The NHL free agent signing period begins Monday at noon ET, and general managers around the league have already begun the process of reshaping their rosters for 2024-25.
That included the trades in the past week, with Jacob Markstrom headed to the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals swapping Pierre-Luc Dubois for Darcy Kuemper, followed by goalie Linus Ullmark being traded by the Boston Bruins to the Ottawa Senators.
Every front office is trying to maximize its chances at reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs and lifting the most famous trophy in sports next spring. Here's how each of them can nail this offseason and the cap space that each team has, as well as a look at key players hitting restricted and unrestricted free agency.
Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space as of June 26, per Cap Friendly.
Jump to a team:
ANA | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBJ
DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH
NJ | NYI | NYR | OTT
PHI | PIT | SJ | SEA
STL | TB | TOR | UTA
VAN | VGK | WSH | WPG
2023-24 result: Lost in the second round
Key players hitting UFA: F Jake DeBrusk, F Danton Heinen, D Derek Forbort, D Matt Grzelcyk
Key players hitting RFA: F Jesper Boqvist, G Jeremy Swayman
Cap space: $21,599,166
What they should do: The Bruins' first priority is signing Swayman to a long-term deal and solidifying his position as their No. 1 goaltender. Getting that done required trading Linus Ullmark first, though. Boston took care of that by sending Ullmark to Ottawa this week for a package including goaltender
NHL
blues
Trade
STARS
UPS
Provident
Target
Darcy Kuemper
Jacob Markstrom
Linus Ullmark