The NHL free-agent lost its best remaining player on Saturday, as Daniel Sprong signed a one-year, $975,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks. With this news, a former Boston Bruins forward is arguably the best player still available for the taking – James van Riemsdyk.

van Riemsdyk, 35, spent this past season with the Bruins, and it was a decent year for the Middletown, New Jersey native. Even after a slow finish to the regular season, van Riemsdyk posted 11 goals, 38 points, and a plus-7 rating in 71 games. He also posted one goal and five points in 11 playoff games for the Bruins. With numbers like these, he could be a decent option for clubs looking for more secondary offensive production.

With Sprong now off the board, teams that were interested in him could move their attention to van Riemsdyk. Like Sprong, van Riemsdyk works in a top-nine role and on the power play. Thus, it would not be surprising to see his market start to heat up.

Besides van Riemsdyk, other free agents still on the board include Tyler Johnson, Max Pacioretty, Justin Schultz, Tyson Barrie, Mark Giordano, and fellow former Bruin Kevin Shattenkirk.

It will now be intriguing to see where van Riemsdyk ends up landing from here.