All week leading up to July 1, we’ll be profiling unrestricted free agents and speculating where they might end up.
Brad Boyes (C/RW)
Age: 30
2011-12 cap hit: $4 million
The skinny: The former 40-goal scorer has had a bit of a bad time in recent years. Since that monster season in St. Louis, Boyes’ goal numbers have fallen off the table as if his name was Jonathan Cheechoo. In the four seasons since potting 43, Boyes has scored 72 goals and that includes a 33-goal season. Not good.
Boyes finished last year with just eight goals and proved to be one of many frustrating players for the Sabres. When wind up in the same conversation as Ville Leino when it comes to production, that’s not good. Boyes could be someone’s Plan C when it comes to finding a scoring forward. At this point now, he’s a depth guy you can’t bank on scoring goals the way he did just four years ago.
