Some remaining UFAs pending in 2026 may not reach the market
B/R Open ice: Frank Seravalli, the NHL’s unrestricted free agent class of 2026 won’t be what many had hoped for, the salary cap era, and what could happen because of it.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“But can we just say a prayer, a little RIP for the 2026 free agent class? Because, man, think of what could have been. Think of all the players signed so far this season since training camp. Kirill Kaprizov, the $136 million man, Marty Necas, Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid for a paltry $25 million over two years. And then add Adrian Kempe and Kyle Connor to that.”
And you start thinking about a real free agent frenzy and what it could have been like? What could have been one of the juiciest, most intriguing free agent classes of all time has been sidelined. We’re going to choose, you know, with all due respect to Nick Schmaltz, when he eventually puts it on the market, we’re going to choose the carcass of what could have been one of the all-time classes.
And that’s a good thing, probably to be expected, because a lot of people were freaking out thinking about some of these parts that might hit the market down the road. We’re kind of left with Artemi Panarin, Nick Schmaltz and maybe a few other guys who don’t have any of the names I just mentioned.
NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings
But perhaps that’s the story of the salary cap era, and especially the past five years. When you have top talent, you have to find a way to retain it because it is so incredibly hard to come by.
Think about all the things we just mentioned, regarding trades, thin markets, the number of teams looking for impact pieces. They don’t grow on trees. And when you see some of them move like we did Mitch Marner from Toronto to Vegas last summer, it shows how rare it is to actually get your hands on a game changer.
And when one of those players shows up and becomes available, you’ll want to do everything you can to get your hands on them. And that’s why we could see a relatively interesting trade market between now and then, because those guys certainly don’t hit the free agent market.
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