NHL free agency opens today, less than a week since Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to the Panthers.

The offseason comes at you fast, and with all of it packed into a short period of time and more extra money to spend since before the pandemic, general managers are not quite sure what’s to come when the free agent frenzy gets underway.

“It’s going to be unpredictable, really,” Sharks GM Mike Grier said Saturday on NHL Network.

Sixteen seats at the playoff table, but nearly all of the league’s 32 teams will make a signing of some sort, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be committed to players this week. This summer marks the first big salary cap increase since 2019 — a $4.5 million bump to $88 million — and there is no shortage of top players who will cash in as part of a free agent class headlined by longtime Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Cup champion Patrick Kane.

More trades are also in the offing, after Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman called some of the activity at the draft over the weekend “eye opening” and moves he didn’t see coming.

“Every team’s got a little bit more cap space,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said. “And we’re seeing where things are going to be (going up) in the next two or three years.”

A couple of teams’ front offices are staying in Las Vegas following the draft to handle free agency from there. That includes the Caps, who have been one of the busiest teams lately, trading for center Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson.

“We’re retooling and adding prospects and competing,” GM Brian MacLellan said.

Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, fresh off helping the Panthers win their first title in franchise history, are among the experienced defensemen available, along with Brady Skjei, three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez and Sean Walker, a trade deadline pickup by the Avalanche. Brett Pesce, a longtime teammate of Skjei’s with the Hurricanes, has been linked to the Devils after they cleared room for him.

The pool of forward talent available is stronger, even if Sam Reinhart stays with the Panthers following his 57-goal season and Jake Guentzel signs with the Lightning after they acquired the high-scoring winger’s rights. Kane alone, even at age 35, could have a half-dozen or more suitors after being nearly a point-a-game producer last season for the Wings, and a reunion with Rangers cannot be ruled out among his many options.

Similar interest should materialize for Marchessault, an original member of the Golden Knights who is coming off scoring a career-best 42 goals.

The goaltending market has been playing out for some time now, with the Devils acquiring Jacob Markstrom, the Kings getting Darcy Kuemper and the Bruins sending ’23 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to the Senators for Joonas Korpisalo and more. Plenty more teams need help in net, including the Wings and Leafs.