How an NHL player performs in a contract year is very important.

A career year means the player is in line for a massive raise. Just look at Toronto Maple Leafs acquisition Darren Raddysh, who had never earned a salary of at least $1 million before recording 70 points with the Tampa Bay Lightning and signing an eight-year, $68 million deal.

A poor campaign, or a subpar finish to the season, raises doubt about a player's value.

These three pending UFAs are some of the top NHL free agents right now, but their cold finish to the season has led to some reasonable questions about how good they will be next year and beyond.

That said, don't expect that to affect their cap hit too much. Here's why.

The Golden Knights paid a steep price when they acquired Andersson from the Calgary Flames in January – defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round draft pick in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028.

Although Andersson helped get Vegas to the Stanley Cup final, the Golden Knights haven't had the salary cap space to get his signature on a contract extension.

And after posting 30 points in 48 games with the Flames, Andersson had 17 points in 33 games with Vegas and only six assists in 22 playoff games.

That said, Andersson is clearly one of the best defensemen available, if not the best D-man available. It's doubtful that Andersson's cap hit will come in below expectations because of his decrease in scoring production with the Golden Knights.

GM Kelly McCrimmon may soon clear up enough cap space to meet his financial expectations. Andersson wasn't brought into Vegas to be a rental player, and without him, the Knights' defense corps won't be nearly as strong as it was in the 2026 post-season. So McCrimmon needs to move heaven and earth to keep Andersson in the fold.

However, if Andersson goes to market, there will be no shortage of suitors lining up to throw money at him. Once Raddysh was dealt to the Maple Leafs and signed a long-term contract extension, Andersson gained even more leverage as this year's best available D-man.

At 29, Andersson is in his prime. So he'll be paid handsomely. The only question will be which team steps up with the strongest financial offer and is the best fit for the two-way D-man.   

It seems crazy the 37-year-old Bobrovsky is reportedly seeking a six-year contract extension worth between $6 million to $7 million per season – especially when you take note of his season.

Bobrovsky's .877 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average in 52 games were some of the worst statistics of his career. His save percentage was below .900 in every month this season besides October, so he was consistently poor.

But the Panthers don't have much leverage in any negotiations with Bobrovsky. More importantly, the rest of the goaltending market – either in free agency or trades – is clearly a seller's market.

Bobrovsky is a proven winner, but while the Panthers should have enough salary cap space to sign the Russian goalie, Bobrovsky could choose to wait out the next week and see what other teams are prepared to pay him on a long-term contract. He's earned the right to test the free-agent waters, and one team or another will pony up a ton of money to Bobrovsky to be their No. 1 option in net.

Bobrovsky is past his prime, and this season shows he does not deserve a $10-million cap hit again. It also showed that a long-term contract might not be worth it. But Bobrovsky will still be heavily pursued.

Tuch definitely didn't have an impressive playoff performance for the Sabres.

He generated only four goals and seven points in 13 post-season games, and he had no points in the seven-game series against the Montreal Canadiens.

His impact lessened with each playoff game, raising questions about what he's worth in free agency.

That said, Tuch still has scored at least 33 goals in three of the past four seasons. 

You can search high and low, but you're not going to find many players with soft hands like Tuch's. So while he may not get to $10 million per season on the open free-agent market after that playoff performance, Tuch will still almost certainly double his 2025-26 salary of $4.75 million. 

Maybe Tuch gets that from a playoff-desperate team like the Columbus Blue Jackets. Or maybe he takes a big-time offer from the Seattle Kraken or New York Rangers. Or perhaps the Sabres step up with a major bid.

Different teams will have different needs, but the bottom line is that Tuch's asking price is high. If a team decides he's not worth a wack ton of money after his playoff performance, some other squad will get the power forward.

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