Why these 4 NHL teams could lose good players because of salary cap crunches

With the NHLs salary cap ceiling climbing from $88 million to $95.5 million, there wont be as many teams navigating stressful cap situations this offseason compared to years past.

However, that doesnt mean all clubs are clear of obstacles.

Earlier this season, the Colorado Avalanche pulled the trigger on a jaw-dropping, salary cap-motivated trade that sent superstar winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Its extremely unlikely well see any cap casualties of that magnitude this summer, but there are still some franchises with difficult decisions to make this offseason.

Here are five teams with cap crunches worth monitoring.

Dallas Stars Projected cap space: $5 million Notable UFAs: Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn, Mikael Granlund, Evgenii Dadonov, Cody Ceci, Colin Blackwell Notable RFAs: Mavrik Bourque, Nils Lundkvist GM Jim Nills acquisition of Rantanen was a slam dunk.

Prime-aged star players rarely become available and without Rantanens heroics, the Stars probably would have bowed out in the first round to Colorado.

Advertisement However, to fit Rantanens $12 million contract plus Jake Oettinger and Wyatt Johnstons big-money contracts that kick in next season the Stars will need to cut significant salary elsewhere.

Dallas has just under $5 million in cap space, with only 16 players signed for the 2025-26 season (eight forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders).

The Stars have several key pending unrestricted free agents, including second-line center Matt Duchene (who led the club with 82 points in the regular season), franchise icon Jamie Benn and productive rental Mikael Granlund.

Duchene ($7.1 million), Benn ($4.8 million), and Granlund ($4.98 million) are projected to cost $16.9 million against the cap on their next contracts, according to AFP Analytics.

Its possible the Stars can convince some of those three to sign bargain contracts cheaper than that Benns only ever played for the Stars and has already made over $100 million in his career, and Duchene signed a cheap one-year extension last summer but theres no realistic way all three can come back unless Dallas moves out several other big-name players.

Granlund is probably the most likely of these three players to leave in free agency.

Theres also up-and-coming center Mavrik Bourque, who could be a tempting offer-sheet target for teams as an RFA.

Nill also has to be mindful of the 2026 offseason, when Jason Robertson and Thomas Harleys bridge deals expire.

Robertson, who is currently on a $7.75 million AAV, will have considerable leverage as an arbitration-eligible RFA and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2027.

Harley will be in line for an even bigger raise since hes only on a $4 million cap hit right now.

Offloading the final year of Matt Dumbas $3.75 million AAV is a must, even if it requires a sweetener.

Mason Marchment is also likely to be a cap casualty on top of that; hes a solid second-line winger with one year left at $4.5 million.

Advertisement The problem is that even if the Stars trade Dumba and Marchments contracts, they will only have $13.25 million in cap space with just 14 players signed.

Even if you assume Benn re-signs at a massively discounted $1 million base salary (hes eligible for a performance bonus-laden deal because hes 35) and Duchene returns at a very team-friendly $5 million cap hit, Dallas would only have $7.25 million in cap space remaining with seven depth roster spots left to fill for a complete 23-player roster.

Perhaps theres a long-shot scenario where the Stars would consider trade offers on Robertson if they fear the cost of his extension next summer, but that would likely be a huge mistake.

Moving Tyler Seguins $9.85 million cap hit would solve a lot of problems, but he has a full no-movement clause.

Overall, Dallas has by far the most challenging cap puzzle of any NHL team to solve this summer.

Edmonton Oilers Projected cap space: $11.9 million Notable UFAs: Connor Brown, Trent Frederic, Corey Perry, John Klingberg, Jeff Skinner, Kasperi Kapanen Notable RFAs: Evan Bouchard Evan Bouchards next contract is going to single-handedly eat up nearly all of the Oilers cap space this summer.

Bouchard has scored the third-most points of all NHL defensemen over the last two years, behind only Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.

His defensive play can be up-and-down at times, but elite offensive numbers will always get a player paid a huge ransom.

Both Evolving-Hockey and AFP Analytics projections have Bouchards next deal clocking in around the $10.6-10.9 million range for eight years.

Edmonton would only have $1-1.5 million left over after signing a Bouchard extension in that neighborhood.

That isnt a terrible spot for the Oilers to be in they would have a nearly full roster with 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders signed at that point but theyd be at risk of losing some impactful depth players to free agency.

Advertisement Connor Brown, for example, could look to cash in on his bounce-back season and price himself out.

Trent Frederics playoff impact hasnt been anything special, but he wont be cheap to re-sign considering his size, versatility and previous scoring profile.

John Klingberg has been a revelation on the Oilers second pair with his puck-moving prowess.

Edmonton would probably love to keep him, but well see what this playoff run does to his market value.

Dumping the final year of Viktor Arvidssons $4 million AAV contract would open up valuable space, but he has a full no-movement clause.

The Oilers cap situation isnt nearly as dire as the Stars, but they are likely to lose a quality depth contributor or two this summer.

Colorado Avalanche Projected cap space: $1.2 million Notable UFAs: Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Lindgren Notable RFAs: Sam Malinski The Avs situation isnt overly concerning at first glance they have $1.2 million of cap space even after Brock Nelsons extension and 19 players already signed (12 forwards, five defensemen, two goalies).

It would have been a much tighter cap crunch if Rantanens contract was on the books instead of Martin Necas $6.5 million AAV.

Colorado will avoid a mass exodus of talent this summer, but GM Chris MacFarland will still likely lose at least one decent player, and will be somewhat limited in his ability to upgrade the roster.

Nelsons three-year, $7.5 million AAV extension ate up the overwhelming majority of Colorados cap space, leaving virtually no room to retain Jonathan Drouin or Ryan Lindgren unless other players are shipped out.

Could Miles Wood, who has four years left at a $2.5 million cap hit, be moved to create a little bit more cap flexibility? Wood struggled with just eight points in 37 games this season, and his contract carries risk, but perhaps there would be a taker for him given his rare combination of size and speed.

Alternatively, could center Ross Colton become expendable? Moving Colton would open up $4 million that could be reallocated to either re-signing Lindgren or finding a comparable defenseman to round out the blue line.

Florida Panthers Projected cap space: $19 million Notable UFAs: Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, Nate Schmidt, Tomas Nosek, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek Notable RFAs: Mackie Samoskevich The Panthers will need significant player discounts and additional cap-clearing moves to afford bringing back all of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.

Advertisement Bennett will have a bidding war waiting for him on July 1 as the top center in a weak free-agent class.

He has the nasty, hard-nosed playing style, clutch playoff resume and top-six scoring profile that teams salivate over.

If Bennett is simply chasing the biggest contract he can get, hell likely price himself out of Florida.

However, just for hypothetical sake, lets assume hes willing to take a discount to re-sign in Florida, and pencil him in for a $7 million AAV extension.

After that, the Panthers would have $12 million remaining.

Ekblad spoke very passionately about his loyalty to the Panthers on Tuesday hes probably the most likely to take a deal below market value.

The 29-year-old right-shot defender is currently on a $7.5 million cap hit and could probably command a similar figure in free agency this summer.

But lets say he re-signs with the Panthers at a $6 million AAV.

That would leave the Panthers with $6 million to spend, with 11 forwards, six defensemen and one goaltender under contract.

That almost certainly wouldnt be enough to re-sign Marchand, extend RFA Mackie Samoskevich, find a backup goalie, sign a fourth-line center and add another depth defenseman for Nate Schmidts role.

To afford Marchand (after Bennett and Ekblads hypothetical extensions), the Panthers would likely need to trade Evan Rodrigues $3 million cap hit and hope Marchand is willing to take a team-friendly AAV on top of that.

Marchand was significantly underpaid on his last contract in Boston at $6.125 million annually, so he could be motivated to chase the bag.

It is technically possible for the Panthers to keep all three of Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand if everything breaks right, but the most likely scenario is theyll only be able to afford to keep two of the three.

All salary cap data courtesy PuckPedia.

(Top photo of Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson: Steph Chambers/Getty Images).

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