So, with Nikolaj Ehlers signing with the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, we’re close to being through all of the notable free agents of 2025.

Onto next season?

The 2026 class of unrestricted free agents (and restricted free agents) is at this point incredibly star-studded, especially at the top of the group, which includes a handful of the best offensive players in the NHL.

As we saw this year, many of these players are likely to extend with the teams they’re with, thinning out who makes it to July 1. But with the salary cap rising dramatically to $104 million, there is going to be even more money in the system, and it will be incredibly lucrative for any of these top 20 to go to market and field offers.

Connor McDavid, Edmonton: The biggest fish of them all. It feels unlikely the Oilers captain is going to walk for nothing as a free agent a year from now after back-to-back trips to the final, but there is pressure on Edmonton’s front office to show the face of their franchise that they can continue to improve and contend in this window. A short-term extension in the fall feels like the most likely outcome at this point, but nothing is settled.
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota: Another face of a franchise — and “the first true superstar in Wild history” — set to cash in in a big way. Kaprizov feels likely to surpass the $14 million a season cap hit that Leon Draisaitl signed for last fall, given the way the cap is going up, and the good news is Minnesota has the cap room to make that happen.
Jack Eichel, Vegas: The second pick in 2015, behind McDavid, Eichel has made a remarkable recovery from major back surgery four years ago to reaffirm he’s one of the top centermen in the league. That includes leading Vegas to a championship in 2023 and putting up a career high 94 points this past season. Eichel is eighth among NHL centers in points per game over the past three seasons, tied with Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, and at only 28 years old, appears to have a lot of good hockey left in him. It would be shocking to see him make it to market, given the Golden Knights are one of the most desirable teams to play for in the league right now.
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg: Just five wingers have scored more goals than Connor over the past four seasons, and all of them, except Kaprizov, have already been paid very handsomely in their careers (the others include David Pastrnak, Alex Ovechkin, Mikko Rantanen and William Nylander). On paper, Connor feels like potentially the most likely of this top four group to make it to unrestricted free agency, as an American playing in Winnipeg, but the Jets have managed to re-sign a lot of their top players lately and should again be a top regular-season team with Connor Hellebuyck in goal. Playoff success would certainly help entice him to stay.
Artemi Panarin, NY Rangers: One of the biggest UFA signings ever in the NHL’s salary cap era back in 2019, when he landed a deal for seven years, $11.6 million, Panarin will be 34 in October but still has enough in the tank to take another run at the open market if he wants. The fact that he piled up 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24 (and has more points than all but three players leaguewide since 2019-20) will only help his case if he decides to make it to the open market.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida: Sure, he’ll be 37, but it’s not hard to imagine a team still willing to take a chance on “Russian Gumby” given the way he’s stepped up in the past three postseasons. Knowing the Panthers, they’ll give him the ol’ Del Boca Vista long-term deal — taking him well into his 40s — to stay.
Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles: The 28-year-old has taken the next step as one of the NHL’s top offensive producers, putting up three seasons in the last four with 35-plus goals. The Kings’ first-round pick back in 2014 feels likely to extend to stay in L.A., but he is going to cost as much as double the bargain bridge deal he signed for $5.5 million a season three years ago.
Alex Ovechkin, Washington: This is probably the end for the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, but you can’t rule anything out with how much of an ageless wonder Ovechkin has been in his career. He’s 40 in the fall and has earned the most money in league history (more than $160 million), so there’s that to consider. Plus, there’s a pull back to Russia that could see him play in the KHL for his swan song, the way other Russian stars have in the past. Maybe he can go for the all-time goal record there, too?
Anthony Stolarz, Toronto: Time for a couple of interesting goalies to mention in here. Stolarz will be an interesting extension candidate with the Maple Leafs, as he’s been outstanding when healthy but has also had a lot of injuries on his mammoth frame. Despite only 80 appearances, Stolarz is sixth in the entire NHL in goals saved above expected over the last three years, putting him up among the marquee names (and highest-paid) goaltenders in the league. If he has another big season, he could really cash in.
Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota: Gustavsson has played just 169 regular-season NHL games at this point, but his track record is enough of late to command pretty big starter dollars under the rising cap if he has another strong season. His numbers aren’t as sparkling as Stolarz’s, but he’s taken on more of a starter’s load and is clearly showing up among the top 15 or so starters leaguewide right now.
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles
Alex Tuch, Buffalo
Martin Necas, Colorado
John Carlson, Washington
Mike Matheson, Montreal
Rasmus Andersson, Calgary
Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey
Nick Schmaltz, Utah
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
Jake Walman, Edmonton

Honorable mentions: Patrick Kane (Detroit), Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton), Stuart Skinner (Edmonton), Frederik Andersen (Carolina), Mats Zuccarello (Minnesota), Mason Marchment (Seattle), Boone Jenner (Columbus), Claude Giroux (Ottawa), Jordan Eberle (Seattle), Anders Lee (NY Islanders), Patrik Laine (Montreal), Cam Fowler (St. Louis)

Connor Bedard is set to become a restricted free agent after the 2025-26 season and became eligible to sign an extension as of this past Tuesday. (Marc DesRosiers / Imagn Images)The Top 20 Restricted Free Agents 

One area where the rising cap clearly added pressure to the 2025 free agent class was the RFAs. Teams were forced to either pay their young players more on their second or third contracts or deal them elsewhere, as evidenced by the Noah Dobson, K’Andre Miller and JJ Peterka situations. (Plus: Bowen Byram at some point, too.)

The offer-sheet threat is also more real than ever, after what the Blues did last season, which is helping inflate these deals.

Here are the most significant names set to potentially become RFAs in 2026, as of today. Again, many of these players will sign extensions between now and this time next year, but this gives you an idea of the work left for GMs of these teams to do.

Connor Bedard, Chicago
Lane Hutson, Montreal
Dustin Wolf, Calgary
Thomas Harley, Dallas
Jason Robertson, Dallas
Simon Edvinsson, Detroit
Logan Cooley, Utah
Adam Fantilli, Columbus
Leo Carlsson, Anaheim
Dylan Holloway, St. Louis
Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg
Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas
Philip Broberg, St. Louis
Connor McMichael, Washington
Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim
Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim
Michael Kesselring, Buffalo
Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles
Shane Pinto, Ottawa
Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus

Honorable mentions: Spencer Knight (Chicago), Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim), Olen Zellweger (Anaheim), Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia), Cole Sillinger (Columbus), Zack Bolduc (Montreal)

For an even more comprehensive list of 2026 UFAs and RFAs, check PuckPedia’s player dashboard.

(Top photos of Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov: Codie McLachlan and Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)