Top remaining NHL free agents: The best 2026 UFAs still on the board
Despite the fact that, wink wink, NHL teams were prohibited from negotiating with unrestricted free agents before noon ET on July 1, the contracts came fast and furious as always. Even with a cluster of the best UFAs signing before the market opened, Day 1 of free agency featured plenty of activity, as GMs were liberated to throw money around with the salary cap rising from $95.5 million to $104 million for 2026-27. But things have slowed to a crawl at this point of the summer, with a litany of established veterans unsigned, including five of our top 30 players listed when the market opened.
Who remains available almost two months into free agency? Here’s a list of the best remaining 2026 NHL UFAs, including their rankings on our board as of July 1.
| Rank | 2025-26 Cap Hit | Name | Age | Position | Games Played | Goals (Wins) | Assists (GAA) | Points (SV%) |
| 14 | $8,700,000 | Patrik Laine | 28 | RW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | $1,250,000 | Logan Stanley | 28 | D | 76 | 9 | 17 | 26 |
| 24 | $4,750,000 | Vladimir Tarasenko | 34 | RW | 75 | 23 | 24 | 47 |
| 25 | $4,500,000 | Michael Bunting | 30 | LW | 74 | 14 | 19 | 33 |
| 26 | $3,475,000 | Eeli Tolvanen | 27 | LW | 78 | 12 | 14 | 36 |
| 33 | $2,500,000 | Cam Talbot | 38 | G | 34 | 12 | 3.19 | .883 |
| 34 | $4,000,000 | John Klingberg | 33 | D | 56 | 10 | 17 | 27 |
| 37 | $775,000 | Nick Blankenburg | 28 | D | 61 | 8 | 16 | 24 |
| 43 | $1,000,000 | James van Riemsdyk | 37 | LW | 72 | 15 | 16 | 31 |
| 47 | $1,950,000 | Connor Ingram | 29 | G | 32 | 16 | 2.60 | .899 |
| 49 | $4,000,000 | David Perron | 38 | LW | 65 | 13 | 15 | 28 |
| — | $4,000,000 | Jonathan Drouin | 31 | LW | 64 | 4 | 20 | 24 |
| — | $3,000,000 | Adam Henrique | 36 | C | 65 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| — | $3,250,000 | Carson Soucy | 31 | D | 76 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| — | $850,000 | James Reimer | 38 | G | 14 | 7 | 2.42 | .886 |
On the bubble
Calle Jarnkrok
Jesse Puljujarvi
Reilly Smith
Matt Grzelcyk
Mike Reilly
Jeff Petry
Pavol Regenda
Philipp Kurashev
Evander Kane
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