Who will be the surprise team to go big-game hunting this summer?

While the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still ongoing, it’s never too early to look at what teams might ponder doing in the offseason.

There are a number of teams that are right on the cusp of becoming legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, but might need one or two more pieces in order to be taken a little more seriously. With the salary cap going to rise to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, said franchises might have the room to add a notable player to bolster their lineup.

On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discuss what teams they believe might be looking to go after some big names this summer.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m curious about [the Buffalo Sabres] if they can find the money. A week ago Jeff [Marek] was on and did the Connor Hellebuyck thing and kind of floated that out as an idea. I’m curious if Buffalo does something that’s along the lines of like, ‘Ooh, we have a good defenseman who’s got some value. We’re gonna cash in on that value and then also go make a big splash somewhere else and add to our forward group or something like that.’ I think Buffalo might be my answer there.

Carter Hutton: I think there’s a storyline there in the fact of, if they aren’t able to sign Alex Tuch, too. Because now it’s like, “How does that hole get filled?” Then, you take the money you would’ve gave him and try to make a move.

The other one for me that I just think is interesting is gonna be the two teams in the Pacific when I think about [the Anaheim Ducks] and what they do, and the San Jose Sharks. There’s a lot of cap space. There’s a lot of youth. You don’t really wanna waste a ton of years of Celebrini being a really good player. So, if you can add some veteran guys that are on like short-term deals that are a bit of a stopgap that make you better, but they don’t handicap you for the future, that’s kind of a team that I’d watch on.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…