Here is a quick run through four upcoming unrestricted free agents.

Kevin Shattenkirk

Things obviously didn't go as planned in the playoffs for Washington, and Shattenkirk wasn't a perfect fit with the Capitals. However, he was still a solid fantasy asset with 14 points through the final 19 games of the regular season and then another six points in the playoffs. He scored at an 82-game pace of 51.2 points in his short time with the Capitals, after all.

Where he signs will have a significant impact on Shattenkirk's upcoming fantasy value, but his status as an elite power-play contributor accompanies him wherever he lands. Over the past three seasons, Shattenkirk's 7.3 points per 60 minutes with the man advantage tops all defenseman with at least 50 minutes of power-play time. To put it in perspective, he's logged 641:17 of power-play time during that stretch, and Jamie McBain's 5.81 points per hour rank second, and McBain played just 92:52 up a man.

Shattenkirk enters his age-28 season with a solid scoring track record and projects to have another high-end offensive season.

T.J. Oshie

Oshie posted a league-high 26.1 shooting percentage at five-on-five among all forwards with at least 750 minutes last season. His 33 goals were also a career high.

Obviously, his fantasy stock is up in the air until he inks a new contract, but expecting Oshie to repeat last season's numbers will probably prove ill-advised. Remember, too, the winger was limited to just 68 games, so his 0.49 goals and 0.82 points were also both career highs.

Oshie definitely has the potential to be a rock-solid asset again in 2017-18, but chasing career years is a fantasy no-no. Plus, there could be a significant decline in his shooting percentage. Remember, too, that from 2011-12 through 2015-16, Oshie posted a 10.3 five-on-five shooting percentage. Statistical correction could take a modest chunk out of his fantasy value next season. 

Alexander Radulov

Posting 18 goals and 54 points was a bit of a letdown for Radulov last season. Some probably expected less from him, but he is clearly capable of posting 25 goals and 60 points. Unfortunately, he really faded midseason and posted just five goals and 16 points during a 30-game stretch from January 12 through March 25.

However, during that cold stretch, Montreal's 2.08 goals per 60 minutes was the third-lowest total in the league. Radulov's slump was likely more tied to the Canadiens' scoring woes than his own play. It was also encouraging to see him take his game to another level in the postseason with two goals and five assists through six playoff games.

Radulov stands to have another solid season in Montreal, but if he relocates to a more prolific offense, he could easily add a handful of goals and up to a dozen more points up next year.

Martin Hanzal

Hanzal will almost certainly remain a better real-world player than fantasy asset, and it will be interesting to see what his intentions are during free agency. He could opt to chase a championship and sign with a contender at a bit of a discount, or the 30-year-old Czech could try to ink a big deal as a top-six center.

He's best suited to play a shut-down role against the opposition's top players, but Hanzal does own the offensive ability and acumen to be a serviceable No. 2 center that is deployed similarly to Ryan Kesler. However, it's worth reinforcing that Hanzal has never topped 20 goals or registered 45 points through 10 years in the league. He's also played 70 games just four times, and only once in the past seven years.

Hanzal's fantasy stock is pretty capped to begin with because of the depth at the center position. Additionally, if he does indeed project to be the third-line center for a team, he's probably off the radar outside of deep settings.

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The NHL salary cap and salary floor have been established at $75 million and $55.4 million, respectively.

Right now, the Blackhawks are the only team in real cap trouble. The Capitals have just 11 players under contract right now and are already at $50 million, and have championship ambitions, though. Minnesota also has to re-up with Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter before filling out its roster, so the Wild won't have a lot of wiggle room already being at $61 million.

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Since everyone is doing it, I'm putting together my Vegas Roster.

Here are a couple notes:

I'm running on the assumptions that these particular players won't be selected because trades have already been worked out: Sami Vatanen, Josh Manson, Josh Anderson, Jack Johnson, Joonas Korpisalo, Petr Mrazek, Jason Demers, Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, Eric Staal, Calvin de Haan, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey and Jordan Weal.

These selections are focused on assembling the most assets for the long haul as possible, and not building the best roster for the 2017-18 season.

This is a fun exercise of playing armchair general manager, and not an attempt to accurately predict what Las Vegas is going to do.

A few takeaways:

James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault, Lee Stempniak, David Perron, Brayden McNabb and Antti Raanta are all unrestricted free agents following the 2017-18 season and will be prime candidates to be dealt at the trade deadline for more assets. There's also potential for someone to be flipped immediately.

Swinging for the fences with guys like Ryan Strome, Marko Dano, Teemu Pulkkinen, Brendan Leipsic, Nicolas Kerdiles and Charles Hudon is the move. They're all in the heart of their prime now and if two of them hit as legitimate top-six scorers, it has to be viewed as a success. They're all cheap and will be under team control for awhile, too.

The Golden Knights need some veteran leadership. Troy Brouwer would be a potential captain, selecting Mike Cammalleri's hefty salary might result in another asset accompanying him from New Jersey, and both Zach Bogosian and Brenden Dillon are solid defensemen.

There has been a lot of talk about Jake Dotchin, however, chasing the upside and skating ability of Slater Koekkoek has more appeal to me. Similarly, Anton Rodin can score, whereas Brendan Gaunce has shown little offensive potential at the NHL level and has skating shortcomings. Rodin could be the better trade chip, too.

The side deals are unknown, so Las Vegas' roster could look completely different, and the players we expect to stick with their teams despite being left available might be way off the mark. Vancouver could have a side deal in place to ensure the Golden Knights don't puck Gaunce. We're going to have to wait and see.

It sure is fun to discuss, though.

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Here are a number of other Expansion Draft related readings if you're interested in diving deeper.

Hayden Soboleski's Prospect Ramblings with an Expansion Draft focus

Scott Cullen's breakdown at TSN

Dimitri Filipovic's Expansion Mock Draft at Sportsnet

Pete Jensen's Expansion Mock Draft at NHL.com

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Thanks for checking in, Dobberheads.