The NHL’s Best Bargains Of 2025-26: Cheapest Cost Per Point Among Forwards
This offseason has focused a lot on the big names and the big contracts. From the league-altering Leo Carlsson offer sheet to the seemingly never-ending Jason Robertson contract negotiations, the league’s stars have been in the spotlight. However, some of the most important players on a roster are those who provide the biggest bargain for their production. Tonight, we look at the top ten forwards from the 2025-26 season whose costs per point were the least expensive for their teams.
List excludes players on their entry-level contracts.
- Marcus Johansson ($16K Per Point) — Nobody in hockey produced a cheaper point last season. Playing on an $800K deal in Minnesota, Johansson posted 49 points, and his 0.65 points-per-game pace lapped the rest of this group. However, the list’s best bargain is the only one not cashing in on an NHL raise: the 35-year-old is instead headed home to Sweden on a one-year deal with Färjestad BK of the SHL, likely closing the book on a career of more than 500 NHL points.
- Linus Karlsson ($22K Per Point) — Vancouver’s fourth-line find was the first bargain on this list to expire. Karlsson parlayed a $775K cap hit into 35 points, and the Canucks didn’t wait for the market to notice; they nearly tripled his salary with a two-year, $2.25MM AAV extension back in January, buying out what would have been his walk to free agency and keeping him through 2027-28.
- Mavrik Bourque ($23K Per Point) — Bourque gave Dallas 20 goals and 41 points on a $950K hit after taking on a bigger role during the second half of the year. He then watched that impressive sophomore season change his life in the span of a few days: Bourque’s RFA rights were traded to Nashville on July 1, and he signed a six-year, $33MM contract that pushes his cap hit to $5.5MM, almost six times what the Stars paid him to produce it.
- Parker Kelly ($24K Per Point) — The group’s top goal scorer this past season with 21, Kelly stretched an $825K cap hit into 35 points for Colorado. The Avalanche have never been shy about locking up their identity players, and they moved quickly here too, roughly doubling his money on a four-year, $6.8MM extension that carries him through 2029-30.
- Justin Sourdif ($24K Per Point) — The one bargain still standing. Sourdif matched Kelly’s line almost exactly, an $825K cap hit and 35 points in his first season in Washington after arriving from Florida, and unlike everyone above him, his deal isn’t done. He’s signed at the same number through 2026-27, giving one of the league’s top offseason spenders, the Capitals, one more discounted season before his restricted free agency arrives.
- Mackie Samoskevich ($24K Per Point) — Florida’s cap crunch turned Samoskevich’s value year into a trade chip. After posting 32 points on a $775K hit, the 2025 Cup winner was shipped to Seattle in June for first- and second-round picks, and the Kraken promptly paid him like the investment he was: three years at $3.85MM AAV ($11.55MM Total Value), with a top-six opportunity Florida’s forward depth never allowed.
- Michael Carcone ($25K Per Point) — Carcone’s is the feel-good version of this story. A year after openly expecting to leave Utah, he returned on a league-minimum deal, produced 31 points, and by March had played his way into a two-year, $1.75MM AAV extension, more than doubling his pay and cementing a roster spot that looked nearly gone twelve months earlier.
- A.J. Greer ($27K Per Point) — Nobody converted a value season into money faster. Greer’s 32 points on an $850K deal made him a target the moment the season ended; Anaheim acquired his rights from Florida before the market even opened and signed him to a four-year, $4.25MM contract on July 1, a five-fold raise for a bottom-six forward who picked the right year to peak.
- Vasily Podkolzin ($27K Per Point) — The list’s unique case of a player who banked his raise before earning it. Edmonton signed Podkolzin to a three-year, $2.95MM extension last September, betting his game would grow into the number, then watched him deliver 37 points and 19 goals on his expiring $1MM hit. The new deal starts in 2026-27, and after a season like that, it might already be the next bargain on a future version of this list.
- Jamie Benn ($28K Per Point) — The most well-known name here was also quietly one of the league’s better contract values. Playing on a near-minimum deal in his 17th season, Benn produced 36 points in just 60 games despite missing 20 to injury, scoring his 400th career goal and crossing 1,200 games with the franchise along the way. And like most of this list, the number is already settled: the longest-serving captain in Stars history re-signed on July 3, one year at an $850K base with up to $1.15MM in performance bonuses, meaning Dallas gets its captain at a discount one more time.
All contract information provided by Puckpedia.
Marcus Johansson Signs In Sweden
Longtime NHL forward Marcus Johansson has signed with Färjestad BK of the SHL, the team announced today, departing the Minnesota Wild. The news was confirmed by Michael Russo of The Athletic.
One decade since his breakout 24 goal campaign, the 35-year-old has bounced around several teams since then as a moderate contributor. Still, he had become a valuable piece for Minnesota over the past four seasons, somewhat quietly putting together a strong 2025-26 where he notched 49 points in 75 games. That output is good for his second best in 16 seasons.
By no means walking away from North America due to his ability at the NHL level, the development is a bit surprising. Although speculation, it suggests that the Wild’s offseason priorities align elsewhere, with the veteran opting to return to his native country on a high note, rather than start over on what could have become his seventh NHL club.
Chosen 24th overall by the Capitals in the 2009 draft, Johansson’s 1,058 regular season NHL appearances stand as ninth best of the class, also ranking tenth among such peers in points (566).
A name synonymous with Washington throughout recent memory, he was dealt to New Jersey during the 2017 offseason, unfortunately missing out on their Stanley Cup the following spring. One of those selections became Martin Fehérváry, a minute-eating shutdown defender who remains a key piece of the Capitals today.
Unable to replicate his breakout 58 point campaign in Newark, the forward was on the move again at the trade deadline, off to Boston where he found his stride as a key third liner. The winger posted 11 points on the Bruins’ playoff run, highlighted by his game-winning goal in the deciding first round series versus Toronto, as they went all the way to Game 7 of the Finals before falling to St. Louis.
Cashing in from his playoff efforts, Johansson inked a two-year contract with Buffalo worth $4.5MM per season. Only making it through one year with the Sabres, where he put up 30 points in 60 games, the next fall he was on the move again. Traded to the Wild for Eric Staal, it was a deal with salary in mind, and finding a fresh start for each veteran. He didn’t make much of an impact with Minnesota, moving on after 14 points in 36 games and signing a one year contract with the expansion Seattle Kraken for $1.5 million. Nobody then would have guessed that he’d ever have more to offer in the state of hockey years later.
Becoming a journeyman, he was traded by Seattle back to Washington at the 2022 trade deadline, but his Caps were sent packing by Florida in six games. The Capitals weren’t the only team intent on a reunion, as that summer he signed back with the Wild, where he’s been ever since. Johansson excelled on a line with Matt Boldy, keeping up his strong regular season play with three tallies against Colorado in the second round.
Affectionately known by fans as “MoJo”, Johansson was traded in-season three times during his career, a player always having value as a middle-six forward. At the same time, all the changes likely played a part in his decision to seek stability back home. It serves as a return to his original club, as a member of Färjestad from 2008-10, winning a league championship in 2009 before embarking on his long NHL career.
Johansson also represented his nation on the highest international stage, a member of Team Sweden in the Olympic Games both in 2014 and this past February. He took home silver 12 years ago, while skating in two games for the Swedes in Milan, coming away scoreless.
Coming back to his original Swedish club, Johansson will mentor Flyers prospect Jack Berglund, joining former NHLers such as Radim Zohorna and Victor Ejdsell. It’s rare that a player of his caliber enters the league at this point, and Johansson should immediately be a top SHL scorer, challenging the likes of Skelleftea forward Oscar Lindberg, another player with NHL experience who took the honors this year with 67 points in 52 games. Färjestad finished fifth in the league this season, sent packing by Rogle in the quarterfinals, and the addition of a forward who was getting second line minutes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs just last month will have huge implications for their club.
Meanwhile, assuming this is it for Johansson in the NHL, the Swede put together one of the best careers out of 2009 draftees, and opened the scoring of Game 5 against the Avalanche, in what was likely his last NHL contest.
Image Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
2026-27 Performance Bonus and 35+ Candidates
As NHL front offices gear up for free agency, managing the salary cap demands a delicate balance between risk and reward. While performance bonuses are often linked to elite rookies on entry-level contracts, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) adds two additional avenues for performance-based incentives: injury comeback deals and contracts for 35-year-old or older veterans. These mechanisms enable teams to secure impactful players with low base salary cap hits, effectively deferring financial obligations until later.
If a team ends the fiscal year with earned bonuses exceeding their remaining cap space, the excess funds are carried over into the next league year as a direct salary cap penalty. This can significantly impact teams near the cap limit or heavily relying on LTIR. PuckPedia has detailed the upcoming free agents who qualify for these specialized incentive structures for the 2026-27 season.
To qualify for a performance-bonus-eligible contract via the injury route, a player must have 400 or more career games and have spent 100 or more days on Injured Reserve during the previous season. This structure allows franchises to take low-risk gambles on proven assets, while the financial incentives toward active roster availability and durability rather than pure scoring production.
Six players fit this criteria heading into free agency, including Derek Forbort (VAN), Alexander Kerfoot (UTA) Patrik Laine (MON), Petr Mrazek (ANA), Matt Murray (SEA), and Tomas Nosek (FLA).
For a team looking for top-six offensive upside, a player like Laine could be highly coveted on a bonus-laden deal, while teams seeking goaltending depth or penalty-killing options could turn to turn to Mrazek, Forbort, or Nosek under this low-risk umbrella.
Contracts signed by players who will be 35 or older by July 1 of the contract year are also eligible for performance bonuses on one-year deals. Front offices frequently use these to protect against sudden age-related decline, tying mid-six-figure bonuses to basic longevity milestones—such as reaching 10, 40, or 60 games played—or team-oriented postseason success.
The upcoming free agent class has an extensive group of veteran forwards eligible for this structure, including Jamie Benn (DAL), Evgenii Dadonov (NJD), Nicolas Deslauriers (CAR), Lars Eller (OTT), Nick Foligno (MIN), Claude Giroux (OTT), Luke Glendening (PHI), Erik Haula (NSH), Adam Henrique (EDM), Marcus Johansson (MIN), Patrick Kane (DET), Anders Lee (NYI), Gustav Nyquist (WPG), Alex Ovechkin (WSH), David Perron (OTT), Corey Perry (TBL), Ryan Reaves (SJ), Reilly Smith (VGS), Jonathan Toews (WPG), Garrett Wilson (PHI), James van Riemsdyk (DET), and Mats Zuccarello (MIN).
The blue line also features a robust market of eligible 35+ defensemen who can weaponize these flexible agreements. This group includes Zach Bogosian (MIN), Brent Burns (COL), John Carlson (ANA), Ian Cole (UTA), Radko Gudas (ANA), Travis Hamonic (DET), Nick Jensen (OTT), Nick Leddy (SJ), Jeff Petry (MIN), Luke Schenn (BUF), and Brendan Smith (CBJ).
Contending teams could use performance bonuses to maximize rosters with high-profile franchise icons like Ovechkin, Benn, Giroux, and Kane eligible for a flexible, low-base-salary structure. However, general managers must be cautious. A player hitting a games-played milestone in late March could trigger a cap overage, restricting cap space at the trade deadline or forcing a painful penalty on the 2027-28 books.
Injury Notes: Wild, McDonagh, Huberdeau
The Minnesota Wild could have a few reinforcements for their upcoming game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. According to NHL reporter Jessi Pierce, Zach Bogosian, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Marcus Johansson all took part in Minnesota’s practice this morning.
Pierce went on to indicate that both Eriksson Ek and Johansson could return to the lineup tonight. Unfortunately, Bogosian and Boldy will remain on the sidelines. In the latter’s defense, given the stipulations of putting a player on the injured reserve, Boldy would be ineligible for tonight’s contest regardless of how he feels.
The Wild could certainly use the help. After having an outstanding record through November and December, Minnesota has stalled of late, managing a 4-4-2 record in January. If Eriksson Ek and Johansson return tonight, the Wild would have two of their top four scorers back in the lineup.
Additional injury notes:
- The long-awaited return of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh is on the horizon. According to team insider Erik Erlendsson, McDonagh’s recovery timeline has been upgraded to day-to-day, and head coach Jon Cooper guaranteed that he would play before the upcoming Olympic break. Due to varying injuries, the Lightning have been without McDonagh for most of the 2025-26 campaign. The 16-year veteran has registered four goals and eight points in 18 games on the year, averaging 20 minutes of ice time per game.
- According to Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, winger Jonathan Huberdeau will return to the lineup tomorrow night for the Calgary Flames. The former Calder Trophy winner missed the Flames’ most recent game due to a lower-body injury.
Injury Updates: Wild, Ristolainen, Jones
The injuries just keep piling up for Minnesota. Already missing several key regulars, Marcus Johansson can now be added to the list as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter links) that the veteran is among the list of players who aren’t with the team on their three-game road trip that began this afternoon. The 35-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury. Johansson has had a resurgent season, notching 13 goals and 21 assists in 46 games, matching his point total from 2024-25 in 26 fewer appearances. With his absence, the Wild are now without their entire second line for this trip.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Also from Russo’s note, the injury to winger Matt Boldy that landed him on IR is a nagging issue that head coach John Hynes feels will only keep him out of the lineup for a week or two. Boldy is Minnesota’s top goalscorer with 27 on the season and is only one point behind Kirill Kaprizov for the team lead in points, earning him a spot on Team USA for the Olympics. With this short timeline for a return, he should be good to go for that event.
- Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will miss at least the next four games as he has been ruled out of action through their upcoming road trip, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Injuries have limited Ristolainen to only 13 games this season. He’s averaging just under 21 minutes per night of action when in the lineup but the lack of availability certainly doesn’t help his value at a time the team is believed to be open to trading him.
- Earlier this week, the Penguins assigned defenseman Caleb Jones to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning stint. Unfortunately, Jones suffered an upper-body injury in his first game in the minors, according to Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis (Twitter link). As a result, he was out of the lineup on Friday. There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury. Jones remains on Pittsburgh’s active roster while on assignment to the minors but if he’s going to be out much longer, he’ll likely be recalled and placed on injured reserve.
Wild Expected To Activate Marcus Foligno From IR
Marcus Foligno will be back in the Wild lineup tonight versus the Capitals, head coach John Hynes told reporters (including Jessi Pierce of NHL.com). They don’t have a roster spot available to remove him from injured reserve, so one of their many banged-up skaters will have to take his place on IR. That will likely be defenseman Jonas Brodin, who’s out tonight and has already missed two games with an undisclosed injury. Placing him on IR would only rule him out for tonight’s game; he’d be eligible to return Thursday against the Blue Jackets.
Foligno sustained a lower-body injury against the Blackhawks back on Nov. 26. He was listed as week-to-week and makes his return tonight with just one full practice under his belt, although that’s understandable given how many bodies Minnesota is missing from its forward group.
The 34-year-old leaves behind Vinnie Hinostroza and Mats Zuccarello on IR. On top of those two, Marcus Johansson sustained a lower-body injury in Sunday’s trouncing of the Bruins and is listed as day-to-day, Hynes said.
Foligno’s lower-body issue, plus an upper-body one that cost him one game earlier in the year, has limited him to 23 appearances this season. Long viewed as one of the better defensive wingers in the league, he always maintained enough point production to warrant consistent top-nine minutes.
That hasn’t been the case this year. He’s yet to score a goal and has just two assists.
He has 21 shots on goal and is bound to shed his poor shooting luck at some point, but his 0.91 shots on goal per game are still the lowest of his 15-year career. His average ice time of 13:07 per game is his lowest since the 2018-19 campaign, and he’s no longer featuring on Minnesota’s top penalty kill unit, losing that job to Matt Boldy.
Still, an experienced top-nine option is a boon to a Wild group that’s still rolling out names like Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Ben Jones, and Tyler Pitlick in its bottom six, regardless of his offensive struggles this season. Those three have combined for only two points in 41 games.
Also missing from the Wild lineup tonight will be veteran rearguard Zach Bogosian, Hynes said. Like Johansson, he’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained against Boston.
Morning Notes: Hughes, Pitlick, Jiricek, Johansson
More information rolls in regarding the Vancouver Canucks’ trade negotiations involving defenseman Quinn Hughes. We now know that several teams were scared of parting with significant value due to the perception that Hughes is far from a guarantee to sign a long-term extension.
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Hughes is keeping an “open mind” when it comes to re-upping with Minnesota on July 1st, 2026. Russo noted that Hughes believes the Wild have “an amazing core.” He also shared that Hughes is happy with how close the team is to Michigan, and for being the organization that actually stepped up to get him, regardless of his perceived hesitancy to sign an extension.
Now, unlike other teams, the Wild have more than six months to convince Hughes to sign immediately when eligible, and even longer if both sides are comfortable with him entering the 2026-27 season as a pending unrestricted free agent. They got off to a good start last night, beating the Boston Bruins by four goals, with Hughes scoring his first goal with the team in the third period.
Additional morning notes:
- Likely because they’ve added forward Samuel Poulin to their AHL roster, the Bakersfield Condors connected with the Rockford IceHogs on an AHL trade yesterday. According to an announcement from Rockford, the Condors have traded forward Rem Pitlick to the IceHogs for defenseman Tyson Feist. Rem, cousin of Tyler Pitlick, is a veteran of 132 NHL contests, scoring 21 goals and 54 points. Meanwhile, Feist has only played in the ECHL this season, scoring one goal and seven points in 14 games for the Indy Fuel.
- Back in Minnesota, there were a few negatives that came from last night’s contest. Both defenseman David Jiříček and forward Marcus Johansson left yesterday’s game with lower-body injuries. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the Wild didn’t offer any updates for either player during the post-game media availability. Minnesota doesn’t play again until tomorrow, so more information should be provided before then.
Wild Sign Marcus Johansson To One-Year Contract
The Minnesota Wild have signed veteran forward Marcus Johansson to a one-year, $800K contract for the 2025-26 season. The deal was first reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic. Johansson was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, after concluding a two-year, $4MM contract signed with Minnesota in 2023.
Johansson maintained his modest scoring through his last two years in Minnesota. He posted 11 goals, 34 points, and a minus-seven in 72 games this season – all a slight improvement over the 11 goals, 30 points, and minus-15 he posted in 78 games last year. Johansson also contributed two assists in five postseason games this year, marking his third-consecutive postseason appearance with two points – though he’s alternated appearances in and out of the playoffs.
Johansson will continue onto his 16th NHL season with this deal. He’ll also be set up to reach his 1,000th career game in Minnesota – currently sat just 17 games back from the milestone. Reaching that mark will put a pin on what’s been a tremendous career for the versatile Johansson. He was originally drafted 24th-overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, and has carried his slick skating and role-filling talents through tenures with six different clubs.
His career-year stands as the 2016-17 season, when Johansson posted 24 goals and 58 points while appearing in all 82 games of the Capitals’ season. It’s the only season he has played in every game. Johansson moved out of Washington in the following summer, and has stayed on a steady but manageable decline ever since. He’s routinely rivaled 10 goals and 30 points through each of the last eight seasons, fighting through injury and shifting lineup roles. His only return to scoring prowess came back in Washington in 2022-23. After joining the team partway through the prior season, Johansson was able to pot 28 points in 60 games before another mid-season move – but then rounded out his year with 18 points in 20 games with Minnesota, good for 46 combined points on the year.
Johansson isn’t likely to challenge those scoring heights in what could be his final season in the NHL. Instead, he’ll likely return to a middling role on the Wild’s third-line, where he’ll offer a veteran presence and shifty backup in the case of injuries.
Team Sweden Announces 2025 World Championship Roster
Team Sweden has announced their roster for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championships. The ‘Tre Konor’ will look to finish higher than third place in the international tournament for the first time since 2018.
The team will look similar to the one Sweden brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond, and Mika Zibanejad will reprise their roles as Sweden’s top forwards, while Rasmus Andersson and Jonas Brodin will lead the defensive core.
Unfortunately, the team will be without forward William Eklund for the tournament due to offseason wrist surgery. Sweden is expected to announce Eklund’s replacement in the coming days. The rest of Team Sweden’s roster is as follows:
F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Anton Bengtsson (Rögle BK)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Max Friberg (Frölunda HC)
F Jesper Frödén (ZSC Lions)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundeström (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)
G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markström (Devils)
G Arvid Söderblom (Blackhawks)
Central Notes: Heiskanen, Johansson, Wiesblatt
Before the Round One matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars shifted to Denver for Games 3 and 4, there was some belief defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return to the Stars lineup in one of those contests, given he was traveling with the team. Heiskanen was not activated, and that will not change this evening either.
According to Brien Rea of Victory+, it’s already been confirmed that Heiskanen won’t return for Game 5 as the series moves back to American Airlines Center. Still, Heiskanen is considered on a day-to-day recovery timeline after already returning to the ice for practice, and should be back in the lineup any day now.
Fortunately, the series isn’t as lopsided as it should be for the Heiskanen-less Stars. Despite being outscored by a margin of six and having only had the lead for 62 seconds in the entire series, Dallas has still managed to keep the series split two games apiece.
Other Central notes:
- The Minnesota Wild could get a boost to their forward core for an important Game 5. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Wild winger Marcus Johansson has returned to practice after missing Game 4 with a lower-body injury. Still, Johansson wasn’t as impactful as some of his peers through the first three games of the series, as he only tallied one assist while averaging 13:54 of ice time per game.
- The AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, affiliated with the NHL’s Nashville Predators, have inked a forward to a rare three-year AHL contract beginning in the 2025-26 AHL season. Oasiz Wiesblatt, brother of Ozzy Wiesblatt, is joining the club from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. The younger Wiesblatt recently finished his fourth full major junior season as captain of the Tigers, scoring 36 goals and 103 points in 66 games.