NHL UFA guide: Which teams should add in free agency, which should sit it out

With free agency opening up tomorrow, it’s a good time to check in with where every team currently stands entering the offseason.Should your favorite team buy or should they stand pat? That all depends on their needs, their timeline, their cap space and whether or not they’re anywhere close to contention.The goal of today’s team offseason guide is to figure all of that out, first by separating teams into loose tiers of contention. Think of this as a short preview before everything changes tomorrow and the real season previews start dropping in September.Teams are listed alphabetically within each tier. Projected cap space is a rough estimate assuming each team’s RFAs are signed to their projected contracts via AFP Analytics.ContendersCarolina HurricanesTimeline: Contention

Needs: None

Projected cap space: $3.7 millionThe Hurricanes won it all last season and they don’t look to be going away anytime soon. The youth of many of their key pieces means the window is just opening and they look likely to enter the year as the team to beat.That doesn’t mean the team will rest on its laurels, though, and they showed that by acquiring John Carlson’s UFA rights. He could be a huge offensive addition to an already-stacked blue line, one that would push the Hurricanes even further ahead of the pack.Signing Carlson could mean Alexander Nikishin shakes loose, but that’s a more than worthy trade-off given the value Carlson still adds.Other than that, the team looks set with everyone but Frederik Andersen returning.Winners and losers from the 2026 NHL DraftScott WheelerColorado AvalancheTimeline: Contention