10 contract-year players who have upped their value this postseason

Credit: May 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) reacts after scoring a goal during the second period in game six of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

With a whopping six-day break before NHL hockey returns to the ice for the Stanley Cup Final, it’s a good time to look ahead to the offseason. Not only will the trade market soon heat up, but restricted and unrestricted free agents will accelerate – or cease – negotiations with their respective clubs.

The final, bonus proving ground for players hoping to secure more money and/or term on their next contracts is always the Stanley Cup playoffs. Which pending free agents have done the most to up their values this spring?

Here’s a list of 10 players who I would argue have noticeably increased their contract values this postseason, listed alphabetically.

A few disclaimers:

(a) The list isn’t just “contract-year players having great playoffs.” It’s more about guys who have specifically changed their values. The Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, for instance, doesn’t appear here because he had already maxed out his value with a 57-goal season. He had little left to prove.

(b) I restricted the list to players who reached the second round of the playoffs or farther and had a large enough sample size to prove themselves.

(c) Not every successful playoff team has players who have increased their values. The Edmonton Oilers are Cup finalists but, of their pending free agents, I don’t believe any have moved the needle much.

On to the list.

Jake DeBrusk, LW, Boston Bruins (UFA)

DeBrusk has flashed goal-scoring talent, speed and the ability to deliver big hot streaks throughout his career. And yet, seven seasons in, it still feels like the 2015 first-round pick underachieves relative to his ability, with no 30-goal season in the books. But he’s a different beast in the playoffs, slashing to the net with aplomb and playing a much more physical game than his regular-season one. He had five goals and 11 points in 13 games this postseason. He’s 27 and about to sign the most important contract of his career. He has arguably earned a raise on his $4 million AAV. But will it be with Boston? Both sides have indicated the negotiations have been tense. It’s possible DeBrusk goes to market July 1.

Dakota Joshua, LW, Vancouver Canucks (UFA)

After a breakout regular season in which Joshua delivered 18 goals in 63 games while also leading the Canucks with 245 hits, he had already earned himself a major bump on his next contract. But Joshua, a toolsy 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds with speed and ferocity, spiked his stock even more in the postseason with four goals and eight points. He’s the type of power forward not easily found in the modern game – and is probably a prime candidate to be overpaid as a result.

Anton Lundell, C, Florida Panthers (RFA)

What a handy piece ‘Baby Barkov’ has been for the Panthers in these playoffs. Whether he’s filled in for Sam Bennett on the second line or driven the play on the third line, Lundell has won his minutes. The Panthers have outscored opponents 12-7 and outchanced them 130-94 with him on the ice. The Panthers have been dominant all playoffs, holding a 57 percent scoring chance share at 5-on-5, but it’s even higher with Lundell out there at 58 percent. His 12 points tie him with Reinhart for fourth in team scoring this postseason.

Casey Mittelstadt, C, Colorado Avalanche (RFA)

The Avalanche hoped they secured a long-term No. 2 center when they dealt blueliner Bowen Byram for Mittelstadt leading up to the trade deadline. He impressed over the balance of the regular season and was a dominant puck distributor in the postseason, too. The Avs controlled more than 58 percent of the 5-on-5 expected goals with Mittelstadt on the ice. Among 92 forwards with 100 or more 5-on-5 minutes in these playoffs, he sits 11^th in points per 60 and eighth in primary assists per 60. The late-blooming former top prospect seems poised to secure a long-term deal in Colorado now.

Brandon Montour, D, Florida Panthers (UFA)

Montour’s value was sky-high following his breakout 2022-23 season in which he smashed career bests with 16 goals and 73 points. But after offseason shoulder surgery delayed the start of his 2023-24 season, he didn’t find his offensive groove until late in the year and wound up with a pedestrian surface stat line of 33 points in 66 game. This postseason has given him a perfect forum to show he’s healthy and capable of contributing big offense as a power-play ace. Montour has three goals and nine points in 17 games while logging more than 23 minutes a night. He’s safely vaulted himself back into the ‘Gonna get P.A.I.D.’ tier.

Brady Skjei, D, Carolina Hurricanes (UFA)

It sometimes feels like Skjei has been overlooked in Carolina. He’s a big, swift-skating defenseman with a knack for scoring goals. But he shares a blueline with elite shutdown man Jaccob Slavin, probable future Hall of Famer Brent Burns and big-name UFA signing Dmitry Orlov, among others. This postseason, though, Skjei was consistently noticeable. He played more than 21 minutes a night, and his nine points in 11 games matched forwards Jake Guentzel, Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas. Skjei has expressed a desire to remain a Hurricane, but keeping him won’t be cheap at this point. He has the numbers to secure a multi-year deal with an AAV north of his current $5.25 million mark.

Sam Steel, C, Dallas Stars (UFA)

Steel had one goal in 19 playoff games. Why does he make this list? Because he has proven to have fully evolved his game. He’s no longer the failed Anaheim Ducks prospect who couldn’t deliver as a front-line forward. Steel has found a role as a crucial checker. He played most of his minutes against Vegas’, Colorado’s and Edmonton’s top forwards and finished the playoffs a net positive in 5-on-5 scoring chances.

Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston Bruins (RFA)

Swayman may have bumped his contract value more than any other player this postseason. That may seem strange to say about a goaltender who earned an All-Star Game nod and posted a .916 save percentage in the regular season. But Linus Ullmark had outplayed Swayman in the second half of the season, and Boston entered the playoffs with the two netminders sharing the net evenly. Swayman was simply so good that he compelled coach Jim Montgomery to start him in all but one game, however. His .933 save percentage leads all qualified goalies this postseason. Swayman walked out of arbitration last year bruised and wasn’t afraid to say so publicly, but he’s pretty clearly earned a long-term starter contract and made Ullmark, five years older, a nice piece of trade bait.

Chris Tanev, D, Dallas Stars (UFA)

The return Calgary got in the Tanev trade looks rather underwhelming a few months later. Tanev was arguably as important as any Dallas player during their run to the Western Conference Final. With Tanev on the ice against top centers Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid at 5-on-5 in these playoffs, the score was 10-5 Dallas. Tanev is 34 and gets into constant injury scares because he sacrifices his body like few other players, but he showed this postseason that he has plenty left in his tank – enough to secure a multi-year deal as a premium right-shot shutdown blueliner.

Nikita Zadorov, D, Vancouver Canucks (UFA)

For the most part, we knew what Zadorov was entering these playoffs. He’s a big, rangy, defense-first blueliner whose lack of discipline can get him into trouble sometimes. But Zadorov harkened to his major junior days this postseason by delivering four goals and eight points in 13 games. Where did that come from? It might have been a fluke but, then again, he had 14 goals in 2022-23. As his agent works to secure his next contract, the bonus offense might be an extra selling point. He was even on Vancouver’s second power play unit by season’s end. The question now is…will a team sign him to be a top four defenseman rather than top six?

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