For some while, even dating back to the early stages of last season, the 2026 free agency class was one every hockey fan was looking forward to with a big heap of major talent who could end up anywhere. But now, it looks bleaker than it has ever looked. Before the offseason, the list was stacked: Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, and the list goes on, but that list doesn't look so eye-catching anymore.
When looking at the potential 2026 UFAs, it was probably safe to admit that the likes of Kaprizov and Eichel were going to be re-signing with their current clubs, however the biggest story of the offseason was what Connor McDavid would do heading towards the 2026 offseason. That excitement was eventually put to a halt after he signed his two-year, $12.5 million AAV extension with Edmonton, and now the list looks a lot less appealing.
The recent signings of Jack Eichel's 8 year, $108 million deal keeping him in Vegas, and Kyle Connor's 8 year, $96 million deal to stay in Winnipeg was really the tone setter for what was to become a pretty average UFA class for next season, and it probably won't stop there. As quickly as deals are beginning to be handed out, and now that the dollar value is in place, players like Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin are probably the two biggest names yet to be re-signed, however it seems like it is just a matter of time before two more of the big guys get locked up.
Apart from Panarin and Kempe, names like Alex Tuch, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jacob Markstrom, and Rasmus Andersson are really the only names that are intriguing, but still, compared to what we were promised months ago, it really does not compare. Sure there are some very interesting RFA's pending such as Jason Robertson, Trevor Zegras, and Martin Necas, but in terms of star studded talent, the 2026 free agent class is looking like a real disappointment.
Out of all the possible UFA's headed to the open market, one story which could make it a whole lot interesting is the Washington Capitals duo of Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson, and as easy as it is to say they are both Capitals for life, who knows what could happen next summer. Whether they both retire and make the class a whole lot weaker, or whether they make a bold decision to take the leap away from Washington, that is all that excites me about the current state of the 2026 free agency class, and with how quickly the talent pool has depleted, we could be headed for another very underwhelming offseason, one that was once filled with a lot of excitement and promise,