Special to All Habs Hockey Magazine

NEW YORK — The 2013-2014 NHL season came to a close with the Los Angeles Kings winning their second Stanley Cup in three years. With the season now in the books, teams are already looking forward to next season and contemplating ways they can improve their rosters.

Enter free agency. When July 1st hits, teams will undoubtedly be scrambling to snag their top options on the market.

Colorado center Paul Stastny is arguably the top unrestricted free agent available. The Avalanche are hoping to retain him, but he’ll also garner a lot of attention once the interview window opens. New York is one of the teams being mentioned here. Yes they are fresh off their run to the cup finals, however betting sites like MyTopSportsbooks.com are not listing them as favourites to repeat. St. Louis, Toronto and Chicago are some of the other teams being mentioned here.

Kings winger Marian Gaborik will be another top option. Gaborik was extremely effective for the Kings after they acquired him during the season, and he was the top scorer in this year’s playoffs. Reports have surfaced that the Kings have already offered him a three-year deal, and Gaborik seemed to genuinely enjoy his time in Los Angeles, so the Kings are probably the heavy favorites in this one.

Montreal Canadiens winger Thomas Vanek is the top offensive player on the board, but his shaky playoff performance may cost him. With Montreal having so many free agents to deal with, Vanek could very well end up elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Niskanen is a top notch defender who is in his prime. The Penguins are unlikely to be able to keep Niskanen due to cap pressure of their own.

Finally, Ryan Miller of the St. Louis Blues is the top goalie available. And although the market may not be very strong for goalies this year, Miller’s skill-set and résumé will undoubtedly put him in high demand.

Other notable unrestricted free agents include Ryan Callahan (Tampa Bay), Jarome Iginla (Boston), Martin Brodeur (New Jersey) and Matt Moulson (Minnesota).

Among the top restricted free agents are P.K. Subban (Montreal), Ryan O’Reilly (Colorado), Patrik Berglund (St. Louis), Torey Krug (Boston) and Chris Kreider (New York Rangers).