It used to be reasonable to assume that if the prior year’s free agency class stunk, then at least there would be a more interesting free agency class to look forward to the next year. The NHL can fall into this pattern when it is locked into a CBA and/or a set of free agency rules for a while.
Well, we got that stinky 2025 free agency market and tried to look ahead to a more exciting 2026, but we failed to consider one big thing: The incoming CBA.
Set to take effect at the start of next season, the new CBA reduces the maximum extension years for in-house signings from 8 to 7. At the start of this season, we saw most stars with pending contracts stay with their teams, prioritizing the last opportunity to sign an eight-year contract. Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, Martin Necas, Adrian Kempe, and Kyle Connor all took themselves off the upcoming market, inking eight-year extensions with their respective teams.
Where does this leave us? Well, the trade deadline had better be good. Given the transitional period we are in, once the new CBA kicks in, free agency should return to normalcy in 2027 as the cap continues to rise.