The NHL playoffs are underway and that means that sixteen teams' fanbases are absolutely stressing out currently which is totally valid; everyone wants to see their favorite sports team manage to win the sixteen games that are required to win the Stanley Cup. Obviously, some teams are in a better position to win in the first round due to the matchups at hand, but as we all know, the rules do not apply in the playoffs and absolutely anything can and will happen. Whether that be good or bad, we will find out over the course of the next week or so.

This week's Capped article is going to be about players that are currently in the playoffs that I see as being valuable next season, whether it be because they carry a good price versus performance, an improved team situation, new coaching staff, bouncing back from an injury, etc. For this type of article, I plan on keeping the players' salaries at $5.5-million and under because we all know the players that make an exorbitant amount of money usually carry similar value when it comes to year-to-year. Along with in this day and age, it seems like anybody can receive a contract that is north of $5-million, this also keeps the options open to allowing me to cover a variety of player types as opposed to it strictly being about top-six forwards, and top pairing defenders.

* For contract lengths, I will be using the amount of years left on their contracts based on the start of the 2023-2024 season. With the season being over, Fantrax isn't displaying roster percentages currently, so for the time being I will just be displaying the ESPN percentages up until they are removed as well. *

#1) Jordan Eberle – RW – Seattle Kraken
Contract: $5.5M – 1 Year remaining
Roster Percentages: ESPN – 19.7%

Something that I didn't realize about Eberle's season is that his 63-point campaign in the 2022-23 season has tied his third best point producing season which came back in the 2014-15 season where he posted the same point total in one less game, this occurred when he was 24 years old, so just shy of a decade in the difference. Just shows that the system that you play in and what players surround you can really help revive your game, as this is his highest point total since the 2014-15 season.

One of the biggest things between those two seasons is that in the older season he played about two minutes and twenty seconds more on average per game than he did this season. This along with playing in a system that allowed him to be creative with the puck, as opposed to being in a system that played a more defensive and more physically based structure like the New York Islanders played with during his tenure there.

With Eberle you're gaining a player who has been a reliable player throughout his career, but now with a better system around him, along with former second overall draft selection, Matty Beniers, expect Eberle to be able to flourish in Seattle. When you account for the fact that that duo is also paired with Jared McCann, who is coming off a 40-goal season of his own, that trio could be solid this upcoming season. The x-factor amongst the trio is how well Beniers develops his skills over the course of the summer.

For $5.5-million, Jordan Eberle can provide a secondary scoring touch behind some more established and more high-end talent. Being able to provide what seems like a potential floor in 20 goals per season, that is certainly a player that is worth considering on your fantasy teams, given his own abilities, and the younger players around him being able to help keep any decline from occurring as fast as some people may expect one to happen.

#2) K'Andre Miller – D – New York Rangers
Contract: Set to be an RFA in the summer of 2023, needs a new contract for next season
Roster Percentages: ESPN – 32.5%

I feel that Miller sort of came out of nowhere to most fans, and I can say similar about myself, I didn't really expect a 40-plus-point season in his third year in the NHL. That is an impressive feat for a player that turned 23 years old back in January of this year. Sure, the Rangers have a talented roster to surround a player like K'Andre Miller, but a young player doesn't get thrown into a role just because they carry a pedigree when it comes to potential or draft status all the time, especially players that go in the early 20s in their draft year.

Based on comparable contracts to his, so players around his age range, their average annual value, their position, etc., I can safely say that Miller is in a class of his own when it comes to comparing him to his peers who are currently signed to similar deals to his.

Miller does it all for this Rangers team, he possesses the fourth highest shorthanded time per game on the team (amongst defenders), he had over 40 points while starting 54% of his shifts in the defensive zone, he averaged over two hits each game and averaged about 1.25 blocks each game as well. One of the biggest things to note is that he averaged just 32 seconds of power-play time per game, yes that is right, a third-year defender who plays behind Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba had 38 even-strength points (out of 43 total points).

I could see Miller receiving anything from $5 million on a bridge deal, to anything around the $6.5-million mark on a longer-term deal, based on what young blue liners are getting these days, I don't think there is really anything that is out of the realm of possibility here. The big issue with this is that the New York Rangers have very minimal cap space left, I'm talking less than $10K according to CapFriendly.com. They already have decisions to make when it comes to Vladimir Tarasenko who they acquired by having the Blues retain salary, along with trading for Patrick Kane with his salary being double retained. Former first overall draft pick Alexis Lafreniere also needs a new contract as well, and while he is playing a depth role currently, based on his average ice time per game, along with how many points he had in during the season (39 in 81 games), he may surprise some people next year as well while making less than what he probably is worth.

Overall, K'Andre Miller is absolutely a stud defender in any fantasy format, especially those that track the peripheral stats like hits and blocks, bonus points if they track short-handed points as the Rangers have been using some players with good offensive skills on the penalty kill in Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

I hope all of you are enjoying the playoffs even though your team may not be there competing for the Stanley Cup, I advise everyone to watch as much as possible as the off-season is fairly long and we will be without hockey sooner than we may think! The playoffs may last for about a month and a half to two months or so, but the time won't be long flying by, and we'll be wishing for hockey season to be back.

If you're looking to discuss anything hockey with me, check out my Twitter account (@JamieMolloy_DH), as well as on the articles themselves!