NHL Free Agent Rankings: Best Available Players in 2026

The following should not just be accompanied by a grain of salt. Really, it should probably be a whole mountain of salt. 

While all of the following players are technically unrestricted free agents next summer, the probability that any more than three to four of them enter free agency is very, very low. 

What’s more likely is that most of the biggest names on this list get massive contract extensions before the offseason or even before the regular season begins.

If more do end up making it to the July 1 deadline of open season free agency, it probably would be one of the more exciting offseason periods in the modern history of the NHL. 

With that warning, here are the 10 best players who could be available in next summer’s free agency. 

NHL Free Agent Rankings

Who’s The Best Free Agent Available in 2026?

Connor McDavid, C, Oilers

One of the biggest storylines of this upcoming season in the NHL will be McDavid’s pending UFA status. If he somehow reaches free agency, he will be the only player of his caliber ever to become a UFA while still in their prime.  

His $100 million, 8-year contract began in the 2018-19 season, when the Oilers had just come off a 36-40-6 season, a season in which McDavid had 41 goals and 67 assists. 

In case you need a refresher on the eight years since his extension began, he’s won two Hart trophies, three Art Ross trophies, a Conn Smythe trophy, and has appeared in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. 

This last season, McDavid had 26 goals and 74 assists in 67 games played. 

We don’t know much about McDavid’s thoughts surrounding a contract, only the typical boilerplate comment of “I need to do what’s best for me and my family,” which he gave in an end-of-year press conference. In that same press conference, McDavid discussed the long period of building towards Stanley Cup contention and referred to those non-contending years as “endless disappointment.”

McDavid’s decision will probably come down to whether he believes Edmonton can graduate from being a tough out in the Finals to a Stanley Cup champion. There’s no reason to think that’s not possible, but if there’s some decline in performance this year from the Oilers, he may feel his best way to win a Stanley Cup is on a different team. 

Now, to the dollar amount. It’s not a question of if McDavid’s next deal breaks the record set by Leon Draisaitl’s contract, but rather by how much. Regardless of whether it’s in Edmonton or elsewhere, he’ll almost certainly become the highest-paid player in NHL history, barring some sort of altruistic, ‘for the good of the team’ move.

Current projections range from $15 million to $17 million. 

It’s worth saying that all of this speculation could be out the window if the Oilers suddenly announce a contract extension before the season even starts, and that’s possible. 

But what’s more likely is that McDavid uses this uncertainty to put pressure on Edmonton to build up the roster even more.