We’ve hit the dog days of the NHL off-season and while some folks are doing their best to keep the rumor mill churning the fact of the matter is there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on.

The cream of his summer’s rather thin UFA crop have been long signed and the lack of qualify RFA talent resulted in no blizzard of offer sheets.  The arbitration period ended quietly, and most general managers are now on much-needed vacations.

So here’s a quick look at the few remaining UFAs of note and what their current status is.

Mats Sundin – In Sweden contemplating retirement.

Joe Sakic – Contemplating retirement.

Peter Forsberg – skating in practices in Sweden rehabbing his troublesome right foot; a decision on a possible return currently isn’t expected until early December.

Brendan Shanahan – interested in re-signing with the NY Rangers, willing to consider other offers should the Blueshirts pass, definitely wants to play one more season.

Teemu Selanne – believed willing to return with the Anaheim Ducks and could merely be awaiting the Ducks freeing up the appropriate cap space for his new contract.

Glen Murray – after being bought out by the Boston Bruins has been contacted by the Nashville Predators.

Mark Parrish – after being bought out by the Minnesota Wild has like Murray been contacted by the Predators.

Ladislav Nagy – the forgotten star of the UFA market. Not a peep has been heard from the Nagy camp since the summer began. His recovery from a season-ending neck injury might be the reason.

Bret Hedican – has moved with his family to Northern California and apparently would consider playing only for California-based teams.

Martin Gelinas – hoped to return with the Predators but a recent report out of Nashville claims that’s now a long shot.

Patrice Brisebois – In late July a report out of Montreal claimed he was close to re-signing with the Canadiens but nothing more has been heard.

Bryan Berard, Bryan Smolinski, Jassen Cullimore, Marek Malik, Yanic Perreault, Keith Carney, Luke Richardson, Geoff Sanderson, Aaron Miller – No reports currently linking them with NHL teams.

Over three weeks after the NHL UFA market opened on July 1st, there ain’t much left in the store for shoppers to choose from.

This summer’s UFA talent pool was already a thin one given that much of the best talent was re-signed to new contracts, in some cases (hello there, Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla) a full year before their UFA eligibility date.

Globe and Mail blogger James Mirtle’s been keeping an updated list of the best available talent at each position and as you can see the pickings are slim indeed.

The best available forward remains Mats Sundin, who’s as valuable now as he was on July 1st, but the market is apparently limited to three Canadian teams – Montreal, Vancouver and of course his old stamping grounds in Toronto.

His agent claims Sundin will decide by August 1st if he’ll retire (unlikely) or return to action and if so which club he’ll choose, which should mercifully bring to an end the constant media speculation over his plans.

After Sundin, the depth drops dramatically.

Brendan Shanahan is still available, but apparently only talking with the Rangers, who’ll be hard pressed to find cap space for him unless he accepts a considerable pay cut or they move someone out (Petr Prucha, perhaps?) to free up the extra cap space.

Joe Sakic is available but nobody’s bidding on him because it’s understand that, if he does decide to return for another season, it’ll be with the Colorado Avalanche, period. Thus far Sakic has yet to make up his mind.

Teemu Selanne is still but despite some internet chatter of his signing with Montreal to play with old buddy Saku Koivu (and how many years has THAT old chestnut been flying around? Ten??) it’s Anaheim or retirement for Selanne.

Peter Forsberg’s still available but he’s sidelined until December rehabbing his problematic right foot and is likely facing retirement if it fails to improve things.

Looking at Mirtle’s list perhaps the best available forward is Ladislav Nagy, who was nearly on a point-per-game clip with the LA Kings until he was sidelined for the season with a neck injury.

Nagy doesn’t have the best playoff rep but for a team seeking a playmaking forward he could be just the ticket provided he’s made a full recovery from injury, and might not cost as much as the $3.75 million he earned last season.

If it’s experience and leadership on your checking lines, Martin Lapointe, Stephane Yelle, Martin Gelinas and Bryan Smolinski could be yours for reasonable prices.

The depth on defense isn’t much better.

Teppo Numminen is still available but is reportedly close to re-signing with the Buffalo Sabres. If his heart condition which sidelined him for all of last season doesn’t hamper him again he could be a good addition to the Sabres blueline.

Marek Malik, much-maligned by the Rangers faithful the past two years but still a YouTube star for his shootout trick shot goal over Washington three years ago, is also there and perhaps playing in a less demanding city might be just the tonic he needs to rebound.
In goal, there’s Jocelyn Thibault, JS Aubin and nothing else.

So check out Mirtle’s listing, gang, and let me know who else on it you think might be a good addition to your team.

The Nashville Predators went fishing for a bigger fish in this summer's NHL UFA pool, and landed one today, signing former Florida Panthers winger Martin Gelinas to a one-year contract. Financial terms have yet to be disclosed. 

Predators general manager David Poile admitted last week that he might sign a veteran unrestricted free agent player, as his payroll was still $2 million below the mandated minimum payroll requirement of $34.3 million.

We should find out shortly how much Gelina's new contract will be worth, so it'll be interesting to find out how much he got. It could be a considerable raise, as last season he made $975K with the Panthers.

Gelinas' signing with the Preds comes as a surprise, as it was believed he'd likely re-sign with the Panthers after failing to sign with either Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton in order to stay close to his Calgary home.  At least by signing in Nashville he's not two time zones away and not as far to travel back home as he was in Florida.

This is more than just a signing to get close to the cap "floor" for the Predators. At 37, Gelinas remains a very capable third line winger, capable of solid two-way play, as witnessed by his two forty-plus point seasons with the Panthers. He's also three years removed from a very impressive playoff performance with the Calgary Flames during their run to the 2004 Stanley Cup finals.

His experience and skills will make him a welcome addition to a Predators team that had dealt away several veterans in salary dumping trades.

And if Gelinas' new contract is less than $1 million, don't be surprised if Poile makes another UFA signing later this summer.

There's not a heckuva lot of talent remaining in this year's NHL UFA pool, which isn't unusual two weeks after the free agent frenzy began, although it wasn't a particularly deep pool this season. 

James Mirtle has been keeping track of the remaining UFAs, and as you can see, there really isn't much to choose from.

Still, there's a few gems still available, perhaps for bargain prices the longer they remain on the market.

For scoring forwards, only Peter Forsberg, Teemu Selanne and Alexei Yashin remain. The first two could retire while Yashin is apparently miffed over supposed "low ball" offers and could play in Russia next season.

The best checking center would be Mike Peca, provided he can avoid the injuries that have plagued him in recent years. 

Martin Gelinas and Mike Johnson appear to be the best checking wingers still available.

There's still a few good defensemen remaining, with Danny Markov, Andy Sutton and Ossi Vaananen likely to attract interest in the coming days from teams seeking blueline depth.

Not a lot of depth in goaltending, but Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Alex Auld and Robert Esche could attract some interest.