Among all the free agency talk this week, obsessing about Kevin Shattenkirk this and Alex Radulov that and Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton and Karl Alzner etc., the name Radim Vrbata does not seem to come up enough. For whatever reason, Vrbata is underappreciated among this year’s already sparse free agent crop.
Among pending unrestricted free agents, TheScore ranks Vrbata 17th, the Washington Post ranks him 11th, SportsNet has him at 18th, USA Today at 15th, and the Bleacher Report at fourth among right wings.