"Tomas Fleischmann was a point-per-game performer for the Colorado Avalanche before the unrestricted free agent was sidelined for the season Jan. 18 with a blood clot in each lung now under control by the use of blood-thinners.

Joel Ward was a gritty opportunist who had four goals and eight points for the Nashville Predators in a six-game, second-round series setback and the UFA finished with a surprising 13 playoff points in a dozen games.

Tyler Kennedy managed 21 goals and 45 points for the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Penguins which spoke to raising his game in the absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but he wasn't tendered a qualifying offer.

On some level, all three wingers may interest the Vancouver Canucks when free agency opens Friday at 9 a.m. PST, but Kennedy was closing in on reaching an extension with the Penguins on Thursday night.

That still leaves Fleischmann as a top-six curiousity and Ward as a third-line consideration because of Jannik Hansen's versatility and whether UFA winger Raffi Torres is holding out for term. Hansen is not only poised for a big raise on the US$825,000 he was awarded in arbitration last summer, the restricted free agent could be the target of an offer sheet because some teams believe the Dane might even be a top-six fit."