Leading scorers and franchise faces. Bridge candidates and budding superstars that need to be locked up before the big breakout. And forwards galore.<\/p>\n
The 2026 class of impending restricted free agents offers a chance to bet on the future and squeeze value down the road.<\/p>\n
True, several potential RFAs ducked the drama by signing well before July 1 \u2014 namely Utah\u2019s Logan Cooley, Montreal\u2019s Lane Hutson, Dallas\u2019s Thomas Harley, Anaheim\u2019s Jackson LaCombe, Calgary\u2019s Dustin Wolf, Ottawa\u2019s Shane Pinto, Buffalo\u2019s Josh Doan, St. Louis\u2019s Philip Broberg, and Chicago\u2019s Frank Nazar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But plenty of intriguing young talent remains unsigned for 2026-27.<\/p>\n
As these RFAs look to bank off their platform campaigns, and managers wonder how to spend their spiking salary-cap dollars, plenty of tense negotiations (or a couple trades?) are still on deck.<\/p>\n
Remember, eight-year extensions will soon be nonexistent, so there is an incentive to lock up core pieces as soon as possible for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
So, before qualifying offers are due in June, here\u2019s where things stand with the top 12 RFAs of 2026. <\/p>\n
Age on July 1:\u00a020
Position:\u00a0Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$950,000
Arbitration rights:\u00a0No
Bargaining chips:\u00a0First-overall draft pick. Two-time world junior gold medallist. Calder Trophy champ. Whole point of the rebuild.<\/p>\n
The latest:\u00a0The way Connor Bedard is making his platform campaign his best yet, all pressure shifts to the Chicago Blackhawks to lock up the unique talent for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll get done when it gets done,\u201d Bedard said, seemingly unbothered, at the outset of the season.<\/p>\n
With an eight-year term still an option, GM Kyle Davidson must try to find an AAV that the player can agree to for the duration of his prime. Anything from $12.5 million to $15 million has been tossed out there.<\/p>\n
Bedard, of course, could opt to double-dip \u2014 the way a young Auston Matthews did as an RFA \u2014 and attempt to return to the negotiating table in his mid-20s. That risk could maximize career earnings.<\/p>\n
The player has been steadfast in professing his love for Chicago, despite individual and collective disappointment in missing the playoffs for all three seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a pretty mild-mannered guy. And if I looked a little sad on the bench or something, maybe people can take it out of context,\u201d Bedard said, back in April. \u201cI\u2019ve said it so many times: I love being here and the city, the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davidson has said the line of communication between Bedard\u2019s agent, Newport\u2019s Greg Landry, is open. But surely the spiking cap and shifting landscape are giving Bedard reason to take a breath and be calculated here.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made his thoughts very clear at the end of (last) season, and subsequently in other interviews, that he\u2019s committed to Chicago and wants to be here long-term. And we obviously want him here long-term, so there\u2019s mutual agreement there,\u201d said Davidson, who would\u2019ve\u00a0loved to take care of this file in July<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re able to get something done (in-season), that would be fantastic,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cBut if we don\u2019t, I think it\u2019s probably more so out of the uncertainty around how the league and the system are going to be growing or impacted moving forward than anything player-team related.\u201d<\/p>\n As Bedard hangs career numbers \u2014 and is the favourite to succeed Nick Foligno as captain \u2014 extension talks, Davidson conceded in March, will likely get pushed until the off-season.<\/p>\n Management believes the extension is a matter of when, not if.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a026 The latest:\u00a0Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill reportedly explored the trade value of Robertson \u2014 who is tracking another point-per-game campaign \u2014 last summer but would prefer to find a way to keep his leading scorer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe negotiating market right now with the players in the league has come to a standstill, and it\u2019s a standstill, too, with Jason,\u201d Nill said in September, per\u00a0The Dallas Morning News<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Jason, I don\u2019t blame him. He\u2019s not a UFA, he\u2019s an RFA. He wants to see what the market is. We want to see what the market is. So, things are really kind of on hold, but we communicated all summer. They know our stance. They know what they\u2019re looking for, and I\u2019m confident that we\u2019re going to get something done.\u201d<\/p>\n Nill said the idea of trading Robertson was overblown. Yet while pending RFA Thomas Harley was extended relatively quickly, the uncertainty around Robertson\u2019s long-term future in Texas lingers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really bother me,\u201d Robertson told\u00a0NHL.com<\/a>. \u201cWhat is important is this year for us as a team. The window is open, we\u2019re trying to win it this year, and then we\u2019ll look at (the contract).\u201d<\/p>\n While it still makes sense for both sides to continue the relationship, Robertson\u2019s price tag is on the rise.<\/p>\n A maximum-length, eight-year extension for the winger could match teammate Mikko Rantanen\u2019s $12 million. And Robertson\u2019s new agent, Octagon\u2019s Andy Scott,\u00a0knows it<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe the tax situation in Texas can help Nill out.<\/p>\n In March, Nill acknowledged that he spoke with Scott during the Olympics and neither side is rushing to advance negotiations forward until the offseason.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a021 The latest:\u00a0No doubt, the Anaheim Ducks see the Swedish pivot as, uh, pivotal to their strategic ascent in the Pacific.\u00a0<\/p>\n But general manager Pat Verbeek has generally taken a patient approach when it comes to intensifying negotiations with his RFAs. That\u2019s why the timing of defenceman LaCombe\u2019s early whopper came as a surprise.<\/p>\n LaCombe had arbitration rights coming, though. Carlsson does not. Neither did centre Mason MacTavish, who missed the start of camp and didn\u2019t sign his post-ELC deal until Sept. 27. (McTavish\u2019s delayed start to 2025-26 hasn\u2019t exactly served the player or the team well.)<\/p>\n And so, the understanding is that while Carlsson should become Anaheim\u2019s highest-paid player, Verbeek isn\u2019t rushing the process with his many UFAs and RFAs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole mindset is just, let\u2019s just play hockey, let\u2019s get in the playoffs, and then we\u2019ll let all that stuff take care of itself at the appropriate time,\u201d Verbeek\u00a0told NHL.com<\/a>\u2019s Mike Zeisberger on March 11.<\/p>\n The team would prefer to go eight years, as Utah did with Cooley, but does Carlsson instead push for eight figures on a four- or five-year extension?<\/p>\n The good news for Verbeek here is that he has the budget to satisfy both Carlsson and fellow RFA Cutter Gauthier<\/a>.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a022 The latest:\u00a0Rejuvenated by his trade west from Philadelphia, Gauthier is filling the net and playing a major role in the Ducks\u2019 rapid rise to relevance. His age aligns perfectly with a contention window that appears to be opening soon.<\/p>\n Despite the fine fit, however, Verbeek is treating the Gauthier negotiations like Carlsson\u2019s. Which is to say, they\u2019re not happening \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, they\u2019re not. Right now, we\u2019ve kind of pushed the talks off,\u201d Verbeek said on Nov. 21, when he was interviewed on a regional broadcast. \u201cFor everybody just to kind of see where the market\u2019s going to kind of settle and see if there\u2019s any other things that sneak out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut right now, we are in a pause, and I really don\u2019t want to get into too hard of it, because I want the players to keep playing well and not thinking about their contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n Rest assured, with Verbeek\u2019s balance sheet quite open through Gauthier and Carlsson\u2019s prime, those raises will be juicy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gauthier is cruising towards his first 35-goal, 60-point campaign.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a025 The latest:\u00a0Ripping a hat trick for the Vegas Golden Knights on Opening Night, the Russian import made an early platform-year statement:\u00a0Time to get paid.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout a year and a half ago, I was a rotational player,\u201d the forward told\u00a0NHL.com<\/a> International. \u201cI played in 47 games (in 2023-24), and the following season I was in the lineup every night. That\u2019s where the better stats came from \u2014 more ice time and being on the first power-play unit. That\u2019s what made the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Dorofeyev became an everyday NHLer in 2024-25, posting career highs in virtually every category and leading Vegas in both shots (254) and shot attempts (436).\u00a0<\/p>\n The top-six difference-maker is one of the league\u2019s best bargains, but that will change this summer.<\/p>\n That the Knights will already have six forwards making between $5 million and $13.5 million on the books for 2026-27 poses a hurdle for GM Kelly McCrimmon.<\/p>\n A short-term deal could march Dorofeyev to UFA. A longer one may not be affordable without moving a player out, or to long-term injured reserve.<\/p>\n Estimates on a two-year extension fall at $5.6 million AAV. At eight years, you\u2019re looking at $8 million or more.<\/p>\n Complicating matters is\u00a0impending UFA<\/a>\u00a0Rasmus Andersson, whom most assume will re-up in the desert.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once again, McCrimmon is slammed against the cap ceiling and will need to get ruthless and\/or creative.<\/p>\n \u201cDorofeyev is in for not just a raise, but the most significant bump in pay for any Golden Knight ever,\u201d writes Ken Boehlke of\u00a0SinBin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a021 The latest:\u00a0Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell and Fantilli\u2019s agent, Pat Brisson, have engaged in initial discussions but decided to let the situation simmer until after the Olympic break.<\/p>\n Waddell had struck a cautious tone regarding his No. 1 centre during\u00a0a late-October appearance on\u00a0<\/a>Real Kyper & Bourne<\/a>, noting that while\u00a0point totals are important for this wave of platform players, earning the coaches\u2019 trust and contributing to winning is imperative to the franchise about to cut the cheque.<\/p>\n A plus player in 2024-25, Fantilli has dipped to the negative side of the ledger, but he has rebounded to better than a 20-goal, 50-point pace after a sluggish start.<\/p>\n The price for young, gifted centremen isn\u2019t coming down. With due respect to UFAs Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner, Fantilli is Waddell\u2019s top re-signing priority.<\/p>\n Safe to say, the Blue Jackets can ill afford to mishandle a talent of Fantilli\u2019s calibre if they want to increase their relevance in the sporting landscape.<\/p>\n Should Columbus make the playoffs, Fantilli will be granted another stage to prove his worth.<\/p>\n Age on July 1:\u00a023 The latest:\u00a0When Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland swung through Ontario this fall and banged out a new contract for pending UFA Adrian Kempe, he also met with Clarke\u2019s agent, Randy Robitaille.<\/p>\n Those negotiations are said to be in a preliminary state, but the idea of Clarke eventually taking the mantle from veteran Drew Doughty as the club\u2019s No. 1 right-shot defenceman is a sound one.<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Left wing
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$7.75 million
Arbitration rights:\u00a0Yes
Bargaining chips:\u00a0World junior and world championships medallist. Two-time 40-goal man. Reached 109 points. Prime threat for a team in Cup-winning mode.<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$950,000
Arbitration rights:\u00a0No
Bargaining chips:\u00a0Second-overall pick in 2023. 2025 world championships medallist. Big, 20-goal, two-way centremen are only getting better.<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Left wing
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$950,000
Arbitration rights:\u00a0No
Bargaining chips:\u00a0Fifth-overall draft pick. World junior and world championships gold medallist. 20-goal sniper. Anaheim traded a star to obtain him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Left wing \/ Right wing
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$1.835 million
Arbitration rights:\u00a0Yes
Bargaining chips:\u00a0Hot off a 35-goal, 52-point breakout campaign. Valuable power-play asset. Keeps filling the net.<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$950,000
Arbitration rights:\u00a0No
Bargaining chips:\u00a0Third-overall pick. World junior and world championships gold medallist. Broke out with a 31-goal, 54-point, 82-game performance as a sophomore.<\/p>\n
Position:\u00a0Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit:\u00a0$863,334
Arbitration rights:\u00a0No
Bargaining chips:\u00a0Top-10 draft pick. World junior gold medallist. Building on breakout 2024-25 campaign in which he posted career bests in goals (five), assists (28), and plus-minus (plus-13).<\/p>\n