Patrik Laine (RW) – Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $6,750,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $7,917,971

It does not seem like Laine and the Jets are going to be a long-term marriage. Perhaps that means a trade, or perhaps the Jets will sit on Laine and let him sign his own offersheet out of town. Ideally though, Laine would be flipped for help on defence, moving to a team that will use him on the top line as their key triggerman.

Rasmus Dahlin (D) – Buffalo Sabres

Current Cap Hit: $925,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $6,865,670

Rasmus Dahlin is ready to explode into the top defenceman in the league (at least on the offensive side of the puck). His projected cap hit will likely only go up from here, and Buffalo should have the cap space to pay it. They need to keep him on board and give him every chance to shine for them offensively if they are ever going to leave the NHL basement.

Andrei Svechnikov (LW) – Carolina Hurricanes

Current Cap Hit: $925,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $7,373,311

Svechnikov may be the most talented player on the Hurricanes, and since he has the brains to keep up with his hands, there's no reason not to pay him as a star. He's a fantasy stud, and regardless of his future contracts, you want him on your team. Being in a smaller market during a pandemic may also be enough to pressure him into taking a smaller bridge contract.

Maybe a rival team with big pockets thinks Carolina couldn't match a fair offersheet on him and settles their negotiations for them… Nah, that would never happen in a million years, right?

Elias Pettersson (C) – Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $925,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $8,336,719

Pettersson has been exceeding expectations since he first stepped on NHL ice, so don't expect that to change moving forward. The longer the Canucks wait to lock up EP40, the more they are going to have to pay to do so. With Quinn Hughes also up for a new contract (I'll get to him in a minute) the Canucks might want to review what the Leafs did with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner… so that they don't make the same mistakes.

Kirill Kaprizov (LW) – Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $925,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $1,258,075

The projection model (fairly) has some issues estimating contract numbers for players that have never played in the NHL. This is the only reason Kaprizov's estimate is so low, and his contract next summer will leave behind any data beforehand, hinging solely on how he produces this year. He might not quite be Artemi Panarin, but it sounds like he could be the next best thing.

Igor Shesterkin (G) – New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $5,750,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $2,822,550

With only half of a season under his belt, the projection looks a little low for Shesterkin. However, we have seen many highly rated goalies take bridge deals (Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck among them), so it would be standard practice for Shesterkin to follow the same contract model. Vas's three-year bridge deal would come out to just under $4 Million at today's cap, and Shesterkin giving himself three years for this cap to rise before locking in a long-term extension would be good business. Whichever of Carter Hart or Igor Shesterkin signs first will set the market for the other.

Carter Hart (G) – Ottawa Senators

Current Cap Hit: $925,000

Projected New Cap Hit: $5,809,033

Speaking of comparables, when was the last time a goalie came in and shined through their age 20 and 21 seasons? It's pretty uncommon, which is why Hart is more likely to get an uncommon contract and skip straight to that long-term payday. Hart commanding more than $6 million on his second contract should shock no one. With the defence core in front of him this team should be a reliable source of excellent goalie stats for years to come.

Cale Makar (D) – Colorado Avalanche

Current Cap Hit: $880,833

Projected New Cap Hit: $8,130,799

Cale Makar should be locked up to a long-term deal at some point in the coming months. Regardless of what the projection says, Makar should be looking at MacKinnon's contract number as a floor, and Rantanen's as a ceiling. Anywhere in that range should be negotiable depending on the term. What we have seen from Sakic thus far indicates that he gets his core players locked up early. An eight by eight deal would likely satisfy all parties involved at this moment in time.

Quinn Hughes (D) – Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $916,667

Projected New Cap Hit: $8,955,875

Hughes may be more likely to wait for Makar to sign than Pettersson. Makar makes for a better comparable, and with Colorado locking up their stars to long-term deals, following in Makar's footsteps would be the best way for Hughes to net himself a long-term payout. Hughes doesn't get as much love for his overall play as he does for the flashy highlights he creates every game, but his underlying numbers are fantastic. He is a strong player on both sides of the puck, and regardless of his cost moving forward, will be an integral part of the Canucks and fantasy rosters alike.

Robert Thomas (C/RW) – St. Louis Blues

Current Cap Hit: $894,166

Projected New Cap Hit: $5,341,812

With a player as talented and cerebral as Robert Thomas, the Blues would be making a huge mistake not locking him up long term at this point. The Tampa Bay Lightning model with everyone taking a pay cut on a bridge deal could have worked for Thomas except the rest of the team has been raking in large extensions, so Thomas should want in on the action. I think the numbers of my model get stuck a little in the middle, as a long-term deal would likely have to come in North of $6 million to have both sides put pen to paper. Expect Thomas' steady and gradual scoring increase to continue for the next number of years.

****

There are way too many HMs here. Most are likely to re-up with their current teams, but there could be a lot of movement forced by the flat cap. Brady Tkachuk (who knows what Ottawa is going to do?!), Sam Reinhart, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Travis Sanheim, Kevin Fiala, Thatcher Demko, Kasperi Kotkaniemi, John Marino, Dante Fabbro, Pavel Buchnevich, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ilya Sorokin, Ilya Samsonov, Travis Dermott, Anthony Beauvillier, Jusse Saros, Kailer Yamamoto, all need new contracts (apologies to anyone I missed).

And oh, I forgot Miro Heiskanen! Absolutely can't leave him out, so let's get to some bonus coverage:

Miro Heiskanen (D) – Dallas Stars

Current Cap Hit: $894,166

Projected New Cap Hit: $6,624,370

I knew I was going to forget someone, and I'm upset that it is someone as special and dynamic as Heiskanen. He hinted to the world what he is capable of with his early dominance in the Stanley Cup Bubble this summer. Heiskanen will be worth every penny of what he earns on his next contract. The looming fantasy question is what happens with the powerplay time between him and John Klingberg. Keep an eye on the early deployment, but my bet is Heiskanen gets the first shot with the top unit.

****

All statistics are all pulled from FrozenTools, and all contract info from Capfriendly. Follow me on Twitter @alexdmaclean.