Time for Real Power Plays

Free agency might do what no opponent accomplished this season: knock the Colorado Avalanche off the top of the NHL heap.

Free agency begins today, and the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche could lose three key players. Goaltender Patrick Roy, center Joe Sakic and defenseman Rob Blake will become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team, without compensation to Colorado. Each has indicated he would be willing to return if the others do, but Avalanche General Manager Pierre Lacroix might decide he can’t afford to keep them all and let one or more go.

Any of them would be the class of an unusually deep talent pool--but it will take deep pockets to sign them. Blake’s desire to earn Chris Pronger-type money--more than $9 million a year--was a factor in the Kings’ decision to trade him to Colorado before he gained free agency, and few teams can meet that demand besides the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers. Sakic earned $7.9 million last season and is in line for a considerable raise.

Although Jeremy Roenick took himself off the market last week by agreeing to a five-year, $37.5-million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, proven scorers Pierre Turgeon, Alexander Mogilny and Brett Hull are available. And left wing Luc Robitaille, reportedly unhappy with the Kings’ initial offer and aware Coach Andy Murray wastes no chance to criticize his defensive play, also might look elsewhere despite his ties to fans and family. However, his options appear limited, because his best years have been with the Kings, he will be 36 next season, and he wants a deal longer than two years.

The Kings also might lose defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who had an outstanding season after being signed as a free-agent reclamation project last summer and is sure to draw other offers.

The Kings, still wincing from the disastrous Steve Duchesne signing in 1998, and the Mighty Ducks aren’t expected to pursue the top-tier free agents. Both, however, might seek less costly support players.

“I’ve made it clear and I don’t want to deceive the fans, we are not going to look at that,” Duck General Manager Pierre Gauthier said. “We had a scenario where we put a lot of money into two players [Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne], and that does not work. If we were closer to the top, we might look at that, like Dallas did. In our case, it’s better to go in two or three directions than to go for a very high-priced free agent.”

Less renowned among the unrestricted free agents--but perhaps no less valuable--is right wing Martin Lapointe. Although he’s two months short of 28, he has been in the NHL for 10 years and last season earned less than the $1.4 million average salary, meeting the conditions for free agency. A grinder with an above-average scoring touch and two Stanley Cup rings, Lapointe figures to be less pricey than the top-tier players and is sure to be pursued by several teams.

Eric Weinrich (Boston), Sean O’Donnell (New Jersey) and Curtis Leschyshyn and Jason York (Ottawa) are among the middle-range defensemen who are likely to draw offers, having proven themselves to be useful role players.

Teams had until midnight Eastern time Saturday to tender qualifying offers to their restricted free agents, and most do so to retain those players’ rights. Teams rarely pursue restricted free agents because the compensation to the team that loses a player can be as high as five first-round draft picks.

In another development Saturday, the St. Louis Blues re-signed right wing Scott Mellanby to a two-year contract.

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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.