We braced for a boring July 1 in 2026 and, for the most part, our low expectations were justified once the unrestricted free agent market opened.
Sure, the Toronto Maple Leafs snagged a future Hall of Famer away from a division rival by signing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, while San Jose threw top dollar at middle-of-the-lineup players like winger Mason Marchment and defenceman Jacob Trouba.
For the most part, though, the “Whatever’s” outweighed the “Wows!”
Glancing ahead 11 months, you could be forgiven for being a little skeptical of seismic activity on the 2027 UFA market, too.
As it stands, the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar and — yes — Sidney Crosby could all offer their services to the highest bidder. The reality, though, is it would be a complete shock to see any one of those players suiting up for a new team in the next 16 months.
(OK, maybe Crosby if the Penguins go off the rails, but we don’t have the stomach for that conversation again).
Still, come down a tier from those players and not only will you find some very skilled guys who could become UFAs in 2027, but you’ll notice a few of them are in something less than settled situations.
With that in mind — and with less than a year to go before the next crop of UFAs hit the market — we decided to highlight eight players who are on the precipice of unrestricted free agency and don’t appear to be absolute locks to re-up with their current organization.
Jason Robertson, winger, Dallas Stars
Last week, Robertson inked a one-year deal with the Stars that walks him to unrestricted free agency. On one hand, you could easily see the relationship between player and team being extended long term once Dallas gains more cap flexibility in the 2027-28 season.
On the other, Dallas GM Jim Nill publicly acknowledged the Stars had a deal in place with the Seattle Kraken to acquire the seventh-overall pick in the 2026 draft in exchange for Robertson. What sewered the transaction was Robertson’s refusal to sign a big extension in Seattle.
Any time a club has already signed off on trading a player, it’s fair to wonder what the future holds.
Robertson would be a whale of a UFA, potentially hitting the open market just before his 28th birthday with 109- and 96-point seasons already on his resume, to say nothing of what the sniper might do this year.
Alex DeBrincat, winger, Detroit Red Wings
DeBrincat is a local guy and, by all accounts, loves being a Michigan boy playing for the Red Wings. Still, there’s all kinds of change swirling around Motown, from Dylan Larkin’s trade request to Steve Yzerman leaving the GM chair to Patrick Kane — DeBrincat’s linemate for much of this past season — departing for Chicago as a UFA.
DeBrincat is entering the fourth and final year of a deal — which carries a cap hit just under $8 million — he signed with the Wings in 2023 after they acquired him from the Ottawa Senators. His past two seasons have been two of his best in the NHL, with 41 goals (a career-best total he’s now hit three times) in this most recent campaign and 39 the year prior.
Those are serious totals for a guy who turns 29 in December.
He may love it in Detroit, but what if the team enters into a soft reset under a new GM?
Drake Batherson, winger, Ottawa Senators
Ottawa is another Atlantic Division team that, like Detroit, has seen its fair share of significant change in the off-season, with former captain Brady Tkachuk being dealt to the Florida Panthers.
By no means should the Sens be written off, as the dressing room might even be in a better spot with Tkachuk — and the endless, distracting conversations about his future — now on another club. Still, it’s hard to say this team is definitively moving forward after two straight seasons of making the playoffs via the wild card.
Batherson has provided incredible value on the six-year deal he inked in 2021. His point totals have been steadily creeping up and last season — for a cap hit just under $5 million — he posted career highs in goals (33) and points (71). Batherson — who has missed just three games in four years — is six-foot-three and will play the entirety of this coming regular season at 28 years old.
Pavel Zacha, centre/winger, Boston Bruins
From the team perspective, it’s a tricky time to negotiate a potential extension for Zacha because he blew past his previous career-best of 21 goals to pop 30 last year as part of a strong 65-point showing,
He’s been a great fit in Boston since the B’s acquired the 2015 sixth-overall pick from the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2022.
Even if Zacha — who turns 30 near the end of this coming season — is unable to reproduce the offence he showed last year, he’s still a big, versatile forward who is going to attract attention. The Bruins have been willing to at least listen on Zacha as part of trades in the past, so the idea of him moving on is by no means farfetched.
Ryan O’Reilly, centre, Nashville Predators
We’ve spent so much time speculating about O’Reilly trades during the past couple disappointing Preds seasons that we’ve lost track of the fact the four-year deal he inked in 2023 is nearly up.
It felt like the two-way gem never really wanted to leave Nashville during the swap speculation, but what will his mentality be if the Preds miss the playoffs for a third straight year and he can have his pick of any team that pursues him as a UFA?
Even at 36 next summer, O’Reilly would have no shortage of suitors who — if they’re true contenders — likely see him as a dream 3C for a couple more seasons, at least.
Erik Karlsson, defenceman, Pittsburgh Penguins
Karlsson landed in Pittsburgh from San Jose in 2023 fresh off a 101-point season and a Norris Trophy win. The idea was he’d join a club of veterans still in a contention window, but the Pens nosedived during his first two years there and the trade rumours that dogged him in California simply moved east to Pennsylvania.
The issue with Karlsson has always been his cap hit, which still sits at $10 million in Pittsburgh with some Sharks retention. Karlsson will turn 37 about a month before free agency hits next July 1 and any team looking for power play help could eye him on an incentive-laden, short deal.
Drew Doughty, defenceman, Los Angeles Kings
Shortly before July 1 of this year, Kings GM Ken Holland announced the club would not offer a contract extension to Doughty this summer. That doesn’t make it a done deal that the franchise legend will be moving on, but it certainly doesn’t portend well for L.A. fans hoping Doughty — like the recently retired Anze Kopitar — would play his entire career with the Kings.
Does it not feel like Brent Burns has blazed a trail for Doughty as a bearded, right-shot defenceman with a big personality who loves the game and intends to play it — and play it quite well — as long as possible?
Doughty turns 37 in December and if you think of him in the context of a guy who can man the right side of your second and, eventually, third pair, it’s not hard to imagine him being a very valuable player for at least three or four more seasons.
It’s very easy to see a contender calling on him to provide smart play and an ocean of big-game experience on a contract that won’t break the bank next summer.
Jordan Binnington, goalie, St. Louis Blues
For much of the past two seasons, people wondered about Binnington’s future in St. Louis while his play slipped. The rub, though, is the big-game goalie still showed his chops in pressure situations by providing solid — sometimes spectacular — play for Canada at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Games.
As Binnington enters the final year of his deal, Joel Hofer appears ready to run with the No. 1 job in St. Louis. Binnington will turn 34 just after July 1 next year and if he’s on the open market, somebody will bet on him as a tandem goalie with big playoff upside.
