Leading scorers and franchise faces. Bridge candidates and budding superstars that need to be locked up before the big breakout. And forwards galore.
The 2026 class of impending restricted free agents offers a chance to bet on the future and squeeze value down the road.
True, several potential RFAs ducked the drama by signing well before July 1 — namely Utah’s Logan Cooley, Montreal’s Lane Hutson, Dallas’s Thomas Harley, Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe, Calgary’s Dustin Wolf, Ottawa’s Shane Pinto, Buffalo’s Josh Doan, St. Louis’s Philip Broberg, and Chicago’s Frank Nazar.
But plenty of intriguing young talent remains unsigned for 2026-27.
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.
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.
So, before qualifying offers are due in June, here’s where things stand with the top 12 RFAs of 2026.
Age on July 1: 20
Position: Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: First-overall draft pick. Two-time world junior gold medallist. Calder Trophy champ. Whole point of the rebuild.
The latest: The 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.
“It’ll get done when it gets done,” Bedard said, seemingly unbothered, at the outset of the season.
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.
Bedard, of course, could opt to double-dip — the way a young Auston Matthews did as an RFA — and attempt to return to the negotiating table in his mid-20s. That risk could maximize career earnings.
The player has been steadfast in professing his love for Chicago, despite individual and collective disappointment in missing the playoffs for all three seasons.
“I’m 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,” Bedard said, back in April. “I’ve said it so many times: I love being here and the city, the people.”
Davidson has said the line of communication between Bedard’s agent, Newport’s Greg Landry, is open. But surely the spiking cap and shifting landscape are giving Bedard reason to take a breath and be calculated here.
“He made his thoughts very clear at the end of (last) season, and subsequently in other interviews, that he’s committed to Chicago and wants to be here long-term. And we obviously want him here long-term, so there’s mutual agreement there,” said Davidson, who would’ve loved to take care of this file in July.
“If we’re able to get something done (in-season), that would be fantastic,” Davidson said. “But if we don’t, I think it’s 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.”
As Bedard hangs career numbers — and is the favourite to succeed Nick Foligno as captain — extension talks, Davidson conceded in March, will likely get pushed until the off-season.
Management believes the extension is a matter of when, not if.
Age on July 1: 26
Position: Left wing
2025-26 salary cap hit: $7.75 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: World junior and world championships medallist. Two-time 40-goal man. Reached 109 points. Prime threat for a team in Cup-winning mode.
The latest: Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill reportedly explored the trade value of Robertson — who is tracking another point-per-game campaign — last summer but would prefer to find a way to keep his leading scorer.
“The negotiating market right now with the players in the league has come to a standstill, and it’s a standstill, too, with Jason,” Nill said in September, per The Dallas Morning News.
“With Jason, I don’t blame him. He’s not a UFA, he’s 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’re looking for, and I’m confident that we’re going to get something done.”
Nill said the idea of trading Robertson was overblown. Yet while pending RFA Thomas Harley was extended relatively quickly, the uncertainty around Robertson’s long-term future in Texas lingers.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” Robertson told NHL.com. “What is important is this year for us as a team. The window is open, we’re trying to win it this year, and then we’ll look at (the contract).”
While it still makes sense for both sides to continue the relationship, Robertson’s price tag is on the rise.
A maximum-length, eight-year extension for the winger could match teammate Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million. And Robertson’s new agent, Octagon’s Andy Scott, knows it.
Maybe the tax situation in Texas can help Nill out.
In March, Nill acknowledged that he spoke with Scott during the Olympics and neither side is rushing to advance negotiations forward until the offseason.
3. Leo Carlsson
Age on July 1: 21
Position: Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Second-overall pick in 2023. 2025 world championships medallist. Big, 20-goal, two-way centremen are only getting better.
The latest: No doubt, the Anaheim Ducks see the Swedish pivot as, uh, pivotal to their strategic ascent in the Pacific.
But general manager Pat Verbeek has generally taken a patient approach when it comes to intensifying negotiations with his RFAs. That’s why the timing of defenceman LaCombe’s early whopper came as a surprise.
LaCombe had arbitration rights coming, though. Carlsson does not. Neither did centre Mason MacTavish, who missed the start of camp and didn’t sign his post-ELC deal until Sept. 27. (McTavish’s delayed start to 2025-26 hasn’t exactly served the player or the team well.)
And so, the understanding is that while Carlsson should become Anaheim’s highest-paid player, Verbeek isn’t rushing the process with his many UFAs and RFAs.
“The whole mindset is just, let’s just play hockey, let’s get in the playoffs, and then we’ll let all that stuff take care of itself at the appropriate time,” Verbeek told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger on March 11.
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?
The good news for Verbeek here is that he has the budget to satisfy both Carlsson and fellow RFA Cutter Gauthier.
4. Cutter Gauthier
Age on July 1: 22
Position: Left wing
2025-26 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Fifth-overall draft pick. World junior and world championships gold medallist. 20-goal sniper. Anaheim traded a star to obtain him.
The latest: Rejuvenated by his trade west from Philadelphia, Gauthier is filling the net and playing a major role in the Ducks’ rapid rise to relevance. His age aligns perfectly with a contention window that appears to be opening soon.
Despite the fine fit, however, Verbeek is treating the Gauthier negotiations like Carlsson’s. Which is to say, they’re not happening — yet.
“No, they’re not. Right now, we’ve kind of pushed the talks off,” Verbeek said on Nov. 21, when he was interviewed on a regional broadcast. “For everybody just to kind of see where the market’s going to kind of settle and see if there’s any other things that sneak out.
“But right now, we are in a pause, and I really don’t want to get into too hard of it, because I want the players to keep playing well and not thinking about their contracts.”
Rest assured, with Verbeek’s balance sheet quite open through Gauthier and Carlsson’s prime, those raises will be juicy.
Gauthier is cruising towards his first 35-goal, 60-point campaign.
Age on July 1: 25
Position: Left wing / Right wing
2025-26 salary cap hit: $1.835 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Hot off a 35-goal, 52-point breakout campaign. Valuable power-play asset. Keeps filling the net.
The latest: Ripping a hat trick for the Vegas Golden Knights on Opening Night, the Russian import made an early platform-year statement: Time to get paid.
“About a year and a half ago, I was a rotational player,” the forward told NHL.com International. “I played in 47 games (in 2023-24), and the following season I was in the lineup every night. That’s where the better stats came from — more ice time and being on the first power-play unit. That’s what made the difference.”
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).
The top-six difference-maker is one of the league’s best bargains, but that will change this summer.
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.
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.
Estimates on a two-year extension fall at $5.6 million AAV. At eight years, you’re looking at $8 million or more.
Complicating matters is impending UFA Rasmus Andersson, whom most assume will re-up in the desert.
Once again, McCrimmon is slammed against the cap ceiling and will need to get ruthless and/or creative.
“Dorofeyev is in for not just a raise, but the most significant bump in pay for any Golden Knight ever,” writes Ken Boehlke of SinBin.
Age on July 1: 21
Position: Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Third-overall pick. World junior and world championships gold medallist. Broke out with a 31-goal, 54-point, 82-game performance as a sophomore.
The latest: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell and Fantilli’s agent, Pat Brisson, have engaged in initial discussions but decided to let the situation simmer until after the Olympic break.
Waddell had struck a cautious tone regarding his No. 1 centre during a late-October appearance on Real Kyper & Bourne, noting that while point totals are important for this wave of platform players, earning the coaches’ trust and contributing to winning is imperative to the franchise about to cut the cheque.
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.
The price for young, gifted centremen isn’t coming down. With due respect to UFAs Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner, Fantilli is Waddell’s top re-signing priority.
Safe to say, the Blue Jackets can ill afford to mishandle a talent of Fantilli’s calibre if they want to increase their relevance in the sporting landscape.
Should Columbus make the playoffs, Fantilli will be granted another stage to prove his worth.
Age on July 1: 23
Position: Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit: $863,334
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Top-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).
The latest: When 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’s agent, Randy Robitaille.
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’s No. 1 right-shot defenceman is a sound one.
“I want to be here for a long time, honestly. I want to be here for a long time,” Clarke told RG Media. “That’s what I’ve told Randy, and that’s what I want the message to be.”
The player is gunning for term. So should the team, and Holland will have cap relief once the soon-to-retire Anze Kopitar’s $7 million comes off the books. (Doughty is owed another $11 million in 2026-27.)
Clarke easily leads all Kings D-men, including Doughty, in scoring while posting excellent defensive metrics.
“I want to be locked up, and I want to be an L.A. King for a while,” Clarke said. “I love it here, I love the group of guys we have, and the staff’s been so great to me since the day I got here. That’s where my head’s at. Like I said, it’s very preliminary, but I want to take those steps to lock myself in as an L.A. King for a while.”
Age on July 1: 25
Position: Left wing / Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit: $5.75 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Top-10 draft pick. World junior gold medallist. Flyers paid a hefty price to acquire the player. Two-time 60-point player. NHL 23 cover athlete. Shootout maestro.
The latest: Zegras is loving life in Philadelphia since being traded out of Anaheim. He is productive, happy and feels he has a new zest for the sport.
“I just feel more comfortable on the ice,” Zegras told Sportsnet when we visited his new barn in October. “The Xfinity is home!”
Zegras, who has good friends on the Flyers and respects coach Rick Tocchet, certainly sounds like a free agent who’d prefer to stay put — and GM Danny Briere has a solid relationship with Pat Brisson, Zegras’s agent.
Considering the winger’s hot start and management’s understanding of arbitration rights at the time of the trade, there is no rush to put pen to paper — and no concern that things will fall apart.
The Flyers have cap space.
“I expect Trevor to be with the Flyers for a long time,” Briere told The Philadelphia Inquirer on March 13.
Ironically, Zegras could choose to wait for a couple of Ducks, Gauthier and/or Carlsson, to sign and boost the market.
Zegras told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz in January that he “can only hope” for an extension.
“Some of this contract stuff in the past has been tough. Obviously, the last contract I went through was a little hairy. So, I try not to put expectations on it,” Zegras said.
“If they want me here for a long time, I would love that. I love this city. I love this team. Definitely feel at home here, for sure.”
Age on July 1: 23
Position: Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit: $894,167
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Top-pair defenceman on one of the NHL’s best duos. Wonderful complement to franchise stud Moritz Seider. Sixth-overall pick. World juniors and world championships medallist.
The latest: Early in the season, when the Detroit Red Wings explored a potential trade for Quinn Hughes out of Vancouver, the Canucks’ asked for a package that included Edvinsson in return, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
That Wings GM Steve Yzerman said no should tell you all you need to know about how highly the organization thinks of the big Swede.
Logging 22-plus minutes a night while contributing at both ends of the ice, tilting it against matchups against the league’s top forward lines, Edvinsson has positioned himself worthy of a max-term, life-changing contract extension.
Think LaCombe in Anaheim (eight years, $78 million) or Luke Hughes in New Jersey (seven years, $63 million).
Yzerman would be wise not to mess around with a bridge — nor Edvinsson’s chemistry with Seider.
“We’re two big bodies. We cover a lot of space out there. He’s a great skater,” Seider said. “Puts his body on the line every single night. Blocks a lot of shots. Rarely gets out of position.
“We’ve been clicking, obviously. Very effective for us. And, yeah, just feel good out there with him.”
10. Jet Greaves
Age on July 1: 25
Position: Goaltender
2025-26 salary cap hit: $812,500
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Dedicated and driven. Preparing in the Blue Jackets system since 2021-22. Winner at all three pro levels. Stole No. 1 goaltending job when no one was looking.
The latest: The undrafted Greaves is the best underdog story on this list, having grinded his way up from the ECHL to be the most dependable netminder in Columbus’s surprising run to playoff relevance.
The Cambridge, Ont. native is thriving in this, his first 40-start, 20-win NHL campaign and has earned himself a monster raise from his modest six-figure salary.
Greaves’s veteran backup, Elvis Merzlikins, is still on the books for $5.4 million in 2026-27. But that should not prevent Waddell from compensating Greaves this off-season.
There aren’t enough great, young goaltenders to go around a 32-team league. If you have one, you keep him happy.
Now, considering Greaves’s inexperience in the show — his career appearances total will still be under 80 — an extension shouldn’t break the bank.
11. Simon Nemec
Age on July 1: 22
Position: Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit: $918,333
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Second-overall draft pick. Olympic medallist. Logs nearly 20 minutes per night. Right shot.
The latest: The New Jersey Devils’ young defenceman couldn’t have chosen a better time for a breakout.
While a frustratingly uneven 2024-25 season saw the high-pedigreed Slovakian dip a toe into trade rumours and dress more games in the minors (34) than in the majors (27), GM Tom Fitzgerald’s patience with the prospect appears to be paying off.
Nemec has performed well enough that he’ll either be traded for a decent return — New Jersey was rumoured to have turned down a deal for San Jose’s William Eklund at the deadline — or sign a nice bridge deal.
A two-year bridge pact in the ballpark of $4 million per season might be the compromise if Fitzgerald, flush with blueliners and dissatisfied with this season’s results, can’t swing an off-season trade.
Knowing how Luke Hughes’s RFA status dragged out, however, it’s hard to envision the file on the less consistent Nemec getting settled without the pressure of a deadline.
Nemec has voiced his displeasure with being scratched and demoted at times, and he switched agents midseason, from CAA’s J.P. Barry to Newport’s Craig Oster.
“We have seven NHL everyday players on our back end. Trying to shake one of those loose in the offseason will be my goal,” Fitzgerald said after the deadline passed. “Maybe to give us some help up front, maybe a top-six winger.
“It’s my job to find some new juice and help the group get a spark. Better our forward group. If I can do that with some of the defence on the back end, then that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
12. Jamie Drysdale
Age on July 1: 24
Position: Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit: $2.3 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Sixth-overall draft pick. World junior gold medallist. Skilled, puck-moving right shot. Increasingly taking on harder matchups.
The latest: Much like Zegras, Drysdale’s change-of-scenery trade from Anaheim to Philadelphia has served all parties well.
Under Tocchet, the puck mover is on pace for his best season offensively while logging well over 21 minutes per night and assuming more responsibility in his own end.
A contract extension hardly feels imminent, but a case to commit long-term should be made here. Deals for young, emerging defencemen like LaCombe’s in Anaheim and Luke Hughes’s in New Jersey have provided a blueprint for locking in talent early and betting on improvement.
“I don’t expect too many issues,” Briere said, regarding Drysdale’s extension.
Drysdale himself told Kurz on March 18 that he is “100 per cent” open to signing long-term in Philly. He loves life as a Flyer.
The Flyers have been rumoured to be entertaining trade offers for veterans like Rasmus Ristolainen and Owen Tippett as they plan to accommodate raises for younger talent.
More notable pending RFAs: Colin Graff, Cole Perfetti, Nicholas Robertson, Philipp Kurashev, Alexander Nishkin, Mackie Samoskevich, Zach Benson, Matias Maccelli, Arseny Gritsyuk, Jordan Spence, Dylan Holloway, Kirby Dach, Jack Drury, Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Barrett Hayton, Connor McMichael, Samuel Ersson, Leevi Merilainen, Akira Schmid, Arturs Silovs, Mavrik Bourque, Peyton Krebs, Bobby Brink
All salary info via the excellent PuckPedia.com.
