We\u2019ve made it past the Olympics. The Trade Deadline is in the rearview mirror. Now, we\u2019re in the midst of the 2026 NHL stretch drive \u2014 the final run of games before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.<\/p>\n
This is the time of year that can make or break certain teams. Starting to slump? Better snap out of it before the playoffs start. On a winning streak? Just make sure you aren\u2019t peaking too early. It\u2019s all a balancing act, and in the end, all but one team will fall off the tightrope.<\/p>\n
The same logic applies to each individual player, and some of them have more to play for than others. The stretch drive and the playoffs are the last opportunity for many players to prove their worth before offseason business begins. In the NHL, no roster spot is ever truly secure, and when it comes to free agency, no offer is guaranteed until both parties sign on the dotted line.<\/p>\n
Here are five pending unrestricted free agents with the most to gain (or lose) through their performances down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Rasmus Andersson<\/p>\n
The Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> paid a pretty penny to acquire Andersson from the Calgary Flames<\/a> back in January, parting with Zach Whitecloud, Abram Wiebe, a 2027 first-round pick and a conditional 2028 second-rounder to land the 29-year-old Swede. On the surface, the deal made sense: Andersson had 30 points in 48 games with the Flames before the trade and was one of their most consistently impactful players at both ends of the ice.<\/p>\n Pretty much everybody expected that the Knights would quickly sign Andersson to a contract extension, but that still hasn\u2019t happened \u2014 and it might have something to do with the team\u2019s struggles since the trade. Vegas has gone 9-15-4 in 28 games since acquiring Andersson, falling out of first place in the Pacific Division in the process. (For comparison\u2019s sake, the Flames have compiled a 10-12-4 record since bringing in Whitecloud, who has emerged as a valuable future trade chip in his own right).<\/p>\n Andersson is a very talented player. It\u2019s unfair to pin the Knights\u2019 struggles on him, particularly given their aging forward group and inconsistent goaltending. But it\u2019s safe to say he needs to be at his very best under new head coach John Tortorella over the final few games and into the playoffs if he wants to salvage his contract year. The more goals like this one, the better:<\/p>\n OH MY GOODNESS, RASMUS ANDERSSON \ud83d\ude31 <\/p>\n Alex Tuch<\/p>\n Five years after being acquired from Vegas in the Jack Eichel deal, Tuch is about to get his first taste of playoff hockey in his home state. The Syracuse product has been a good soldier on many disappointing Buffalo Sabres<\/a> teams in recent times; now, he\u2019s second in goals and third in points on the first Sabres team to reach the 100-point mark since 2009-10.<\/p>\n The Sabres shouldn\u2019t have any problem fitting a Tuch contract extension under the salary cap. He\u2019s been underpaid for years, with his current deal carrying a $4.75-million cap hit, and all indications point to him making at least double that on his next contract. But he hasn\u2019t signed yet, and it\u2019s fair to wonder whether the Sabres are waiting to see how this group fares in the playoffs before giving out the really big money \u2014 especially to a 29-year-old pending UFA.<\/p>\n Buffalo will surely point to Nick Schmaltz\u2019s new eight-year, $8 million-AAV contract with the Utah Mammoth<\/a> as a top comparable for Tuch, but he could probably command eight figures on the open market. Again, it\u2019s not as though the Sabres can\u2019t afford that, but we\u2019ve seen so many teams come to regret signing power forwards deep into their 30s at big money. It\u2019s a tough one, but Tuch has the power to make himself seem truly indispensable to new Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen with a dominant playoff showing.<\/p>\n Victor Olofsson<\/p>\n A former teammate of Tuch\u2019s in Buffalo, Olofsson went from a top Stanley Cup contender to one of the worst teams in the league at the Trade Deadline. The Colorado Avalanche<\/a> sent Olofsson to the Flames to help make the money work in the blockbuster Nazem Kadri trade, and while most players in Olofsson\u2019s situation would be understandably demoralized by that kind of change, he\u2019s taken it in full stride.<\/p>\n Playing on a new-look Flames third line with Ryan Strome and Yegor Sharangovich, Olofsson played a leading role during Calgary\u2019s recent 5-0-1 homestand, potting a pair of goals, adding an assist, and firing 20 shots in six games. He added an assist and managed an even rating on Monday as his former Avalanche teammates trounced the Flames in Colorado by a 9-2 final score. His shot is as lethal as ever, but Olofsson\u2019s puckhandling and agility have also been noticeably ahead of the pack in Calgary.<\/p>\n Victor Olofsson gets the Flames on the board \ud83d\udcaa <\/p>\n Unlike Andersson and Tuch, Olofsson isn\u2019t going to be in line for a new long-term contract this summer. He\u2019s coming off of back-to-back one-year deals with Vegas and Colorado, producing at a solid third-line clip in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. But in Calgary, Olofsson is proving that he doesn\u2019t necessarily need to be on a contending team to put up points, and if he keeps playing at his current level over the final eight games of the season, he could put himself in line for a multi-year deal at much more than his current $1.575-million cap hit.<\/p>\n Oliver Bjorkstrand<\/p>\n After flying under the radar as one of the league\u2019s most efficient scorers for the better part of a decade with the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> and Seattle Kraken<\/a>, Bjorkstrand was thrust into the spotlight when he joined the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> at last year\u2019s Trade Deadline. The Bolts paid a hefty price \u2014 two first-round picks, a second-rounder and Mikey Eyssimont \u2014 to acquire Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from Seattle, and while Gourde has largely come as advertised as a veteran middle-sixer in his second go-round in Tampa, Bjorkstrand has underwhelmed since the deal.<\/p>\n Although an unusual and serious leg injury <\/a>prevented Bjorkstrand from taking part in the playoffs with the Bolts last spring, the Danish winger returned in time for the start of his first full season with the club. But the 30-year-old pending UFA has really struggled with the Lightning in 2025-26, managing just 11 goals and 29 points in 72 games and posting a minus-15 rating on a team with a plus-61 goal differential.<\/p>\n Bjorkstrand has gone pointless and minus-5 in his last 11 games, with his ice time limited to less than 10 minutes in his last four. In the wake of all that, he was made a healthy scratch against the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> on Tuesday. The season isn\u2019t over, and one bad year isn\u2019t enough to sink a player forever, but Bjorkstrand will need to have a big finish if he still wants to cash in as a free agent this summer. He\u2019s expected to play on Anthony Cirelli\u2019s right side on Tampa\u2019s second line on Thursday.<\/p>\n Logan Stanley<\/p>\n We\u2019ll wrap things up with another Sabre, one whose stock has skyrocketed this year amidst an improbable run of production. Stanley began the season as a member of the Winnipeg Jets<\/a>, scoring nine goals and 21 points while amassing 99 penalty minutes in just 59 games. The 6\u20197\u2033 left-shot defender had never previously been a major offensive force in the NHL, and his impressive goal-scoring streak was enough to capture the attention of general managers around the league.<\/p>\n The Sabres had been heavily involved in trade discussions involving St. Louis Blues<\/a> defenseman Colton Parayko, who ultimately opted to stay put amidst all the uncertainty. After all that, Buffalo pivoted to Stanley, who joined the Sabres at the deadline alongside Luke Schenn in exchange for Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen, a 2027 second-round pick, and a conditional 2026 fourth-rounder. Since then, Stanley has settled in nicely as a bottom-pairing option for a Sabres team with legitimate championship aspirations, but he doesn\u2019t have a goal through 11 games with the club.<\/p>\n Zach Ostapchuk and Logan Stanley drop the mitts \ud83e\udd4a <\/p>\n