NHL Free Agent Rankings: Best Available Players in 2026

Excitement over the July 1 start of UFA free agency may have faded away, but the offseason fireworks aren’t done yet. 

Restricted free agency is more complicated than traditional unrestricted free agency, but it’s probably more exciting. Teams with an RFA are given the opportunity to match any ‘offer sheet’ for their player, and if they decline to match, they receive draft compensation from the signing team.

This plays out in something of a salary cap war, as seen this week with the Flyers and Ducks. Philadelphia sent an offer sheet to RFA Leo Carlsson that would’ve made him the league’s highest-paid player by AAV. That deal, which Anaheim matched, has put the Ducks in a precarious salary-cap position. It’s like any other fight on the ice, but instead of players, it’s accountants and GMs, and instead of fists, it’s calculators and spreadsheets.

Here’s a look at five of the best RFAs who are “on the market” this offseason and the status of their contracts as of July 9. 

NHL Free Agent Rankings

NHL Free Agent Rankings: Best Available Players in 2026

1. Connor Bedard, C, Blackhawks

Although the Connor Bedard era in Chicago hasn’t hit its stride at all yet, this summer’s not the one when the young forward moves on from the Blackhawks.

His NHL accolades include a Calder Trophy win and an All-Star nod, but those are the highest heights he’s reached in the league so far. Chicago has remained in the lottery every season since drafting Bedard with the first overall pick in 2023. 

Bedard has had at least 20 goals and 60 points in each of his first three seasons in the league. His outing in the 2025-26 season may have been his most impressive to date. Bedard played in 13 fewer games than in a full 82-game 2024-25 season but scored seven more goals and contributed roughly the same number of assists.

Bedard’s dealt with injuries throughout his pro career, and we already know that’s going to continue into next season. On July 8, the team announced that Bedard had undergone surgery on his left shoulder and that they expected him to miss four months. This’ll derail the rest of Bedard’s offseason and the start of his 2026-27 season.

Although it would be a huge shocker if Bedard wasn’t a Blackhawk next season, famed NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, while reporting that Bedard wants to remain with his team, expressed concern about how Chicago has handled his RFA status. 

On a July 6 episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman said, “If I ran the Chicago Blackhawks, I would have been at the Bedard household on Saturday morning. I would have said, A, how’s your shoulder? And B, do we have to worry about an offer sheet here at all?”

Friedman previously reported that Bedard was seeking an eight-figure deal following Kirill Kaprizov’s record signing with the Wild.

Bedard wants to be a Blackhawk, and the Chicago brass likely know the price, but if they’re not proactive in getting a new deal signed, they’re opening themselves up to an offer sheet from likely 25-some-odd teams that’ll want the services of the 20-year-old. 

2. Jason Robertson, LW, Stars

Jason Robertson’s headed to arbitration with the Dallas front office, according to reporting from The Athletic as of July 5. 

Robertson has become an exciting young talent with the Stars across the last few seasons. He had his best season last year, scoring 45 goals and contributing 51 assists while playing in all 82 games. In a quick six-game playoff run, Robertson had five goals and three assists.

Despite his production, Dallas seemingly doesn’t have a place for their leading scorer on the roster. 

According to reports, Robertson nixed a sign-and-trade that would have sent him to the Kraken and refused to sign an eight-year, $120 million extension in Seattle. Friedman also reported that the Stars and Robertson are $2 million apart on AAV for a new deal. 

With arbitration, Robertson will get a one-year deal and then become one of next summer’s biggest ticket UFAs, unless Dallas trades him in-season. 

3. Adam Fantilli, C, Blue Jackets

Adam Fantilli has become a solid force in Columbus after being taken with the third overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. However, Fantili may be on the way out the door amid an impending soft rebuild with the Blue Jackets.

All reports suggest the team is already looking to move franchise cornerstone Zach Werenski, with Columbus reportedly close to sending him to Toronto. 

Amid the broader uncertainty with the Blue Jackets, Fantilli could get offer-sheeted and swooped up by a rival team with cap space. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston​ reported on July 9 that there are teams interested in signing Fantilli.

4. Trevor Zegras, C, Flyers

Trevor Zegras has also informed his team, the Flyers, that he will be headed to salary arbitration, according to information released by the NHLPA. That means that, like Robertson, Zegras will get a one-year deal before becoming a UFA in the summer of 27.

Since being drafted in 2019, Zegras has been viewed as one of the league’s next faces. But now that he’s 25 and likely headed to a third team next summer, the prospect of him becoming one of the league’s biggest stars is kind of gone. 

But he remains a productive player. Last season was his best so far in the pros. He scored 26 goals and had 41 assists, the second-leading goals and points total on the team. 

He’ll be a solid piece on the UFA market or the in-season trade market.

5. Cutter Gauthier, LW, Ducks

Cutter Gauthier will always be linked to Philadelphia after being drafted by the team with the fifth overall pick in 2022. 

It would become clear after 2022 that Gauthier never wanted to be a Flyer, telling the team in 2023 that he wouldn’t sign an entry-level contract and would stay longer at Boston College if he had to. In January of 2024, Gauthier was traded to Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale. 

The whole saga was quite stupid, combining a young prospect in Gauthier, who seemed rather entitled, and a fanbase in Philadelphia that is easily combustible.

Gauthier has had two decent seasons since entering the league in 2024. Last season, he played in 76 games and had 41 goals and 28 assists. 

His career may not be done being impacted by the Flyers’ front office, though, after Philadelphia sent a massive offer sheet to Ducks defenseman Carlsson. Anaheim announced on July 9 that they were matching the 5-year, $90 million deal, making him the highest-paid player in the league by AAV. 

Now, because of the Flyers, the Ducks suddenly have a lot less money to spend on Cutter Gauthier, putting Anaheim in a tricky position when it comes to retaining a 40-goal scorer. 

Lesson? Don’t mess with Philly.