The big-ticket items are always an easy grab.
But it takes a skilled shopper to stock a pantry with thrifty quality.
The concept is no different in NHL free agency, when the arrival of the summertime signing period will likely result in significant deals inked by the high-profile likes of Patrick Kane, Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko.
Still, with all due respect to those players and their accomplishments, that's not the only way to build a championship team. In fact, many a Stanley Cup contender this spring has a roster galvanized by guys who make far less but still play an important role.
The B/R hockey team scanned the list of players on the verge of unrestricted free agency come July and came up with a list of seven underrated contributors who'll help build a successful puzzle somewhere next season at a far more feasible cost.
Laurent Brossoit, Vegas Golden Knights
If you came into the 2022-23 season expecting Laurent Brossoit to have a huge impact on the Vegas Golden Knights, well…let's just say you were in the minority.
He was 29 years old in October and barely mentioned when it came to Vegas' goaltending rotation, having played parts of eight seasons with three different teams and posting a pedestrian 42-41-8 record across 106 career appearances.
Fast-forward six months, and it's startling how things have changed.
Now 30, Brossoit assumed a part-time starter's role down the stretch and emerged from 11 games (10 starts) with a sterling 7-0-3 record alongside a .927 save percentage. The run made him the No. 1 guy as the Pacific Division champs opened the playoffs, and he won two of his first three starts heading into another Monday night date in Winnipeg.
The two-year, $4.65 million deal he signed two summers ago is on the verge of expiring, and though he won't (and shouldn't) command the sort of cash of more established goalies, there's little reason to doubt he'll provide value in the right spot on a manageable salary tier.
Michael Bunting, Toronto Maple Leafs
It's not been the best playoff week for Michael Bunting, given his three-game suspension for an illegal hit, but it shouldn't overshadow the fact that he's provided remarkable value for a guy signed as a bottom-sixer two years ago.
Toronto inked the then-25-year-old to a two-year deal worth less than a million annually after he'd scored 11 goals in 26 games across parts of two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes.
The Maple Leafs have seen him emerge as a dependable source of top-six offense, resulting in two 23-goal seasons on a team already chock full of highly-skilled offensive producers.
Toronto was third in the league in per-game scoring across those two seasons, and it'll be interesting to see if GM Kyle Dubas manages to slide Bunting in at an agreeable number within a payroll featuring four players already signed for $7.5 million or more for 2023-24.
If nothing else, he's got sentiment on his side.
"I'm a Toronto boy. I love playing for the Maple Leafs," Bunting said last year. "It's so much fun putting on that sweater every single night, and that's what I will say about it. I hope everything else figures out itself."