Overview
- The Philadelphia Flyers plan to prioritize new contracts for Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale while leaving Samuel Ersson’s future unclear after Dan Vladar’s breakout season in goal.
- The San Jose Sharks hold the most projected cap space and are expected to concentrate spending on defense, though veteran blueliner Mario Ferraro is likely to leave in free agency.
- The Seattle Kraken enter the summer with substantial projected flexibility and can both re-sign internal targets and pursue major unrestricted free agents if they choose to spend.
- The St. Louis Blues are operating under a sell-and-rebuild mandate that favors trades and using three first-round draft picks over big free-agent signings, with Jordan Kyrou’s future a central trade question.
- A league-wide cap rise to about $104 million for 2026-27 reshuffles teams’ room to maneuver and makes contract extensions for young stars and defensive upgrades the defining decisions of the upcoming July window.