under-the-radar NHL – With NHL free agency opening Wednesday and few obvious stars available, five relatively quiet names stand out as potential bargains—led by veteran playmakers and stay-at-home defenders priced far below market expectations.
NHL free agency opens Wednesday, and the market’s quietness is almost its own story. When the top available name is arguably defence-first Rasmus Andersson, you can understand why there’s no runaway buzz around this opening wave.
That doesn’t mean teams are left with nothing useful. It does, however, set the stage for bargains—players whose projected contracts could line up with real hockey value. Here are five skaters who have a good shot at surplus value based on their projected deals.
Viktor Arvidsson has already proved he can score without needing a massive role every night. The 33-year-old forward is coming from the Boston Bruins. and his 2025-26 output—25 goals. 54 points in 69 games. at 14:36 of time on ice per game—wasn’t just production. it was repeatable impact. His expected deal is two years with a $4.9 million cap hit. a noticeable lift from his previous two-year. $4 million cap hit.
Arvidsson roaming the league again isn’t a surprise to anyone paying attention. If he signs with a new team this week, it will be his fourth stop in as many seasons. The Bruins deployed him as part of their second line. where he scored 25 goals for the fifth time in his 12-year career. with 18 of those coming at five-on-five. He also finished 10th in expected goals per 20 minutes at five-on-five out of 411 forwards who played at least 40 games—placing him between 51-goal scorer Cole Caufield and Brady Tkachuk.
His offensive threat is tied to efficiency as much as raw volume. Only Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier averaged more five-on-five shot attempts per 20 minutes than Arvidsson. He also ranked sixth in five-on-five scoring chances per 20 minutes. which points to a player who doesn’t require a ton of ice time to be dangerous.
The main question is simple and uncomfortable: availability. Arvidsson has played at least 70 games just once in the past five seasons, and that’s the kind of risk that can turn a “bargain” projection into a problem if injuries drag the calendar.
Vincent Desharnais offers a different type of value—one that shows up on the defensive side of the ledger. At 30 years old. the defenceman is coming from the San Jose Sharks with seven points in 53 games in 2025-26. and 18:11 of time on ice per game. His contract projection is two years at a $2 million cap hit, the same cap number as his previous two-year deal.
What teams often underestimate with a player like Desharnais is how directly his size can affect the game. Listed at six-foot-seven. he’s built to be a nuisance on the back end. and that showed up in his defensive usage. Among 201 qualified defencemen (minimum 40 games) this past season. Desharnais ranked third in defensive plays per 20 minutes. including blocked passes and stick checks. He finished 34th in overall defensive-zone denial rate.
At five-on-five, San Jose generated 51.5 per cent of the expected goals during Desharnais’ minutes, which led all Sharks defencemen. He also leaned into the tougher assignments, averaging 3:14 of short-handed ice time per game—fourth among qualified defencemen. The picture is clear: he’s built to be a stay-at-home defenceman in the truest sense.
Ryan Shea is the kind of defensive upgrade that doesn’t require a flashy pitch. The 29-year-old defenceman is coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins. where he posted six goals and 35 points in 80 games in 2025-26. at 18:53 of time on ice per game. His projection is four years at a $4.4 million cap hit, after he previously signed for one year at $900,000.
Shea’s breakout arrived later than many would have expected. with an age-28 surge that helped Pittsburgh outscore opponents 77-56 during his five-on-five minutes. For all the talk about “little things,” the numbers are what back it up. His 75.5 completion rate on five-on-five outlet passes ranked 32nd out of roughly 200 defencemen who played at least 40 games. and his 13 per cent turnover rate was 29th.
Teams are always searching for dependable, low-maintenance defencemen. Shea’s value is that he can fit without demanding the biggest spotlight.
Colton Sissons brings even steadier “cost-to-impact” logic. The 32-year-old forward is coming from the Vegas Golden Knights. where he put up six goals and 11 points in 66 games in 2025-26. while averaging 12:30 of time on ice per game. His projected deal is two years at a $1.5 million cap hit, after a previous contract of seven years at $2.9 million.
Sissons built his long NHL career—nearly 800 games—by doing the job you don’t always see in highlights. He’s a solid and versatile defensive forward, and in his first season with Vegas, he won a career-high 56.5 per cent of his total faceoffs. That included 58.7 per cent of his defensive-zone draws.
A right-handed centre with extensive playoff experience. Sissons was seventh in defensive plays per 20 minutes among the 400-plus qualified forwards this past season. His reputation is also tied to penalty kill work. Over the past 10 seasons, Sissons has played the third-most short-handed minutes in the league, totaling 1,529:21. He practically lives on that matchup.
And then there’s Mats Zuccarello. the bargain-case that comes with age on the front page but production still in the frame. At 38 years old. the forward is coming from the Minnesota Wild with 15 goals and 54 points in 59 games in 2025-26. at 18:39 of time on ice per game. His projected contract is one year at a $5.8 million cap hit, after previous terms of two years at $4.125 million.
For under $6 million, a player averaging 75 points per 82 games over the past five seasons should be considered a steal. Zuccarello isn’t just a name on a cap sheet—he’s also the kind of connector teams love when they want a reliable offensive engine that can play alongside star talent.
The Athletic recently reported that “it sure feels like the Wild have decided to move on from Zuccarello” after seven seasons in Minnesota. The on-ice proof is easy to understand: he’s been attached to Kirill Kaprizov’s hip for the past several years. giving him a stage to show off his playmaking ability. This past season. Zuccarello ranked 20th at his position in slot-pass completions and 29th in total offensive-zone pass completions per 20 minutes.
Even as he pushes 40, there’s enough skill left to complement another star forward rather than replace one.
Taken together, these five players point to the same thing about this particular free agency opening: the most obvious headlines may be missing, but value can still be found—if teams are willing to look past the glare and focus on what these contracts actually buy.
NHL free agency Viktor Arvidsson Vincent Desharnais Ryan Shea Colton Sissons Mats Zuccarello Boston Bruins San Jose Sharks Pittsburgh Penguins Vegas Golden Knights Minnesota Wild cap hit bargains
Bro Arvidsson for 4.9 mil sounds too low, like how is that even real.
I didn’t know NHL free agency stuff was such a “bargain” thing, I thought it was just whoever throws the most money. If Andersson is the best defense guy then maybe teams are just cheap this year? Not sure.
Arvidsson coming from Boston should be a lock for them lol. But if he’s only like 33 and they’re letting him go for basically peanuts, that feels like a mistake by the Bruins or cap gymnastics or whatever. The article says he can score without a huge role… so like power play merchant vibes? I might be wrong but idk.
Undervalued free agents every year, and then half of them vanish after one decent month. Also Wednesday free agency opening like we all gonna be watching the exact minute it happens. If the “market’s quiet” maybe these players aren’t actually good, just underhyped. 25 goals though, that part I’d believe, unless the Bruins system is carrying.