Some remaining 2026 pending UFAs may not make it to market
B/R Open Ice: Frank Seravalli, the 2026 NHL unrestricted free agent class won’t be what many would have been hoping for, the salary cap era, and what might end up happening because of it.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“But can we just say a prayer, a little R.I.P. for the free agent class of 2026? Because, man, just think about what could have been. You think about all the players that have signed so far this season, really, since training camp. Kirill Kaprizov the $136 million man, Marty Necas, Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid at a paltry $25 million over two years. And then add in Adrian Kempe and Kyle Connor.
And you go thinking about a true free agent frenzy and how it could have been? What could have been one of the juiciest, most intriguing free agent classes of all time and it’s gone by the wayside. We’re going to be picking, you know, with all due respect to Nick Schmaltz, if he ends up baking it to market, we’re going to be picking at the carcass of what could have been one of the all-time classes.
And that’s okay also probably to be expected, because a lot of people got way over their skis thinking about some of these pieces that could be on the, on the move, on the market. We’re kind of left with Artemi Panarin, Nick Schmaltz and maybe a few other guys, which don’t hold a candle to some of the names that I just mentioned.
NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and the Los Angeles Kings
But maybe that’s the story of the salary cap era, and particularly the last five years. If you have high-end talent, you have to find a way to hang on to it, because it is so incredibly hard to come by.
Think about all the things that we just mentioned, regarding transactions, thin markets, number of teams searching for impact pieces. They don’t grow on trees. And when you see some of them move around like we did Mitch Marner going from Toronto to Vegas last summer, it just shows you how rare it is to truly get your hands on a game changer.
And one of those players, when one of those players pops up and becomes available, you’ve got to do everything you can to get your hands on them. And so that’s why we could see a relatively interesting trade market between now and then, because those guys are certainly not making it to the free agent market.
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