrison $1.975
Jordan Leopold $1.75
Paul Mara $1.675
Brad Lukowich $1.8
Nick Boynton $1.5
Lukas Krajicek $1.475
Garnet Exelby $1.725
Milan Jurcina $1.375
Carlo Colaiacovo $1.4
Zbynek Michalek $1.5
Jay McKee $800k
Marc Andre Bergeron $750k
Lukas Krajicek $700k
Martin Skoula $575k


Out of these guys who are available, none were among top 30 points scorers, Bergeron and Colaiacovo were the only 2 in the top 30 PP scorers (7 and 4 respectively), and only Exelby was in the top 30 for PIM (behind Rivet and Montador.) Now it's seems if we are looking for someone to quarterback the PP thru free agency, it doesn't seem there is a viable answer among these guys. I would like to see Myers be groomed to handle the point full time. Maybe sign one of the above veterens to play a character role and continue to help the younger guys grow. Paul Martin would be nice, but maybe a little to pricey. A couple guys I would be interested in for lesser money would be Seidenberg, Mara or Boynton.

What does everyone else think?

Volchenkov would be awesome to have, but he'll be more expensive than what Buffalo can afford, and Buffalo actually needs some puck movers that can improve the PP.

Leopold fits that mold, but he isn't as talented and solid defensively as Seidenberg. This might sound silly to some, but the fact that Seidenberg is a lefty makes him a better option than Leopold who is a righty. Myers, Montador, and Rivet are righties, and if both Tallinder and Lydman walk there will only be Weber, Sekera, and Butler as lefties. We don't want to depend on Sekera and Butler for starting minutes, and Weber is not a PP asset, so a solid lefty PP d-man that contributes on the PP is a near necessity. Having d-men paired lefty-righty is an advantage both 5-on-5 and on the PP that shouldn't be overlooked.