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UFA of the Day: Paul Stastny

Paul Stastny

Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny celebrates after scoring a third period goal against the Phoenix Coyotes during an NHL hockey game on Thursday, March 22, 2012, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

AP

Check PHT each weekday for the first four weeks of June for a new pending unrestricted free agent of the day. Today’s UFA of the Day is…

Paul Stastny

Arguably the biggest impact player available (potentially) in unrestricted free agency. Stastny is only 28 years old -- young, compared to most UFAs -- and he’s one of the better two-way centers in the NHL.

In 2013-14, Stastny had 25 goals and 35 assists while playing out the last year of his five-year, $33 million contract with the Avalanche. If he stays in Colorado, it’s likely he’ll have to accept a hometown discount. Possibly he’d even have to take a pay cut, given his expiring cap hit was $6.6 million and Matt Duchene is signed through 2018-19 for a cap hit of $6 million.

It’s expected talks between Stastny and the Avs will start shortly.

“We believe Paul wants to stay as an Avalanche next year and we think there’s a good chance he can sign with us,” Colorado coach Patrick Roy said a while back, per the StarTribune. “How it happens, that will be up to [executive vice president] Joe [Sakic] and [Matt Keator, Stastny’s] agent to discuss. I think Paul has the Avs in his heart, he loves to be in this town and he loves these fans.”

The thing is, on the open market, Stastny wouldn’t be out of line to ask for $7 million-plus per season. Think that’s high? Take a look -- there are no UFA centers under the age of 30 that are of Stastny’s caliber. The closest is Mike Santorelli, who isn’t very close at all. And remember, there are teams with cap space this summer.

Where could he go?

Well, if the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t interested in Stastny, they should be. The Leafs haven’t had a true No. 1 center since Mats Sundin left.

The Anaheim Ducks should be interested. So should the St. Louis Blues. And the Dallas Stars. We’re not saying any of those destinations are likely, but Stanley Cup champions typically (not always) have two excellent centers. (Think Anze Kopitar/Jeff Carter this year, and Patrice Bergeron/David Krejci in Boston.) If the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in line for big new deals, we’d say they should be interested too.

Back to the Avs, who have another interesting situation with Ryan O’Reilly, who’s none too pleased with being taken to arbitration by the club. We suggested in January that they consider trading O’Reilly (the blue line could use some bolstering) and re-signing Stastny. And we stand by that, because losing Stastny for nothing would be a big blow to a team that’s finally back on the radar in Denver.