With the new realities of a rising cap, Snuggerud could put himself in position to sign the richest contract in team history with a good season in 2026-27. The current record is shared by Thomas and Kyrou ($65 million each on eight-year contracts), which would require a huge ticket for Snuggerud with potentially one fewer year in play thanks to the new CBA.
If Snuggerud is valued similarly to Toronto’s Matthew Knies, a six-year contract could come in around $9 million per year, while a seven-year contract would come in higher than that. Should Snuggerud continue to receive top-line minutes and looks on the No. 1 power-play unit, perhaps his numbers exceed the 21 goals and 30 assists he put up as a rookie in 2025-26.
Neighbours will be looking for a rebound season after he endured a 23-game goal drought in the spring before scoring in the third-to-last game of the regular season. His contract currently carries a $3.75 million cap hit, and he will have arbitration rights at the end of the season.
Hofer will enter his first full season as the Blues’ starting goaltender after taking over midway through the season last year, relegating Jordan Binnington to backup duties. Hofer holds a lot of leverage in that he could become an unrestricted free agent in 2028. In theory, Hofer could either accept his one-year qualifying offer and walk to UFA in 2028, or he could go to arbitration and then walk to UFA in 2028. (It’s the same leverage Matthew Tkachuk had in Calgary as well as Jason Robertson in Dallas.)
On the high end, Hofer could be looking for a cap-adjusted deal that would match what Jake Oettinger (Dallas) and Jeremy Swayman (Boston) signed for: eight years, $8.25 million cap hit. Perhaps Lukas Dostal (five years, $6.5 million cap hit) or Dustin Wolf (seven years, $7.5 million cap hit) end up as better comparables.