Heading into the 2025-26 season, there was plenty of anticipation about the upcoming UFA class, but now that most of the big names have signed extensions, the talk is turning towards a stacked RFA class.
The NHL will have an exciting summer beginning with free agency on July 1, but the hectic nature of what has been labelled “Free Agent Frenzy” may have less to do with unrestricted free agents and more to do with youngsters coming off their entry-level contracts who qualify for restricted free agency.
With the salary cap skyrocketing over the next few seasons, most clubs have money to burn. But this fall has seen most of the potential big UFA targets (Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Martin Necas, Jack Eichel, and Kyle Connor) getting locked up, leaving Artemi Panarin and Alex Tuch as the top names to potentially hit the open market next summer.
Utah’s Logan Cooley and Chicago’s Frank Nazar were the first pending RFAs to agree to long-term extensions. Cooley signed an eight-year, $80 million deal with the Mammoth, while Nazar inked a seven-year, $46.2-million contract with the Blackhawks.
There are others in the 2026 RFA class that could sign between now and the end of the season, or go into the summer to apply pressure on their clubs using a potential holdout (as Anaheim’s Mason McTavish did before signing an extension in late September) or go the offer sheet route as Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg did two summers ago.
Here are five situations that bear watching:
Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks
The 2023 top overall pick has silenced most of the doubters after a disappointing sophomore season. Bedard suffered a separated shoulder earlier this month and is expected to be out until early January, but could make Team Canada for the upcoming Olympics in Milano Cortina.
The Hawks are well-positioned to lock up Bedard long-term, but based on how the cap is going up, the 20-year-old may opt for a shorter bridge deal to get another deal when the cap limit is higher. At this stage of their rebuild, Chicago GM Kyle Davidson will likely ask the young phenom’s agent to fill in the term and amount, and he will agree to whatever parameters they want.
Jason Robertson, LW, Dallas Stars
The 26-year-old winger has been a prolific scorer for most of his career. He owns a pair of 40-plus goal seasons with the Dallas Stars, and he is currently on pace to score 50 for the first time. Robertson is in the final year of a four-year bridge deal and is one year away from unrestricted free agency. Dallas, in the last year, has locked up Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Thomas Harley, and Jake Oettinger, and it is time for them to pay the sniper.
GM Jim Nill may want to go to arbitration and get the winger on a one-year deal, which would allow the Stars to be clear to sign him to an extension starting in 2026-27 when they are clear of the final year of Tyler Seguin’s contract. But they risk losing him for nothing if he decides to test the free agent market in July 2027.
Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks
One of the main reasons that Ducks GM Pat Verbeek played hardball with McTavish last summer and got him on a six-year deal at a $7 million AAV was that he knew that he would need to offer extensions to Carlsson and Gauthier.
Setting that precedent may help with their two young cornerstones.
Carlsson, as the center of the duo, is likely to earn more, but Gauthier is on pace to score 40 goals in his second full NHL season. Both forwards are eligible to get an offer sheet, but with more than $40 million in available cap space this summer, Anaheim can match any offer another team makes. As with Bedard, the skyrocketing cap may lead both youngsters to take a shorter-term deal than a maximum contract, so that they can hit the jackpot in two or three years.
Which NHL Team Transformed The Most Since Last Christmas Break?A lot has changed over the course of the past year. Which team has seen the biggest change, for better or worse?Trevor Zegras, C, Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers obtained the talented forward from the Ducks for Ryan Poehling and a pair of draft picks. Zegras had a year remaining on his bridge deal. The trade has paid massive dividends, as he leads Philadelphia in scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace, but now the 24-year-old is up for a new deal.
The fact that he is considered a defensive liability when playing up the middle might keep his salary demand in check. If the Flyers are unsure after the season, they can go to arbitration with two years remaining before unrestricted free agency.
NHL Insider 'Can See' Flyers, Trevor Zegras Contract Extension Talks StartingNHL insider Elliotte Friedman is beginning to "wonder" about contract extension talks between the Flyers and Trevor Zegras.Pavel Dorofeyev, RW, Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon was fortunate to get the 25-year-old Russian winger signed to a two-year bridge deal for less than $2 million per season in the summer of 2024.
Dorofeyev scored a career-high 35 goals last season and is on pace to equal that mark. Dorofeyev’s situation may be different due to Vegas being close to the cap. It could be a tight squeeze that forces McCrimmon to move out a salary to make room. Going to arbitration and agreeing on a one-year deal might keep the AAV down.
After next season, the Golden Knights will gain some cap relief with the contracts of Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and William Karlsson expiring.
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Category: General Sports
