This week, I'm going to look at teams in the Western Conference and review players set to become free agents on July 1st or at the end of 2025-26.

We will also see how much cap space each team has with the salary cap increasing to $95.5 million in 2025-26. We will attempt to look at positional needs for the next year and whether the team can improve from within, trade or free agency.

All salary information from www.puckpedia.com.

Anaheim Ducks – Finished 24th overall (35W – 37L – 10 OT – 80 PTS)

Goals For: 217 (30th overall)

Goals Against: 261 (23rd overall)

Powerplay: 11.8% (32nd overall)

Penalty Kill: 74.2% (29th overall)

Faceoffs: 44.6% (32nd overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $38.6 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Robby Fabbri (44-8-8-16), Brock McGinn (26-4-4-8), Oliver Kylington (19-1-4-5), Ville Husso (2-6-3, 89.0 save %)

Restricted Free Agents: Mason McTavish (76-22-30-52), Tim Washe (2-0-0-0), Isac Lundestrom (79-4-10-14), Brett Leason (62-5-12-17), Drew Helleson (56-4-9-13), Lukas Dostal (23-23-7, 90.3)

Summary:

The Ducks need a lot of help moving forward into 2025-26, but they should see significant improvement from within.

They desperately need to improve their special teams and be much better in the faceoff circle. A new coach needs to be hired, as the team parted with head coach Greg Cronin after the season ended.

Players on the rise include Cutter Gauthier (82-20-23-43), Leo Carlsson (76-20-24-44), McTavish, Jackson LaCombe (75-14-29-43), Olen Zellweger (62-7-13-20), Pavel Mintyukov (68-5-14-19) and Dostal.

Players who could see a regular role from within are Sam Colangelo (32-10-2-12), Nikita Nesterenko (20-4-2-6) and Tristan Luneau (6-0-0-0).

My re-signing valuations for McTavish have him between $6.5 to $7.5 million AAV, Lundestrom between $1 and $1.5 million AAV, Leason between $2.5 and $3.0 million AAV, Helleson between $3 and $3.5 million AAV and Dostal north of $4 million AAV.

That leaves the Ducks with about $18 to 22 million to bolster their roster with free agents or by trade if they wish.

There is a possibility that Trevor Zegras (57-12-20-32) and John Gibson (11-11-2, 91.2) will be dealt, which, if the case, should bring back pretty good returns for both or either.

Radko Gudas (81-1-15-16) and Jacob Trouba (77-1-13-14) will both be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26, so both could be trade chips as well.

I think they will target some forwards who can spark their power play, and the Ducks could go after some of the bigger fish in the free agency pond, like Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers.

Calgary Flames – Finished 15th overall (41W – 27L – 14OT – 96PTS)

Goals For: 220 (29th overall)

Goals Against: 236 (15th overall)

Powerplay: 21.0% (19th overall)

Penalty Kill: 76.1% (25th overall)

Faceoffs: 46.2% (30th overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $34.29 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Anthony Mantha (13-4-3-7), Kevin Rooney (70-5-5-10), Justin Kirkland (21-2-6-8), Dryden Hunt (5-0-3-3), Joel Hanley (53-2-7-9), Dan Vladar (12-11-6, 89.8), Tyson Barrie (13-1-2-3)

Restricted Free Agents: Morgan Frost (81-14-23-37), Matt Coronato (77-24-23-47), Connor Zary (54-13-14-27), Sam Morton (1-1-0-1), Adam Klapka (31-6-4-10), Kevin Bahl (73-3-17-20)

Summary:

The Flames surprised a lot of people in 2024-25 by just narrowly missing the playoffs on their way to 96 points.

They had a very good rookie campaign from Dustin Wolf (29-16-8, 91.0), while veterans Nazem Kadri (82-35-32-67), Jonathan Huberdeau (81-28-34-62) and MacKenzie Weegar (81-8-39-47) all turned in solid seasons.

Players on the rise include Matt Coronato (77-24-23-47), Connor Zary (76-20-24-44), Klapka and Bahl.

Players who could see a regular role from within are Rory Kerins (5-0-4-4), Zayne Parekh (1-1-0-1) and Samuel Honzek (5-0-0-0).

My re-signing valuations for Frost have him between $5 to $5.5 million AAV, Coronato between $6 and $7 million AAV (editor's note: Coronato signed for seven years at a $6.5 million AAV), Zary between $4.5 and $5.5 million AAV, Klapka between $3 and $3.5 million AAV and Bahl north of $4 million AAV.

That leaves the Flames with about $8 to $12 million to bolster their roster with free agents or by trade if they wish.

Mikael Backlund (76-15-17-32), Ryan Lomberg (80-3-10-13), Rasmus Andersson (81-11-20-31), Jake Bean (64-2-5-7) and Daniil Miromanov (44-2-7-9) will all be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26, so all could be trade chips as well. I don't think Backlund is dealt, and Lomberg, Bean, and Miromanov have limited value, so the big chip might be Andersson if they don't re-sign him.

The Flames need to build off of 2024-25 and make the playoffs in 2025-26. Most of their improvement will need to come from within. They need Frost, Farabee and Sharangovich to be at their best.

Chicago Blackhawks – Finished 31st overall (25W – 46L – 11OT – 61 PTS)

Goals For: 224 (26th overall)

Goals Against: 292 (31st overall)

Powerplay: 24.9% (7th overall)

Penalty Kill: 79.3% (14th overall)

Faceoffs: 44.8% (31st overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $30.97 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Ryan Donato (80-31-31-62)

Restricted Free Agents: Philipp Kurashev (51-7-7-14), Wyatt Kaiser (57-4-4-8), Louis Crevier (32-3-2-5), Arvid Soderblom (10-18-7, 89.8)

Summary:

The Blackhawks are in year two or three of what is probably a five or six-year rebuild, so we can start to expect a bit of an improvement in 2025-26, just from the young players on the rise in their fold.

Chicago had the 7th-best power play in 2024-25 and should build off that in 2025-26 with the young prospects they possess. They need to improve defensively and in goal.

Players on the rise include Connor Bedard (82-23-44-67), Frank Nazar (53-12-14-26), Alex Vlasic (82-4-26-30), Nolan Allan (43-1-7-8), Spencer Knight (17-16-3, 90.2) and Colton Dach (25-2-5-7).

Players who could see a regular role from within are Sam Rinzel (9-0-5-5), Artyom Levshunov (18-0-6-6), Oliver Moore (9-0-4-4), Ethan Del Mastro (24-2-4-6), Kevin Korchinski (16-1-1-2) and Drew Commesso (0-1-0, 84.6).

My re-signing valuations for Donato have him between $5.0 to $6.0 million AAV as an unrestricted free agent. The restricted free agents are Kurashev between $1 and 1.5 million AAV, Kaiser between $2.5 and 3.0 million AAV, Crevier between $1 and 1.5 million AAV and Soderblom under $3 million AAV.

I'm not sure they will re-sign Donato, Kurashev, Soderblom or Crevier.

That possibly leaves the Blackhawks with about $24 to 28 million to bolster their roster with free agents or by trade if they choose.

Nick Foligno (78-15-19-34), Jason Dickinson (59-7-9-19), Ilya Mikheyev (80-20-14-34), Connor Murphy (68-2-17-19) and T.J. Brodie (54-2-8-10) will all be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26.

Murphy might have the most value, and they might want to re-sign him.

Chicago might be one year away from going after blue-chip free agents like Marner, but they certainly have the money and are likely to use it. I'd expect them to trade some of their younger forwards (Lukas Reichel) and defenders (Korchinski) for some established players with bigger contracts.

Colorado Avalanche – Finished 7th overall (49W – 29L – 4 OT – 102PTS)

Eliminated in the 1st Round of the Playoffs in seven games by Dallas

Goals For: 273 (6th overall)

Goals Against: 231 (12th overall)

Powerplay: 24.8% (8th overall)

Penalty Kill: 79.8% (12th overall)

Faceoffs: 47.1% (28th overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $8.7 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Brock Nelson (80-26-30-56), Jonathan Drouin (43-11-26-37), Jimmy Vesey (43-5-3-8), Joel Kiviranta (79-16-7-23), Ryan Lindgren (72-4-18-22) and Erik Johnson (36-2-3-5)

Restricted Free Agents: Sam Malinski (76-5-10-15)

Summary:

The Avalanche were constructed for a deep playoff run, but were ousted by the Stars in the first round. They are now faced with three or four important roster players being unrestricted, with very little cap space to re-sign more than one or two of them.

Colorado needs help in the faceoff circle and should target a player via trade or free agency who can help them there.

Colorado doesn't have any roster players on the rise in my opinion, and their window is now closing.

Players who could see a regular role from within are maybe John Ludvig (8-0-2-2) and Oskar Olausson (2-0-0-0), but neither is a needle mover, and both are replacement level at best.

My re-signing valuations for Nelson have him between $7.3 to $8.5 million AAV, Drouin between $4 and $5 million AAV, Vesey under $1.0 million AAV, Kiviranta between $1.5 and $2.0 million AAV, Lindgren between $3 and $3.8 million AAV, Johnson under $1.0 million AAV and Malinski between $1.5 and $2.0 million AAV.

That leaves the Avalanche with no chance to re-sign Nelson and very little chance for Drouin or Lindgren either, as things stand. If Gabriel Landeskog goes back onto the LTIR, they would find $7 million more in cap space, which might be a likely scenario.

Martin Necas (79-27-57-84), Charlie Coyle (83-17-18-35), Parker Kelly (80-8-11-19) and Josh Manson (48-1-14-15) will all be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26, which really shows where the window is for Colorado.

Los Angeles Kings – Finished 6th overall (48W – 25L – 9OT – 105PTS)

Eliminated in the 1st Round of the Playoffs in six games by Edmonton

Goals For: 249 (14th overall)

Goals Against: 203 (2nd overall)

Powerplay: 17.9% (27th overall)

Penalty Kill: 81.4% (8th overall)

Faceoffs: 50.6% (14th overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $23.27 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Andrei Kuzmenko (66-11-26-37), Tanner Jeannot (67-7-6-13), Trevor Lewis (60-6-6-12), Vladislav Gavrikov (82-5-25-30), David Rittich (16-14-2, 88.7)

Restricted Free Agents: Alex Laferriere (77-19-23-42)

Summary:

The Kings had an excellent regular season and looked in control over Edmonton in their series after the first two games, but couldn't finish it off. They should be able to roll it back in 2025-26 and both improve from within and add one or two important pieces.

Players on the rise include Alex Laferriere (77-19-23-42), Quinton Byfield (81-23-31-54), Brandt Clarke (78-5-28-33) and Jordan Spence (79-4-24-28).

Players who could see a regular role from within are Erik Portillo (1-0-0, 96.6). The Kings don't have much else in their prospect pool to make a splash in 2025-26.

My re-signing valuations for Kuzmenko have him between $2.5 to $3.5 million AAV (taking into account his play with the Kings in the playoffs), Jeannot between $1.5 and $2.0 million AAV, Lewis under $1 million AAV, Gavrikov between $5 and $6 million AAV, Rittich under $3 million AAV and Laferriere between $6 and $7 million AAV. That seems a little high for Laferriere, but he combines some offense and physicality, which is a rare combination.

If the Kings re-sign both Gavrikov and Laferriere, it leaves them with between $10 and $12 million to make decisions on Kuzmenko, Jeannot, Lewis and Rittich. I think they will move on from Rittich.

Anze Kopitar (81-21-46-67) and Adrian Kempe  (81-35-38-73) will both be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26. It's a vital year for the Kings.

Minnesota Wild – Finished 13th overall (45W – 30L – 7OT – 97PTS)

Eliminated in the 1st round by Vegas in six games

Goals For: 225 (25th overall)

Goals Against: 236 (16th overall)

Powerplay: 20.9% (20th overall)

Penalty Kill: 72.4% (30th overall)

Faceoffs: 46.7% (29th overall)

Projected Cap Space 2025-26: $20.59 million

Unrestricted Free Agents: Marcus Johansson (72-11-23-34), Gustav Nyquist (79-11-17-28), Justin Brazeau (76-11-11-22), Jon Merrill (70-2-4-6)

Restricted Free Agents: Marco Rossi (82-24-36-60), Declan Chisholm (66-2-10-12)

Summary:

If Kirill Kaprizov (41-25-31-56) didn't miss 41 games, it could be argued that the Wild might have won 50 games and been top ten on the power play.

The Wild are in good shape for 2025-26, but will need a healthy Kaprizov to contend and ensure they make the playoffs.

Players on the rise include Marco Rossi (82-24-36-60) and Brock Faber (78-10-19-29).

Players who could see a regular role from within are Liam Ohgren (24-2-3-5), David Jiricek (12-1-2-3), Danila Yurov (0-0-0-0), Zeev Buium (0-0-0-0) and Jesper Wallstedt (0-2-0, 84.3).

My re-signing valuations for Johansson have him between $2.0 and 2.5 million AAV, Nyquist between $1.5 and 2.0 million AAV, Brazeau between $2.5 and 3.0 million AAV, Merrill under $1 million AAV, Rossi between $8.0 and 9.5 million AAV and Chisholm between $1.5 and 2.0 million.

Re-signing Rossi leaves the Wild with between $10 and 12 million to make decisions on Johansson, Nyquist, Brazeau, Merrill and Chisholm. I think they will keep Johansson, Brazeau and perhaps Chisholm.

Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello (69-19-35-54), and Zach Bogosian (81-4-12-16) will be entering into the last year of their contracts in 2025-26. The Wild need to keep back about $12-14 million AAV of space to re-sign Kaprizov. 

I think the Wild will look to improve their penalty kill and their success in the faceoff circle.

Thank you very much for reading, and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15