Dayton looks to the offseason, Free Agency preview.......

A frustrating season for the 'Men is in the books and GM Bill Corfield now must look toward the offseason. Always a busy time of year, first up will be decisions about which free agents have earned new contracts and which UFA's and perhaps some RFA's might be released.

UFA's: Crosby, Girardi, Oduya and Steen

Who stays: A no-brainer, Dayton will welcome Sidney Crosby back to the fold with a new contract. One of just six players in the NHL who scored 100 pts., Crosby will be "the guy" as Dayton plans for the 2019-20 season.

Unless we trade him...

If we decided to move Crosby, the return would need to be quite handsome. The asking price will be a top 5 draft pick and a strong prospect. Crosby has lots of miles left in his tires, he's still performing at an elite level and will be worth every penny to whoever - again IF we decide to trade him - acquires him...

Who leaves: Girardi and Oduya are aging, pricey and declining defensemen who will find work elsewhere, likely via the annual FA Bidding process. Alex Steen likewise will be playing elsewhere in the CCHL next season.

RFA's: Brossoit, Del Zotto, Gustafsson, Kuhnhakl, Kuznetsov, McCann, and Sprong

Kuznetsov, Gustafsson, McCann, Sprong and Brossoit will be resigned. DAY has just 9 forwards who can be expected to play major minutes next season and the team expects at least 15 to be on the opening night roster. We'll also need a few additional dmen who can play top 6 minutes, and at least 1 bonafide top pairing guy to be brought on board over the Summer. Tom Kuhnhakl, despite his injuries issues that restricted his games played to just 36, will likely be resigned to a 1 yr. bridge deal after which he'll again be a RFA and may earn a longer contract offer from Dayton.

Del Zotto is expected to not be brought back as a RFA resign as Corfield would prefer to spend the 3+ million bucks it would take to retain Del Zotto's services in other ways.

On the Dayton Blueline, its expected the team will enter free agency with just five dmen under contract. GM Corfield will be looking to bring in another 4-5 guys for the back end...

Prospects: Kahun, Kisselvich and Lammikko...

Kahun and Lammikko will be signed. Kisselvich is expected to not receive an offer from the 'Men...

Should be a busy off-season in Dayton...