As the free agency period in professional hockey dwindles down, there’s a lot of talk about where Mats Sundin will go and if Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Teemu Selanne will return or retire. But there are several AHL free agents still available that can help an AHL teams. Here’s a list of some top remaining free agents.

Darren Haydar, Chicago Wolves
Position: Right Wing
2008 AHL Stats: 51 GP, 19 G, 39 A, 58 P, 52 PIM

Haydar is an all-around player that has gotten better as he’s aged. Since coming into the league in 2002-03 with the Milwaukee Admirals, Haydar had success his freshmen season but struggled his second and third season in the league. Haydar led the league in points with 122 in 2006-07 with the Wolves. His numbers were down in 2007-08, but that’s only because he spent 15 games with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Haydar was the captain of the Wolves and guided them to the 2008 Calder Cup championship. So any team that signs him would get a player that is a leader in the locker room. He’s not a selfish player and will always look for a teammate before he tries to score. Haydar isn’t injury prone either. In six professional seasons in the AHL, Haydar has appeared in less than 72 games only twice and one of those seasons was because of time spent in the NHL.

For his career, Haydar is averaging better than a point per game with 170 goals and 286 assists in 411 career AHL games. His NHL action has been limited because teams haven’t given him a chance, but when a team takes that chance, they won’t be disappointed.

David Ling, Toronto Marlies
Position: Right Wing
2008 AHL Stats: 71 GP, 17 G, 42, A, 59 P, 179 PIM

Ling isn’t your prototypical player. He can score, as well as drop the gloves. Normally a tough guy in any league isn’t a big point’s producer, but Ling is the opposite. He proved it last season by leading the Marlies in scoring with 59 points and penalty minutes with 179. Ling was away from the AHL for two seasons before being lured back by Toronto. His greatest season came in 2004-05 with the St. John’s Maple Leafs when he scored 88 points in 80 games and added 152 penalty minutes.

Ling isn’t the quickest guy on the ice, but he will be one of the toughest. He isn’t prone to drawing stupid penalties like a lot of AHL tough guys do. One thing working against Ling’s favor is his age. At 33, he’s getting up there in age and with a lot of AHL teams getting younger, Ling might be on the outside looking in when the 2008-09 season begins.

He’s enjoyed a great AHL career averaging nearly a point per games with 149 goals and 298 assists in 477 games; he’s also added 1300 penalty minutes for his career.

Josef Boumedienne, Hershey Bears
Position: Defense
2008 AHL Stats: 52 GP, 7 G, 35 A, 42 P, 81 PIM

Boumedienne enjoyed his best professional season with the Hershey Bears in 2007-08. He was one of the best defensemen in the league and could have certainly been much better if he hadn’t missed significant time due to injuries on two different occasions. Nonetheless, his 42 points ranked second in defensemen for Hershey. This was Boumedienne’s first season back in the AHL since the 2003-04 season.

Boumedienne has a keen ability for finding the open player and making plays happen. He was a plus-18 on the season and his defensive skills are way better than average. His only problem that might scare teams away is his potential for getting injured. He does have NHL experience and could be valuable to an NHL team that needs a seventh defenseman of emergency call-up.

For his career, Boumedienne has scored 33 goals and 136 assists in 276 career AHL games.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Portland Pirates
Position: Goaltender
2008 AHL Stats: 12 GP, 6 W, 4 L, 2.02 GAA, .926 SV%

J.S. Aubin spent minimal time in the AHL during the 2007-08 regular season, but he made a big impact in the playoffs. He helped lead the Portland Pirates to the Eastern Conference finals before being ousted by the Penguins. He finished the playoffs with a record of 9-3 and a 2.30 goals-against-average. His nine wins ranked third of all playoff goaltenders.

Aubin is an NHL capable goaltender, but is quickly finding his way into the AHL more often. He would be a good pick-up for any team because with his NHL experience, he can serve the back-up role in the NHL very nicely. After his performance in the playoffs, Aubin in showing that he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon, even at the age of 31.

Restricted Free Agents

These players are classified as restricted free agents and must be signed to an offer sheet. Each players have been tendered a contract by their NHL club, thus making a move to another team pretty slim. But anything can happen.

Pascal Pelletier – Providence Bruins
Martin St. Pierre – Rockford IceHogs

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