With the growing salary cap, teams have more money to spend this summer. Except it’s tough to find difference-makers to invest in this summer.In today’s NHL, fewer star players reach free agency, with most extending early. So teams with money to spend either have to look to the trade route or be bold with an offer sheet.The latter sounds like a pretty ideal path, on paper. It’s a way to get up-and-coming talent before they reach the later stages of their prime and potentially hit free agency. There is no hammering out a return with another team because the parameters and compensation are outlined based on the average annual value offered.Via PuckPediaBut even with this mechanism available to teams (assuming they have the draft picks needed within those parameters), offer sheets are few and far between in the NHL.Could this season’s underwhelming crop of unrestricted free agents finally inspire general managers to take a more aggressive approach?It’s easy to point to names like Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli, who lead this year’s RFA class. Playoff breakout Zach Benson is tempting, too. And maybe it is worth throwing an offer to some of those rising stars to at the very least create future cap hoops for those teams to jump through.But the focus should be on some really interesting and realistic targets in the next few tiers of the restricted free agent class. Here are six offer-sheet candidates who won’t break the bank.Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden KnightsWhat is the perfect time for a playoff breakout? Right before contract negotiations.After a rough 2024 postseason, Pavel Dorofeyev’s regular-season goal scoring translated when it mattered most. The big question now is how much that’s worth and whether the Golden Knights can afford it.Dorofeyev’s coming off a two-year deal with an annual average value of $1.84 million a year. His market value, per Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, is projected to be about $11.2 million on average over the next seven years. Projection models, like Evolving-Hockey and AFP Analytics, have him coming in closer to the $9 million mark.The key for an interested team is having a system that can help Dorofeyev play to his strengths. He isn’t a play-driver on his own, so it’s important to have him paired with someone to do the heavy lifting. Just look at how Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner teed him up with some really crafty passes this postseason.With the right support, he can be worth the cost because goal scorers don’t grow on trees and he’s an excellent finisher. Without it, there’s a much lower chance of him playing like a $9-10 million player. And then it’s not worth the compensation for a deal in the $9.55-11.9 million range of two firsts, a second, and a third-round pick.If a team has that foundation, it’s absolutely worth pursuing, considering Vegas’ cap situation. The Golden Knights always operate close to the ceiling, leading to offseason cost-cutting. That’s bound to happen this year to fit either Rasmus Andersson or Dorofeyev, or both.So an offer sheet can accomplish one of two things: landing a team a dynamic goal scorer or creating a trickier cap bind for Vegas. The first outcome is obviously ideal for an acquiring team, but the second one should also be really appealing. The Golden Knights have managed to sign players below their market value in the past to stay in that winning environment. And maybe that will be the case with Dorofeyev unless there’s outside interference. Vegas has made a reputation for its ruthless approach, so if other teams want to compete with that, it’s time to dish it back.Mackie Samoskevich, Florida PanthersNot every offer-sheet candidate is in those top two compensation tiers. In some ways, it’s harder for a team to swoop in and steal players at this level because their extensions are generally more affordable and easily matched. AFP Analytics only projects Mackie Samoskevich’s next deal to carry a $3.08 million cap hit over two years. Evolving-Hockey has an extension coming in at four years with a $4.7 million AAV.The Panthers don’t have too much work to do this summer. Florida has 11 forwards and six defensemen already signed, so the bare-minimum summer checklist includes adding two forwards, one defenseman and two goalies. So, unless this team is planning on making a splash with a trade, extending Samoskevich should be pretty cut-and-dry — unless another team steps in and is willing to take a gamble with a pricey contract.Evolving-Hockey points to a $5.25 million cap hit on a six-year deal if Samoskevich were to sign outside of Florida. A new team would probably have to go bigger than that to 1) keep him out of the Panthers’ grasp and 2) account for the tax factor. While Samsokevich doesn’t have a long track record, he could be worth that swing. The 23-year-old is projected to have a market value worth $6.7 million, on average, over the next six years.While some comps point to a concerning path forward, like Patrick Eaves, Sven Andrighetto and Troy Bouwer, his range of outcomes also includes that of Troy Terry and Adrian Kempe. In a more consistent top-six role, with more power-play usage, maybe he will have a better chance of channeling that higher-end trajectory. That could be worth the cost of a first and third. A rebuilding team could be interested based on his age. Playoff teams without the time or patience to develop a prospect could also make sense.