NHL free agency is officially underway, and old faces will soon find new places as the game of musical chairs unfolds. The 2026 free agent class is underwhelming, to put it lightly, but there is still value to be found.
Due to the rising salary cap and teams’ urgency to lock up their stars long-term before they hit the market, anyone looking for fireworks on July 1 will have to look elsewhere. The biggest name on the market is technically Alexander Ovechkin, but he will either return to the Washington Capitals or retire.
Teams in need of defense will be pleased to find a handful of quality options, though a couple have already come off the board. After acquiring the rights to Radko Gudas, the Florida Panthers signed him to a six-year contract worth just $9 million in order to minimize the AAV. The Carolina Hurricanes acquired the rights to John Carlson prior to Wednesday, but he is now on the open market.
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Austin Nivison
The No. 1 player in our rankings is Rasmus Andersson, and he has re-signed with the Vegas Golden Knights. In spite of a disappointing playoff run with the Golden Knights, he still got a hefty seven-year, $59.5 million contract. Vegas is banking on a bounce-back from Andersson, who slots into the top four on the blue line.
In goal, Stanley Cup champions Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen are names to watch, as is Stuart Skinner following a slight resurgence with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The forward market isn’t as robust, but there are intriguing middle-six options in Mats Zuccarello, Mason Marchment and Viktor Arvidsson.
Here are the top 30 NHL free agents as we track where each one lands.
