With Alex Tuch off the market, who will be the best player to reach NHL free agency?

Rasmus Andersson is a Vegas wild card

The long-time Calgary Flames defenseman joined Vegas before the trade deadline. Results in Vegas were mixed. Andersson finished the season with 47 points in 81 games, including 17 in 33 with Vegas. While he was solid in the regular season, his postseason was well below what the Knights needed. Andersson finished the postseason underwater in every metric, advanced or otherwise. He was minus-24 in net great danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.

AFP Analytics, a sports analytics consulting firm, projects Andersson to earn a six-year contract just south of $8.75 million per season. The Knights gave up a healthy trade package for Andersson. Fewer than 48 hours before the NHL Draft, no team had less available cap space.

The Knights have only $4.63 million in cap space, per Puck Pedia. To sign Andersson and restricted free agent winger Pavel Dorofeyev, they could need around $19 million in total cap space plus another $6 million or so if they wanted to round out the roster with veteran minimum players. That's a tall ask. 

Playoffs notwithstanding, Andersson is still a solid skater and puck mover. 

Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba and John Carlson

Trouba had a bounce-back offensive season in Anaheim, though his defensive numbers were not great (minus-10 in five-on-five goals). John Carlson, whom Anaheim acquired from Washington at the trade deadline, is expected to test the market among Eastern Conference teams. AFP expects Trouba to earn a four-year deal worth $6.4 million per season. Carlson is expected to top $7 million per season.

Veteran wingers dominate the market

Anders Lee, 35, is set to potentially leave Long Island. Anthony Mantha, 31, has been a brilliant story for the Penguins, but he was an inconsistent yearly bet even before losing an entire season to a knee ligament tear in 2024. Mats Zuccarello, 38, is coming off a remarkable age-defying season of 54 points in 59 games. At his age, there are likely doubts about his ability to keep that up, especially away from superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov. Mason Marchment, 31, has historically been a solid middle-six depth scorer with some snarl to his game. He's coming off a nice campaign after being traded to Columbus with 32 points in 39 games.

Mario Ferraro, Sergei Bobrovsky lead an uninspiring best of the rest

Mario Ferarro is one of the few top four defensemen hitting the market, but his game isn't particularly dynamic. 

Likely future Hall of Fame goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is also expected to hit the open market. He's coming off a tough year in Florida, but the goaltender market is notably very weak.

Teams are going to spend money in the exploding cap environment, but some of those explosions will be from the free agency minefield.