How likely are the top 2027 free agents to hit the market?

Oct 18, 2026, 09:00 EDT

Karlsson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

Credit: Mar 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) before the game against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

We’re only 10 or so games into the 2026-27 season, but it’s never too early to look at next summer’s pending free agent class.

OK, maybe it’s a bit too early. Despite some big names on the list of players who may be available July 1, 2027, there’s still close to nine months for pending unrestricted free agents to sign contract extensions with their teams, or be traded to clubs who want to sign them to long-term deals.

Players like Nikita Kucherov and Sidney Crosby will have no contract on July 1, but the odds are better than not of them sorting out their situations between now and then. So, who else may be available?

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the 2027 NHL free agent class and whether any of the names currently projected to be available will make it to the summer without a new deal.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You have Ryan O’Reilly, Nikita Kucherov, Quinn Hughes, Jason Robertson and Erik Karlsson. Who is the most likely to get to free agency and who is the least likely?

Carter Hutton: I think the most-likely free agent out of that crop right now, for me, is Jason Robertson. I just think like the way the year has gone down last year, he’s very selective in where he wants to go, taking the one-year contract in the summer. He’s the guy for me that’s most interesting. I know he’s got a good situation there, but I think he moves on.

The least likely to get to free agency is Kucherov. I think he stays in Tampa Bay and cements his legacy with the club.

Now the one for me that I think is going to draw the most attention is Hughes … he’s the guy who is such a unicorn in the way he thinks about the game, the way he thinks about his contracts, how he processes the whole business side of hockey … he’s the guy that’s going to be interesting to watch.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I actually think Karlsson is the most likely to test free agency, just based on where Pittsburgh is as an organization, based on Karlsson’s age. They’re going to keep Crosby around, they’re always going to keep Kris Letang around, but as much as I know general manager Kyle Dubas, as much as he loves the player, I think he might look at this and go, “You know what? We need to get younger at certain spots.”