We're in the dog days of NHL summer now, aren't we? Free-agent news has slowed to a crawl, restricted free agents are slowly making deals, and we might have some arbitration cases to be heard.

There are still unrestricted free agents who remain unsigned, though. For them, it's a question of where they will land.

We've identified a few players available right now who could help your favorite team if they're savvy enough to snag them on the cheap.

Most of them are veterans with a lot of NHL experience, which makes them a perfect complement for a deep team. A handful of younger players have shown a spark in recent years, which suggests they could help out a lot more in the right situation.

Does your team still need a helping hand? The players we've highlighted here could help out.

Are there any other players you think could be part of the group? Let us know in the comments.

Justin Schultz, Defenseman

When he was Buffalo Sabres general manager, current Seattle Kraken assistant GM Jason Botterill said you can never have too many defensemen. It's a sentiment echoed by a lot of other team executives since any rash of injuries on the blue line can be crushing.

That's what makes a puck-moving, Stanley Cup-winning defender like Justin Schultz valuable.

Over the past few years with Washington and Seattle, Schultz has been a steady 20-to-30-point scoring defenseman. His legacy as an offensive defenseman is well-known by now, particularly from his early days with the Edmonton Oilers. But his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins—and how he helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017— highlighted how his skills can fill out the deeper pairings on a team and lead to success.

Schultz's raw defensive numbers took a hit last season, as he dipped to a career-low minus-23 rating. (Granted, plus/minus is a deeply flawed stat.) But his possession numbers were strong: 53 percent shot attempts-for and 51.9 percent expected goals-for at 5-on-5.

At 34 years old, teams wouldn't be signing him to run their top pairings. But any team in need of a puck mover with strong offensive instincts and solid fancy stats would be wise to take a chance on Schultz.

Tyson Barrie, Defenseman

If a team is in need of an aggressively offensive-minded defenseman, taking a shot with Tyson Barrie might be the way to go.

Barrie is coming off a tough season with the Nashville Predators in which he played just 41 games and was often the odd man out of the defensive rotation. The lack of ice time and games played in general turned into a trade request halfway through the year. A trade never happened, although Barrie did work his way back into the lineup during the Predators' playoff run.

Still, in those 41 games, he had a goal and 14 assists and utilized his slick skating and puck-handling to the best of his ability. His advanced stats were not ideal, unfortunately. Of all Predators defensemen that suited up last season at 5-on-5, he had the lowest shot attempt-for percentage (44.1) and expected goals-for percentage (46.4). Despite that, those numbers were vastly better than what he did in Nashville two seasons ago.

Barrie was a solid performer in his career previously with Colorado, Toronto and Edmonton, but how things went with the Predators is what's fresh in everyone's mind. Finding him the right situation with the right team could yield a great return.

Max Pacioretty, Forward

Max Pacioretty has had a heck of a time trying to stay on the ice over the past few seasons. From a torn Achilles tendon in the past year to previous injuries to his lower body, a broken foot and an injured wrist, he's been off the ice more than he's been on it.

When he returned last season after recovering from Achilles surgery, he had four goals and 19 assists in 43 games with the Washington Capitals. The nearly 36-year-old might just decide to call it a career.

But if there's a team in need of a veteran who's been a team captain, been through all the battles and been part of all sorts of cutthroat rivalries from his time with the Canadiens, Pacioretty is an option.

There are issues to contend with, of course. Over the past three seasons, Pacioretty played 91 games and had 63 points. When he's healthy, he can contribute. But staying healthy is the issue.

If he wants to give it another go, a contender in need of some help down in the lineup could find it with Pacioretty.

James van Riemsdyk, Forward

If there's one veteran scorer up front who should be able to help out a contender or anyone else that would like to sign him, it's James van Riemsdyk.

Last season with Boston, van Riemsdyk had 38 points, including 11 goals. Now 35 years old, he's steadily been around a 0.5 point per game player, and teams know exactly what they're going to get from him.

Van Riemsdyk is a big forward who uses his size and outstanding hands to win pucks around the net and along the boards. Three seasons ago, he scored 24 goals in Philadelphia, and of the 11 goals he had last season for Boston, six of them came on the power play.

At this point, van Riemsdyk is kind of a specialist, but he's been such a strong player throughout his career that having him part of a roster that could use a veteran deeper in the lineup would be better off with him than without him.

The one catch for him is that he likely would prefer playing for a Stanley Cup contender. But if a team in need of a solid veteran presence can pay a little more than the $1 million Boston did last season, they might be able to pull it off.

Finding a vet who can still score and still help a power play at this point of the offseason is tough to do. That should make van Riemsdyk that much more appealing.

Oliver Kylington, Defenseman

For teams in need of defensive help, one of the more interesting players available is Oliver Kylington.

Kylington has been a fascinating player to keep up with during his time with the Calgary Flames. He was a second-round pick for them in 2015 and in 2021-22, he had his best season when he put up nine goals and 22 assists along with a plus-34 rating.

He didn't play in the 2022-23 season after he took time off to work on his mental health. When he returned to the Flames last season, he put up eight points in 33 games.

Kylington has dealt with a lot personally during the past few years. His return to the NHL showed the strength he has to get back to the league and be a strong performer as well.

At 27 years old, he's got a lot of time in front of him. As long as he's able to keep up with the demands and rigors of the NHL schedule, he can be a valuable addition to any team in need of defensive help. He's proven to be a solid puck-mover and clearly can produce offensively.

Kevin Shattenkirk, Defenseman

We've talked about a few defensemen here, and it's surprising that so many mobile blueliners who have a history of playing well and being part of winning teams are still available. You can add Kevin Shattenkirk to that list as well.

The 35-year-old is coming off a solid season with the Boston Bruins, who brought him in on a relatively inexpensive one-year contract because they were cap-strapped and needed help on defense. All he did was jump right into the mix and notch 24 points in 61 games, 11 of which came on the power play.

It's hard enough to find good help in the offseason, and it's even more difficult to do that when we're this deep into the summer with training camp about a month-and-a-half away. Teams would be lucky to land a player who performed that well, and yet Shattenkirk is still out there, with a Stanley Cup from his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning to his name.

Some team eventually figures to call Shattenkirk's agent and get him into camp. Considering he signed for just over $1 million last summer, it shouldn't be too difficult to land him.

Tyler Johnson, Forward

When Tyler Johnson was with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was one of the league's sneakiest scoring weapons when he was scoring between 25-30 goals per season in a support role. However, the past three seasons in Chicago have been a bit more difficult with the Blackhawks fully bottoming out into a rebuild.

And yet, Johnson scored 17 goals last season and notched 31 points on one of the worst teams in the NHL. Over the past three years with the Blackhawks, Johnson dealt with a spate of injuries, including neck surgery in 2021, but he had 32 goals in 149 games. Considering he was one of Chicago's few offensive threats during some of those seasons, that's impressive.

The 34-year-old Johnson has some game, and he's been a part of some very successful teams in Tampa Bay. Depth scoring is hard to find, and adding a veteran who's capable of pushing 20 goals should be an easy sell for any GM.

Johnson isn't the biggest player at 5'8" and 185 pounds, but that hasn't stopped him from being a regular contributor at any point in his NHL career.