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, 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 incentive to lock up core pieces as soon as possible for as long as possible.
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 has burst out with the gates and 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 the individual and collective disappointment in 2024-25.
“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 on April 17. “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 the 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 (soon), that would be fantastic,” Davidson said on Canada Day. “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.”
Age on July 1: 21
Position: Centre
2025-26 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Second-overall pick in 2023. World championships medallist in 2025. Big, 20-goal, two-way centremen 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.
And so, the understanding is that while Carlsson should become Anaheim’s highest-paid player, Verbeek isn’t rushing the process.
The team would prefer to go eight years, as Utah did with Cooley, but does Carlsson instead push for an eight-figure on a four- or five-year extension?
The good news for Verbeek here is that he has the budget to satisfy both Carlsson and…
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, GM 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.
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 — over the summer but would prefer to find a way to keep such a productive talent.
“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 in the off-season 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, and a healthy Robertson is producing at an elite rate, the price tag is on the rise.
AFP Analytics projects a maximum-length, eight-year contract extension for the winger could fall in the range of $11.5 million. Maybe the tax situation in Texas can help Nill out.
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 coverboy. Shootout maestro.
The latest: Zegras is loving life in Philadelphia since being traded out of Anaheim. He is productive and happy and feels he has a new zest for the sport.
“I just feel more comfortable on the ice,” Zegras told us when we visited his new home 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.
Ironically, Zegras could choose to wait for a couple of Ducks, Gauthier and/or Carlsson, to sign and boost the market.
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. NHL’s First Star of the Week through the first seven days of his contract year.
The latest: Ripping a hat trick for the Vegas Golden Knights on Opening Night, the Russian import is making a 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 walk Dorofeyev to UFA. A longer one may not be affordable without moving a body out, or to long-term injured reserve.
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 a 30-plus-goal pace after a slow start.
The price for young, gifted centremen isn’t coming down.
Safe to say, the Blue Jackets can ill afford to mishandle a talent of Fantilli’s calibre if they want to increase their relevancy in the sporting landscape.
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.
Age on July 1: 25
Position: Defence
2025-26 salary cap hit: $4.58 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Top-10 draft pick. Coming off career highs in goals, points, minutes, and plus/minus in 2024-25. Centrepiece of 2024’s offer sheet splash.
The latest: When the St. Blues inked pending UFA defenceman Cam Fowler to a big contract extension in September, GM Doug Armstrong suggested his negotiations with RFAs Dylan Holloway and Broberg could begin as early as December.
“There’s no rush with that,” Armstrong told reporters. “We’re going to try and get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed. The cap’s going up. It’s nice to know, with guys signed, what we can do moving forward. We can always create space.”
While a surprisingly disappointing start in St. Louis has Armstrong positioning himself as a likely seller in his final season as GM, new-wave assets like Broberg — who is taking on more responsibility — and Holloway are must-keeps.
“What’s the next step for him?” coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s going to another level where he’s not only a person we rely on, but other teams focus on stopping him.”
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 (+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 some 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.)
“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: 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’ top-four 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 is now paying off.
Because the body of work isn’t there, however, the sides could kick commitment down the road and agree to a two-year bridge in the range of $3 million or $3.5 million per season.
Or Fitzgerald could make a longer-term bet and try to buy some of Nemec’s UFA years.
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.
Age on July 1: 24
Position: Right wing / Left wing
2025-26 salary cap hit: $3.25 million
Arbitration rights: Yes
Bargaining chips: Top-10 draft pick. World junior silver medallist. World championships gold medallist. 50-point threat.
And shortly before signing that two-year bridge in 2024 that thrust the Jets’ second-liner into his arbitration rights, he professed a desire to make Winnipeg his long-term NHL home.
“I love being in Canada. I love Winnipeg. I love the organization. I love playing there. So right now, I would love to be a staple in this organization and a key piece of the core for the years going forward. I would love that, and it would be an honour to be a part of that,” Perfetti gushed in September ’24.
“I don’t determine what happens there. But I would love to be a part of this. I love this group of guys. I love this team. I love the city. So, if a deal gets done long term, that’d be great.”
GM Kevin Cheveldayoff kicked a more serious investment down the road.
Since then, the exec has freed budget by letting Nikolaj Ehlers walk, then swiftly locked up pending UFAs Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry at reasonable rates.
Perfetti is the next domino to fall.
Although an injury setback has slowed the player’s bid to build on a promising 2024-25 campaign, there is plenty of time left to (a) negotiate and (b) boost that negotiating power.
More notable pending RFAs: Nicholas Robertson, Josh Doan, Philipp Kurashev, Alexander Nishkin, Mackie Samoskevich, Zach Benson, Matias Maccelli, Arseny Gritsyuk, Jordan Spence, Dylan Holloway, Kirby Dach, Jack Drury, Cole Sillinger, Ty Dellandrea, Yegor Chinakhov, Barrett Hayton, Connor McMichael, Samuel Ersson, Leevi Merilainen, Akira Schmid, Arturs Silovs, Jet Greaves