Now that the NHL trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, one of the next big transaction dates to look forward to is free agency this summer. Every team has some kind of a big decision to make with players, whether it be committing to a restricted free agent and signing them to a bridge-deal or locking them up long-term, or whether or not to retain an unrestricted free agent.

Now that David Pastrnak has already re-signed in Boston, this summer’s crop of pending unrestricted free agents is thinner than we have seen in recent years but there are still some big decisions for teams to make.

We take a look at all of them here. We break it down division-by-division.

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins:

Even with David Pastrnak signing long-term the Bruins still have quite a few unrestricted free agents to deal with this offseason, including Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi. But as long as Bergeron and Krejci want to play, it is a good bet they will be in Boston for a fair price. Orlov and Bertuzzi would be nice to have, but they were clearly potential rentals.

The big question with the Bruins is going to be what they do with goalie Jeremy Swayman. Swayman is a pending restricted free agent and will be due a significant raise. He and Linus Ullmark have formed one of the best goalie duos in the league this season, and the Bruins would no doubt love to keep that going.

But Swayman will not be cheap. Ullmark already makes $5 million, and they have limited cap space to fill out the rest of their roster. It all comes down to how much the Bruins want to invest in their goalie duo and what sacrifices they want to make elsewhere on the roster.

Buffalo Sabres:

The Sabres are in a great position with a young, talented team that is mostly locked in place under contract long-term. Their only major free agency questions are pending UFA’s Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, with Tyson Jost as a pending RFA.

It will be interesting to see if the Sabres want to bring either Okposo or Girgensons back as veteran depth. None of those moves figure to be game-changers, unless of course they overpay to keep them.

Detroit Red Wings:

With Dylan Larkin and Olli Maatta already re-signed, and the Tyler Bertuzzi trade to the Bruins, the Red Wings’ biggest free agent decisions are limited to fringe players like Pius Suter and Adam Erne.

The biggest decision for the Red Wings might be with restricted free agent Joe Veleno. Veleno was a first-round pick in 2018, but has not really made a significant impact and is reaching the point where he looks to be more of a complementary player than a core part of a rebuild. What sort of commitment is that worth as an RFA?

Florida Panthers:

Another team where most of the roster is under contract. Eric and Marc Staal, as well as Patric Hörnqvist and Radko Gudas are slated to be unrestricted free agents but none of them should be viewed as “must” keeps. Hörnqvist has barely played this season, due to a concussion picked up in February, and is a fraction of his former self. The Staal’s and Gudas are very replaceable also. The big question the Panthers might have to answer is whether or not to tender restricted free agent Colin White a qualifying offer.

Montréal Canadiens:

Even though the 2022-23 season has been a mess for the Canadiens, they do have a nice collection of young talent to build around. The best of that bunch so far is Cole Caufield, who is eligible for restricted free agency this summer. He is going to get some sort of a new deal, but the question is going to be how much the Canadiens are willing to pay.

When healthy, Caufield has flashed top-line goal-scoring ability, being the Canadians top goal-scorer this year with 26. Injuries have meant he’s only has 123 games of NHL regular season experience in three seasons. When faced with a similar situation with another core young player, Nick Suzuki, the Canadiens gave him an eight-year, $63 million deal at a similar point. That sort of deal should absolutely be on the table for Caufield.

Ottawa Senators:

Alex DeBrincat will be the focal point here and play a big role in what sort of direction the Senators’ ongoing rebuild takes. When they traded for him prior to the 2022-23 season, they knew they were going to have at least one year to sell him on staying in Ottawa long-term. Now, they have to figure out a way to make that happen.

He is not going to reach the 40-goal mark he reached in two different seasons in Chicago, but he is still on track for more than 25 goals and more than 60 points. He is a legitimate first-line talent in the prime of his career. Can they get him signed long-term and be a key part of their promising young core?

Tampa Bay Lightning:

The Lightning tend to re-sign the players they want to keep a year before they have to, and they did that a year ago with Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak.

They did not re-sign Alex Killorn, who is a pending UFA after this season. Killorn is still an outstanding player, who’s on course to have 25 goals and 50 points for the second consecutive season. But being 33, he is eventually going to slow down. In the past, the Lightning have allowed players like him (Ondrej Palat and Blake Coleman) to go. Will Killorn be the next to move on?

Toronto Maple Leafs:

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had one of the biggest steals in the league the past two years with Michael Bunting. He has made less than a million dollars per year on average, and become a 20-goal, 50-point forward that has been an outstanding depth scoring piece. But he is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season and set to really cash in based on that production.

Can the Maple Leafs afford to keep him? Their salary cap situation is always tight, and they have nine other pending UFA’s plus goalie Ilya Samsonov who is a pending restricted free agent. What is Bunting’s price tag going to be, and can the Maple Leafs meet it?