[TheScorpion]

Right wing

1. Justin Williams
Last year: Carolina

Role players are funny. They usually last for three or four good years, get paid, struggle for a bit, and then find themselves out of the NHL by the age of 30. Justin Williams seems to be playing that tape in reverse. Before the 2005 lockout, he bounced between Philadelphia and Carolina without mustering up much consistent success. Then, after a couple of great years in Carolina, he put up a disastrous 14-point season with the Hurricanes and Kings at age 27 in 2008-09. Adieu, right? But Williams reached new heights in his 30s, gaining a reputation as "Mr. Game 7" in L.A. while winning two Stanley Cups and a playoff MVP award in 2014, at age 33. Last year, as a 37-year-old in Carolina, Williams posted his most points in seven seasons, 53, and captained the 'Canes to within a round of the Stanley Cup Final. It would be surprising to see him leave Carolina at this point, but it all depends on if they can make the money work—with just under $2.5 million to play with, Williams would have to take a discount from his $4.5 million earnings in 2018-19.

2. Jason Pominville
Last year: Buffalo

After two consecutive 16-goal seasons in his return to Buffalo, former captain Pominville is a UFA with no suitors—yet. Pominville posted solid numbers across-the-board for the Sabres last season, and while his offensive potential might be lower than that of his former teammate, Thomas Vanek, he provides more in his own zone. Still, Pominville will be 37 in December, and better players than he have suffered calamitous regressions at that age. Like Vanek, Pominville has been a model of consistency since entering the league, but this could be the year that his 14-season streak of 30-point seasons ends. It all depends on the fit—he put up 18 points in the first two months of 2018-19 with increased ice-time, but only registered 12 markers in the final 46 games after seeing that allotment substantially reduced. Still, all but two of his points came at even-strength and his 29 even-strength points ranked alongside the likes of Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, and Rickard Rakell.

3. Thomas Vanek
Last year: Detroit

The greatest Austrian hockey player of all time, Vanek has remained effective offensively into his mid-30s but has become almost frighteningly one-dimensional. He is notorious for his defensive "load management," to borrow an NBA term, but even so, there still remains a place in the game for a powerplay specialist. Vanek can certainly help to boost a unit—his 11 points on the man-advantage last season ranked third on the Red Wings. Although his injury-beset 16-goal, 36-point season snapped a 13-year streak of 40-point campaigns, Vanek can probably be counted upon for another 40-point year with the right deployments if he remains healthy, but at what cost? His offensive capabilities well outshone his defensive shortcomings in his great 2017-18 year with Vancouver and Columbus, but he took multiple steps back in both ends last season. If teams determine that Vanek provides more of a liability than an offensive boost, he might not find his 10th club.

4. Troy Brouwer
Last year: Florida

Brouwer saw his shooting-percentage rebound to 14% in Florida, doubling his goal-total from six on the 2017-18 Flames—with a 7.6 shooting-percentage—to 12 last season. That said, not much else improved for Brouwer last season, as he saw his defensive capabilities—once considered his silver lining—erode drastically while his point totals reached a new low. Brouwer will be 34 later this month and is entering the year that most Flames prognosticators foresaw as the likely "bad year" in his four-season commitment. Given that he already started to tumble to those predicted lows in year one of that deal (and has only regressed since), it seems unlikely that Brouwer will receive more than a tryout for 2019-20.

5. Devante Smith-Pelly
Last year: Washington

The 27-year-old Smith-Pelly theoretically has more runway left than anyone else on this list and is just one year removed from a dominant seven-goal playoff performance en route to a Stanley Cup. Flash-forward to today, and now a UFA, Smith-Pelly seems to be following more in the footsteps of John Druce than of Mike Ridley. His hit totals plummeted from 2.01/GP to 1.44/GP last season, by far the lowest mark of his career, and he was frequently demoted to the Capitals' AHL affiliate in Hershey. Once Washington reached the playoffs, Smith-Pelly was held scoreless as the team lost its first-round series against Carolina in seven games. While Smith-Pelly is more likely than the other players on this list to receive (and accept) two-way offers, he also provides far less upside than any of them. While higher-ranked players like Thomas Vanek might be criticized for being one-dimensional, it is hard to find even one dimension in Smith-Pelly's game anymore. That said, teams are always looking for players who can exert physical control over a contest, but with Smith-Pelly's hitting game in decline—and with him providing negative play-driving value in either end of the ice—teams may only turn to him as a last resort.