from Lyle Ricardson at The Hockey News,

Once Vesey makes his choice, the clubs that lose out could turn to either the trade or free-agent markets to bring in an affordable scoring forward.

Free-agent pickings are slim. Forwards Jiri Hudler, Radim Vrbata, Alex Tanguay, Matt Cullen and Brandon Pirri are the best of the bunch. At this point, all could be had for inexpensive short-term deals.

Better options could be had via trades, but return and salaries could create difficulties.

Colorado Avalanche left winger Gabe Landeskog occasionally surfaced in this summer’s rumor mill. The recent resignation of Patrick Roy as coach and VP of hockey operations should put to rest any chance of the 23-year-old Avs captain hitting the trade block. His $5.57-million annual cap hit would be difficult for most of the Vesey suitors to absorb.

The Detroit Red Wings have a surplus of forwards and could part with a winger such as Tomas Tatar or Gustav Nyquist for a top-three defenseman. They’re also perched above the $73 million cap ceiling by over $4.2 million. Placing sidelined forwards Johan Franzen, Joe Vitale and Teemu Pulkkinen on long-term injured reserve will address that problem, but they cannot afford to take on additional salary.

Sabres left winger Evander Kane’s off-ice legal issues is making him the subject of trade speculation. Kane’s reputation as a troublemaker, along with his injury history and $5.25-million salary-cap hit, makes him a risky investment.

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