Perhaps we should\u2019ve known better.<\/p>\n
It was fun to hype up the epic-on-paper NHL unrestricted free agent class of 2026, but did the limp 2025 offseason teach us nothing? In the rising-salary-cap world, countless big-ticket UFAs re-signed before going to market, from Brock Nelson to Matt Duchene to John Tavares to Sam Bennett. The message: many high-end players don\u2019t want to leave the comfort of their familiar franchises if it can be helped.<\/p>\n
And that was in a landscape where the cap rose from $88 to $95.5 million. With the cap projected at $104 million for 2026-27 and $113.5 million for 2027-28, it\u2019s no wonder so many of 2026\u2019s top UFAs have re-upped over the past couple months.<\/p>\n
Kirill Kaprizov. Connor McDavid. Kyle Connor. Jack Eichel. Martin Necas. Name the elite-tier UFA and he\u2019s off the board already. So whom does that leave at the moment?<\/p>\n
Over the summer, we previewed the top 10 UFAs of 2026. Now, we take an updated look and grow the list to 25, with the understanding that several of the best options will re-sign in the weeks and months to come.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer 1: Reminder that Anze Kopitar plans to retire after this season. He will thus not appear on this list.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer 2: I\u2019ve excluded Alex Ovechkin given he\u2019ll only re-sign with the Washington Capitals and nowhere else should he decide to continue his NHL career.<\/p>\n
(Ages are as of July 1, 2026)<\/p>\n
Age: 29
2025-26 cap hit: $4,500,000<\/p>\n
Kempe\u2019s current deal at $4.5 million per is criminal. He\u2019s scored between 28 and 41 goals in four consecutive seasons, bringing an edge along with his sniping ability and elevating his game in the postseason, where he averages 44 goals per 82 games in his career. There\u2019s a premium on players of his ilk, and we can expect him to land something in the $10-11-million AAV range unless he signs in a no-tax market. Kings GM Ken Holland does have a pretty strong history of retaining his top players (and some not-so-great players) on long-term pacts.<\/p>\n
Age: 34
2025-26 cap hit: $11,642,857<\/p>\n
Panarin will go down as one of the most successful big-ticket UFA signings of all time, joining the likes of Zdeno Chara and Marian Hossa. Over the first six seasons of the Bread Man\u2019s seven-year pact with the Broadway Blueshirts, only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon had more points. Panarin has been named a first-team All-Star twice and finished top-five in the Hart Trophy vote twice as a Ranger, too. But his future feels cloudy. Panarin will turn 35 next October and has yet to win a Stanley Cup in his career; if the Rangers, who missed the playoffs last season and have struggled to score this season, don\u2019t reverse course and become a contender again, does Panarin want to re-up on a sinking ship? And from Rangers GM Chris Drury\u2019s perspective, would it be risky to re-sign a declining Panarin? It might make more sense to cash him out for a major haul approaching the 2026 Trade Deadline.<\/p>\n
Age: 30
2025-26 cap hit: $4,750,000<\/p>\n
After the 2024-25 season wrapped, Tuch stated publicly he loved being a Sabre and would be willing to re-sign. But how does he feel a few months later with his team no closer to ending its playoff drought at an NHL-record 14 seasons? If he and the Sabres don\u2019t strike a deal, he\u2019ll be one of the hottest commodities approaching the Trade Deadline as a big-bodied scorer with a strong two-way game. The two sides couldn\u2019t get anything done before the season and have tabled talks for now<\/a>, which doesn\u2019t bode well for Buffalo keeping him.<\/p>\n Age: 37 Remember when \u2018Bob\u2019 had one of the NHL\u2019s worst contracts a few years back? Now he\u2019s a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Panthers, a certified stud clutch goaltender, a 400-game winner and, having won two Vezina Trophies before signing with the Cats, a surefire Hall of Famer. Who would\u2019ve expected he could ever flirt with another $10-million AAV on a contract? A goaltending-starved wannabe contender would likely pay him that much on a short-term deal next year. But if Florida continues keeping the band together and inking players to team-friendly pacts that break the game, we can expect Bob to re-sign for considerably less. Could we see two or three years at a $7-million AAV? What about a \u201clong-term\u201d contract similar to Marchand\u2019s, guaranteed to land \u2018Bob\u2019 on LTIR halfway through?\u00a0As coach Paul Maurice said a few months back<\/a>, \u201cThe future of the Florida Panthers is Sergei Bobrovsky.\u201d They made that pretty clear when they traded Spencer Knight.<\/p>\n Age: 29 Well, at least the Flames\u2019 struggles have made things less complicated. If they had remained a bubble contender trying to break through after missing the 2024-25 playoffs on a tiebreaker, Andersson might\u2019ve had to be an \u201cown rental.\u201d But with Calgary taking residence in the Pacific Division basement and looking like a lottery team so far this season, Andersson is a virtual lock to get moved. The question is whether an extension will be baked into a trade or if he\u2019ll go somewhere this winter as a pure rental and go to market in July.<\/p>\n Age: 30 Tallying between 20 and 23 goals and between 59 and 63 points four years in a row, Schmaltz had established himself as a reliable \u201cyou know exactly what you\u2019re getting\u201d secondary scorer. On an ascending Utah team that rolls multiple dangerous lines now, Schmaltz is teasing a higher ceiling just in time for a contract year. Sort of. He\u2019s produced as a point-per-game player, give or take, for extended stretches before, particularly in his injury-shortened 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, but this time he\u2019s doing it at the start of a season. He\u2019s typically a much more productive player in the second half. If he can deliver a wire-to-wire consistent campaign, he\u2019ll set career highs across the board just in time for his walk year.<\/p>\n Age: 36 You could make a case for excluding Carlson for the same reason I did Ovechkin. Carlson is a Capitals institution, by far the franchise leader in points among defensemen and soon to be second on Washington\u2019s games list among all positions. He can still quarterback a power play and move the puck. He\u2019s extremely active in the community with his charity work. It would be a surprise if he finished his career anywhere but D.C., but it seems the Caps are taking a wait-and-see approach<\/a> to their 2026 offseason, so it\u2019s not an absolute zero percent chance that he goes to market.<\/p>\n Age: 32 The versatile Matheson was a higher-end offensive creator when needed for that role and, once Lane Hutson arrived, became more of a veteran presence and all-situations minute muncher. Matheson remains extremely valuable to the Habs and is building chemistry with Noah Dobson on their top pair. There\u2019s a risk of paying Matheson for his impending decline years on his next deal, which will likely carry an AAV in the $7-million range<\/a>. But even young, rising teams need some veterans, and the Habs will be free of Patrik Laine\u2019s $8.7-million AAV next summer, meaning they shouldn\u2019t be in a bind. They can likely afford to re-sign Matheson and still hunt for that elusive No. 2 center.`<\/p>\n Age: 33 Jenner, a heart-and-soul player and the Blue Jackets captain, hasn\u2019t logged a Stanley Cup playoff game since 2019-20. That\u2019s feels cruel. He\u2019s built for postseason hockey. If Columbus falls out of contention by late winter, there will be a feeding frenzy for his services approaching the Trade Deadline. The same will be true if he goes to market next July. On the other hand: he\u2019s the franchise\u2019s career games leader and hasn\u2019t seemed interested in leaving before. The bet here is an extension gets done, but if Columbus\u2019 playoff push stalls again, you have to wonder how many years Jenner can wait until he plays meaningful spring games.<\/p>\n Age: 39
2025-26 cap hit: $10,000,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $4,550,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $5,850,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $8,000,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $4,875,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $3,750,000<\/p>\n
2025-26 cap hit: $6,100,000<\/p>\n