10 pending UFAs with something to prove in 2024-25 Stanley Cup playoffs

Apr 24, 2025, 09:00 EDT

Credit: Apr 22, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) comes out of the locker room for the warmups before the game against the New Jersey Devils in game two of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

The ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs is obviously to lift the best trophy in sports. But there’s more at stake than just the championship if you’re a pending unrestricted free agent. For those staring down questions about their perceived worth, the postseason represents the final proving ground to earn themselves big summer pay days.

Not every UFA is created equal in terms of facing pressure during the playoffs. The Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett, for instance, is a Stanley Cup champ and proven power forward, and it’s unlikely anything that happens this spring changes his value for the worse. Even a shutdown defenseman like the Los Angeles Kings’ Vladislav Gavrikov has firmly established himself as desirable top-four option.

Which pending UFAs have opportunities to significantly change their future dollar figures depending on their playoff performance? Consider these 10 names, listed alphabetically.

Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

Andersen, one of the NHL’s biggest, thickest puck-stoppers, can be a difference maker when he’s on his game. He quietly holds a .915 career save percentage across a solid sample size of 74 playoff starts. Two games into the 2024-25 postseason, Andersen, 35, has been dynamite for the Canes, surrendering two goals in two games versus the New Jersey Devils while holding a .960 SV%. But can Carolina count on him deeper in a series – and deeper in the playoffs? Andersen has a 5-8 record with an .897 SV% across 13 elimination games in his career. If he wants to earn another contract as starter – with the Canes or someone else – he must show he can finally win the higher-pressure starts.

Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

First, Ehlers need to get into the lineup. But with his Jets leading their series with the St. Louis Blues 2-0, they’ve bought him time to return from his foot injury, which has carried a week-to-week diagnosis. The split between the speedy Ehlers’ regular-season and playoff production is downright alarming. In the regular season, he averages 27 goals and 63 points per 82 games in his career, compared to a piddly nine goals and 31 points per 82 games in the postseason. He’s been held goal-less in four of the six playoff runs in which he’s participated. But Ehlers, 29, has the talent and play-driving ability to change that narrative playing in an excellent Winnipeg top six.

Trent Frederic, Edmonton Oilers

The package bringing Frederic to Edmonton at the Trade Deadline included a second- and fourth-round pick. He was supposed to be their big, rugged third-line center who could sprinkle in some offense. But he was nursing an ankle injury at the time, didn’t draw into Edmonton’s lineup until early April and immediately went back on the shelf after aggravating the injury. Frederic suited up to open the playoffs and needs to show something in a hurry, via his physical play and around the net, as he has seasons of 17 and 18 goals in his career. He’s still just 27, so he’ll have plenty of interest in his services, but a down year including an injury layoff followed by a quick playoff exit isn’t ideal for securing him a life-changing contract. Can the Oilers claw back from an 0-2 series deficit?

Taylor Hall, Carolina Hurricanes

Hall wants a long-term home. He’s playing for his sixth NHL franchise since 2019-20 alone. If he can play an integral part of a long Canes run, he could secure himself a multi-year pact instead of continuing his nomadic NHL journey. Hall fit in well after coming over in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks this winter, scoring nine goals in 31 games, and his line alongside Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been absolutely dominant so far this postseason, holding a ridiculous 20-5 edge in 5-on-5 scoring chances. So far, so good for Hall.

Andrei Kuzmenko, Los Angeles Kings

I wrote about Stuart Skinner being the game’s least consistent goaltender earlier this week, and Kuzmenko might be hockey’s least consistent forward. He had a tremendous first season with the Vancouver Canucks two years ago but has since alternated demoralizing slumps with scorching-hot scoring binges. Twice traded this season, he’s settled in as a scoring-line winger and power-play operator for L.A. He played a major part in Game 1 vs. the Oilers, picking up the opening goal and three points, and added a goal and an assist in Game 2. Not bad for the first two playoff games of his career. The next couple weeks and, if all goes well, months offer Kuzmenko a chance to show he can be counted on as a marquee scorer on a contender.

Ryan Lindgren, Colorado Avalanche

Two years ago, Lindgren was an integral shutdown defenseman for the New York Rangers, paired with Adam Fox. But Lindgren’s defensive impact slipped last season and plunged further this season, to the point GM Chris Drury cast him out, along with several other longtime stalwart veterans. After a brief stop with the Seattle Kraken, Lindgren headed to Colorado in a Trade Deadline deal, and he’s earned another shot to eat top-four minutes. He’s playing on the second pair with Josh Manson. The range of summer outcomes feels wide for Lindgren. Will he be treated as a long-term middle-pair guy or will he land a short-term, bottom-pair type of deal? This playoff run could decide that.

Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers

Including Marchand on this list would’ve felt ludicrous even three months ago. The captain of the Boston Bruins? Future Hall of Famer? Stanley Cup winner? Team Canada member? But the Bruins shocked us all when they sold off multiple foundational players as the Trade Deadline as part of a one-year tank. Marchand was out with an upper-body injury at the time and didn’t join the Panthers’ lineup until late March. It took him a while to find his legs, and he may still not quite have them yet. He’s slid down to the Panthers’ third line as their lineup gets healthier. Marchand turns 37 in a couple weeks, and his per-game scoring rate has declined four consecutive seasons, so these playoffs are about showing he still has high-end hockey left in him. Otherwise, he could end up in the one-year-deal twilight phase of his career.

Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

No need to galaxy brain this one. Marner, the projected top UFA on the market, faces the most pressure of any UFA. His Hall of Fame level regular-season production is never in question; he’s an elite scorer who plays in all situations and has a strong two-way game. But what could determine his fate in Toronto is how he responds in do-or-die situations. Marner’s overall playoff numbers actually look respectable, with 54 points in 59 games, but in Games 5-7 of series, he has nine points in 20 games. What he accomplishes in the deeper waters, when both teams are grinding through pain, could decide whether he’s a Leaf for life – and whether he’s a $14 million man, be it in Toronto or elsewhere.

Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche

Will Nelson get scoring-line money on his next payday, or middle-six money? As a New York Islander, Nelson was one of the NHL’s better No. 2 centers, topping 25 goals six times and delivering three straight 30-goal campaigns between 2021-22 and 2023-24. He’s remained a serviceable pivot who does a good job creating high-quality scoring chances, but the numbers were down on the Island this year, and his production with Colorado under reduced ice time has been merely OK. He should still secure a multi-year pact north of $6 million as one of the top UFA centers, but a long playoff run in which he’s a go-to scorer could hike him back into the $7 million AAV range that felt right for him a year ago.

John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs

Tavares definitely won back millions of dollars with his outstanding 2024-25, which included 38 goals and some of the best net-front play in the NHL. But he’s amassed just 14 goals and 28 points across 40 playoff games with Toronto. He has the same demons to exorcise as every other long-term member of the Leafs’ core, even if he did score their only series winning goal in more than two decades two years ago.

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