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Detroit’s free agency shopping list is center-heavy

Florida Panthers v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Stephen Weiss #9 of the Florida Panthers brings the puck down the ice against Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on February 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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Detroit is set to head into this offseason with some cap space and a hole to fill up the middle. Their potential shopping list of centermen gives Red Wings fans a reason to pay attention when free agency kicks off on Friday.

Ansar Khan of Mlive.com reports the team has a host of pivots they’re looking at to replace free agent-to-be Valtteri Filppula. Among them are some reasonably big names.

Stephen Weiss (Florida), Mike Ribeiro (Washington), Derek Roy (Vancouver), Tyler Bozak (Toronto), and Matt Cullen (Minnesota). New Jersey’s Patrik Elias is also on their short-list, but he’s close to re-signing with the Devils. While Vincent Lecavalier would seem like a logical fit here, Khan says his demands may be a bit too pricey for what GM Ken Holland is looking for.

Meanwhile, the team is still working on re-signing Damien Brunner and Danny Cleary to new deals. Should that not pan out, there are a host of veteran options on the market for wingers including Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr, and Michael Ryder (amongst others).