Expansion rumors and speculation have been as hot as ever this off-season, and with the potential for one or even two more NHL teams, which players could benefit most from a new home with an expansion franchise?

The true beauty of an NHL expansion team is that it creates 23 more jobs.

Oftentimes, opportunity is the biggest prerequisite to success.

We saw it with the Vegas Golden Knights, where Jonathan Marchessault evolved into an elite winger and William Karlsson went from being a fourth-liner to a top-six center. Ditto for the Seattle Kraken, where Jared McCann transformed from a third-line center to a 40-goal scorer and Vince Dunn went from being a second-pairing defender to a top-pair defenseman.

There's no timeline for when, or if, we see a 33rd NHL team but there’s certainly enough talent leaguewide for one. Say the NHL were to expand in the next year or two — who are some players that could benefit from expansion?

Let’s take a look.

Yegor Chinakhov, RW, Columbus Blue Jackets

Yegor Chinakhov flies under the radar.

And given that the Columbus Blue Jackets have a surplus of high-end forward prospects— namely Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Cayden Lindstrom — the 23-year-old winger likely won’t get enough runway to reach his full potential in Ohio.

Chinakhov, the 21st selection in the 2020 draft, has all the tools to become a solid top-six winger. He's got a lethal wrist shot — which freezes goalies before they can react — and he's got high-end foot speed, too, as he was ranked in the 94th percentile among forwards in 20 mph-plus speed bursts last season according to NHL Edge. Oh, and he’s defensively responsible.

Chinakhov — who recorded 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games last year — scored all but one of his goals at 5-on-5 last year. And his 1.38 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes ranked him eighth among all skaters who played at least 500 minutes last season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

An increased opportunity could make all the difference in Chinakhov becoming more than a high-end secondary scorer.

Alex Turcotte, C, Los Angeles Kings

While his development path hasn’t been smooth sailing since being drafted fifth overall in 2019, don’t give up on Alex Turcotte just yet.

Sure, the 23-year-old center has been plagued by injuries throughout his pro career but unbeknownst to many, his game took an encouraging step forward this past season. He was a high-end offensive producer in the AHL — recording 29 points in 35 contests — while not looking out of place during a 20-game stint with the Los Angeles Kings.

Turcotte, who inked a three-year extension ($775,000 per season) with Los Angeles this past summer probably won’t have the opportunity to unlock his offensive potential with the Kings, who already have Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield and Phil Danault down the middle.

Jonatan Berggren, RW , Detroit Red Wings

Players like Jonatan Berggren are often referred to as a dime a dozen.

The 24-year-old right-winger is a skilled offensive playmaker with high-end upside, although he hasn’t produced enough to overcompensate for his defensive deficiencies. And he oftentimes played too much on the perimeter at the NHL level.

After scoring 15 goals and 28 points during his rookie 2022-23 campaign, Berggren spent the majority of last season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Berggren went on to record 56 points in 53 AHL games last year and, more importantly, he generated plenty of offense in high-danger areas during even-strength play. According to InStat data, Berggren recorded 6.9 even-strength scoring chances per 60 minutes, which places him in the 87th percentile among all skaters who played at least 200 minutes over the last three AHL seasons. To put that figure into perspective, Berggren recorded 4.6 even-strength chances per 60 minutes during the 2021-22 AHL season (35th percentile).

Ryker Evans, D, Seattle Kraken

Ryker Evans’ stock has been soaring high over the last two years.

As a rookie, Evans made the AHL’s All-Rookie team and led all defensemen in playoff scoring (26 points) while shouldering top-pairing deployment during the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ 2023 successful Calder Cup run. Not only did Evans play a pivotal role in the team's near-repeat Calder Cup run this past season but he spent half the year in the NHL, where he posted solid underlying numbers and even got some time on the power play.

But for all the promise he's shown, the 22-year-old could have a hard time reaching his full potential in Seattle. Vince Dunn is set to quarterback the team’s first power play for the foreseeable future and with the addition of Brandon Montour, it’s hard to envision Evans getting meaningful usage on the man advantage. Furthermore, Jamie Oleksiak — a reliable No. 3 defenseman — is clogging Evans’ path to a top-four role for at least the next two years.

Declan Chisholm, D, Minnesota Wild

You can file Declan Chisholm as another guy that many refer to as a dime-a-dozen.

However, the 24-year-old's upside cannot be overlooked.

Chisholm is a smooth-skating puck-transporting defenseman who excels at zone exits — either from making a crisp first pass or by skating the puck out himself — and can quarterback a power play. In 29 games, Chisholm recorded three goals and eight points all the while maintaining a team-high 56.52 scoring chance-for percentage during 5-on-5 play. He even got some power play reps, too.

Granted, players of his ilk aren’t usually relegated to third-pairing roles. And with Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton locked into the team’s first two left-side slots, Chisholm could be stuck in a role his offensively-inclined game isn’t suited for.