The 2012 Unrestricted Free Agent Class is considered to be a weak one ( with the exception being Zach Parise and Ryan Suter) but there are still plenty of value players that could help the Jets next season.

Because it is no secret that the Jets are thin up the middle and on the wings, Illegal Curve has put together a list of 5 Forwards who are set to become Unrestricted Free Agents on July 1 that the Jets could target.

*The list is in no particular order

Five UFA Forwards the Winnipeg Jets could target (The player’s last team and 2011’12 salary in parenthesis):

1.  P.A. Parenteau, Right Wing (New York Islanders, $1,250,000)- P.A. Parenteau has spent the last two seasons with the New York Islanders playing mainly on the team’s top line alongside John Tavares and Matt Moulson. The 29-year-old native of Hull, Quebec is a dynamic forward who has an excellent shot and above-average playmaking abilities. A 9th round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2001, Parenteau had to play in the American Hockey League for parts of seven years before making it as a regular in the NHL which is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to the game. As for why he would fit in with the Jets, it is quite simple. The Jets need a Top-Six Forward and PA Parenteau would be an upgrade over Kyle Wellwood as a second line right winger. Even if Parenteau is seeking a raise from last year’s salary, he would be a quality signing for the Jets.

2. Jarret Stoll, Center (Los Angeles Kings, $3,600,000)- Jarret Stoll is only two weeks from a Stanley Cup victory with the Los Angeles Kings but he is set to become a highly sought after unrestricted free agent come July 1st and the Winnipeg Jets could definitely use his services. Stoll, 29, has the right combination of size, skill and experience to be a 2nd line center for the Winnipeg Jets and although he may be coming off of a terrible offensive season (78 games played, six goals, 15 assists, 21 points) he is still a very serviceable NHL center. Consider that Stoll averaged 18 goals and 43 points the previous three seasons and it is clear that he would be an upgrade for the Jets who used Nikolai Antropov and Alex Burmistrov as their 2nd line centers last season. Stoll had a career high 68 points with the Edmonton Oilers in 2005’06.

3.  Jiri Hudler, Center (Detroit Red Wings, $2,875,000)- Jiri Hudler scored a career-high 25 goals for the Detroit Red Wings this past season but it is believed that Hudler is going to test the free agent market come July 1st. Hudler is an extremely talented centerman who has excellent hands and a very deceptive quick-release shot. There are drawbacks to Hudler’s game however as he is small (5’10”) and not very physical.  The strengths in his game, that being offensive production, skating and creativity may cause some teams to over pay for Hudler. Because Hudler made just under $3 million with the Wings last season, it is quite possible that he may command $4 million on the open market which may be too high of a price for the Jets.

4.  Olli Jokinen, Center (Calgary Flames, $3,000,000)- Olli Jokinen is an interesting case. A former 3rd overall pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 1997, Jokinen’s career has had its share of ups and downs. Jokinen averaged 20 goals and 57 points with the Flames over the last two seasons but it is believed that Calgary will not be offering him a new contract this summer. Even though Jokinen is 33 years old, he still has several years of good hockey left in him. One could make the argument that Olli Jokinen would be a Number-1 center on the Winnipeg Jets based on his size, offensive skill and vision on the ice. It should be noted here that Jokinen’s defensive game has improved in his later years and he was a player that did benefit from the tutelage of Brent Sutter in Calgary. Like Hudler, Jokinen may command $4 million on the open market which may be a turn-off for the Jets.

5.  Stephen Gionta, Right Wing (New Jersey Devils, $512,500)- Stephen Gionta, 28 years old and the younger brother of Habs Captain Brian Gionta, was one of the best stories of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After spending the majority of the 2011’12 season with Albany in the American Hockey League, Gionta joined the Devils late in the season and ended up being a key contributor on the team’s fourth line with Steve Bernier and Ryan Carter (24 games, three goals, four assists). Gionta made the league minimum in 2011’12 and will surely look for a raise on last year’s salary. The Jets could use some extra scoring punch on their third line and Gionta could be available for under $1 million.

In the middle of the night on March 29, 1984, at the direction of team owner Robert Irsay, trucks arrived at the facilites of the Baltimore Colts to move the NFL team to Indianapolis.  The day would live in infamy in Baltimore, and a hole would be left in the hearts of football fans in that city, one that wouldn’t be filled until 1996, when the NFL awarded the Cleveland Browns franchise to Baltimore.

The attachment to the Colts had remained strong in the intervening years, perhaps no better exemplified than by the fact that the Baltimore Colts marching band stayed intact even after the team left.  For 12 years the band practices regularly, in full Colts attire, even though there was no team to cheer for, no games to perform at.  One can assume the harsh reality of realizing that the team was gone for good was too much to bear, and that going through old rituals and grasping whatever ties to the franchise one could was the best, and perhaps only, way to cope.

And who can blame them? As I sit here writing this with my 1986-87 Safeway Winnipeg Jets calendar by my TV, and the O-Pee-Chee wallet I ordered in by saving up hockey card wrappers as a 5 year old on my dresser, I certainly can’t. It is hard to overstate the attachment we have to our sports teams.  For many these memories go beyond sports – they are forever intertwined with some of our most cherised times spent with our families, with our friends, of our childhood.  And this is why the prospect of a team returning, of the ability to reclaim a paradise that was lost, is so beautiful.

More after the jump.

And so, when NFL football (which is to Baltimore what hockey is to Winnipeg) returned, it was not surprising that many Colts fans wanted their Colts back.  CFL fans will remember that in the intervening years, Baltimore was awarded a CFL franchise, the Stallions.  Much like Winnipegers did with the Moose, fans came out in droves to watch the Stallions to show that Baltimore was still a football town. However, fans were so eager to cheer for their Colts that when the announcer would say “Ladies and Gentelmen, your Baltimore….” …before he could get out “Stallions” he would be drowned out by screams of “COLTS!!”  And yet…and yet…the new NFL franchise was not called the Colts.  Despite the rich history that included the likes of the great Johnny Unitas and the deep attachment of fans to the Colts name, the new team took the moniker of the Baltimore Ravens.

Before the Ravens’ first home game, a number of Colts greats walked onto their field in their original Colts jerseys.  And there, in front of a stadium filled with many a Colts jersey, they each turned their jerseys inside out, revealing a jersey in the colors of the new team, the Ravens. It was a strong signal that while the past must be honoured, the players themselves were saying “It’s ok. It’s time to move on and support the new guys.”

The rest, as they say, is history.  The Ravens forged a new identity as the most dominant defensive team in footbal, going on to win the Superbowl a short 4 years later. Their stadium is one of the loudest in the league, with fans all wearing Ravens jerseys cheering on the likes of future hall of famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, legends in their own right just like Johnny U.

Which is all to say, in the event the As Yet Unnamed Winnipeg NHL Franchise is not named the Jets, we’ll all be ok in the end.  Going in a new direction does not mean abandoning or dishonoring our past, for it is our bond with the Jets that largely allowed us to persevere through the last 16 years knowing we were a city deserving of NHL hockey, and knowing how great the return of NHL hockey will be, and for that reason the new team will be forever intertwined with the old.  Having said that, I’ll be wearing my Selanne Jets jersey this season regardless of the team name, and I can’t say right now how long it will be before I’ll be comfortable adopting the new team imagery, if there is one, whatever it may be.  But  it’s early….and we’ve waited long enough for this moment to arrive that we shouldn’t let our enjoyment of what’s about to arrive be at all tempered by a name.