James van Riemsdyk Free Agent Profile

The free-agent market is moving really fast this offseason.

Only two of the top 50 free agents haven’t signed yet, and Daniel Sprong is one of them. Even players who are not as famous are finding new teams, like Ryan Suter continuing his journey in the Central Division. This shows that teams are looking for experienced players to complete their rosters.

James van Riemsdyk is a name to watch. He has scored 20 goals seven times in his career and has an 11.8% shooting percentage over 15 NHL seasons. He missed our Top 50 list by a few spots, but he’s still got a solid offensive record. For most of his career, he was a top-six winger and scored well, averaging 0.66 points per game while playing more than 16 minutes each game. However, during the last three years of his $35M contract with the Flyers, he only managed to score 36 goals and get 67 points in 143 games.

JVR’s Time with the Bruins

After leaving Philly quietly, JVR signed a cheap one-year deal worth $1M with the Bruins last summer. He did better than expected and became a valuable depth scorer for them . His stats were similar to his last years with the Flyers: he scored 11 goals and had 38 points in 71 games but played fewer minutes (13:30 ATOI). Interestingly, he took more shots on goal—142 compared to previous seasons—and although those 11 goals were low for him, it suggests there’s potential for improvement since he shot at a career-low rate of just 7.7%. Now that he’s turned 35, he can sign contracts with performance bonuses.

Fans might think it’s exciting that JVR could still be very useful next season.

Last season’s stats show that Boston controlled about 60.7% of expected goals when JVR was on ice at even strength—a good sign! While not great at controlling shot attempts outright (49.6 CF%), he wasn’t on for many high-danger chances against him either.

Possible Teams Interested

So far this summer, no specific team has been linked strongly to van Riemsdyk yet—but expect that to change soon! The Bruins could be interested again; they have some cap space left ($8.64M), most likely going towards re-signing Jeremy Swayman though.

JVR might also return to play for another former team like Toronto Maple Leafs who need depth after losing Tyler Bertuzzi recently in free agency; however fitting within their tight budget might be tricky!

Both these teams would offer decent playoff chances which matter since JVR wants that elusive Stanley Cup ring before retiring!

Projected Contract

Given all factors mentioned earlier—including age eligibility allowing performance bonuses—it seems likely he’ll land around $775K base salary plus additional incentives based on performance metrics achieved throughout upcoming season!

What do you think? Should JVR go back where it all started or try somewhere new?

Alex Thompson
Alex Thompson
Alex Thompson is a Senior Writer for HockeyMonitor. With a background in Sports Media, Alex joined the team in 2022. He focuses on providing the latest hockey news, game scores, and fresh NHL trade rumors.

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