The first wave of NHL free agency hit like a tidal wave. Mavrik Bourque and Pavel Dorofeyev got traded and signed. Sergei Bobrovsky packed his bags for Toronto. John Carlson landed in Tampa. And Anders Lee is off to Utah. The big names are gone, sure.
But that doesn’t mean the market is empty. Far from it. There are still solid players available at every position. Some are coming off injuries. Some had down years. Others just got squeezed out by cap math. For teams willing to look past the shiny objects, there are real upgrades sitting right there.
Anthony Mantha — Left Wing/Right Wing
Anthony Mantha is the best forward still unsigned. That says something about the depth of this market. Mantha was picked 20th overall by Detroit in 2013 and had a couple of 24-goal seasons for the Red Wings. Then his game went quiet, and he bounced from Washington to Vegas to Calgary. An ACL injury wrecked his time with the Flames. But last season with Pittsburgh? He went for 33 goals and 31 assists. He helped drag the Penguins into the playoffs. And then the team let him walk.
That is the kind of risk-reward play contenders love. Mantha is big, he can shoot, and he wants a deal. The St. Louis Blues need wingers. So do Winnipeg and Montreal. If he stays healthy, some team is getting a top-six forward for mid-tier money.
Patrick Kane — Right Wing
Patrick Kane is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who still has gas in the tank. He put up 16 goals and 41 assists last season in 67 games. That is 57 points. That is his second straight year over 50. He isn’t the 100-point guy from Chicago anymore, but he is still dangerous with the puck and smart enough to make everyone around him better.
He also brings the rings. Three Stanley Cups. A Conn Smythe. An Art Ross. A Hart. The guy has seen everything. If Detroit doesn’t bring him back, there is buzz about Buffalo. Hockey insider David Pagnotta floated the idea on a recent podcast: Kane could slot in as an Alex Tuch replacement in the Sabres’ top six. Buffalo shipped Tuch to Washington and needs a scoring winger. Kane grew up in Buffalo. It is a natural fit if the money works.
Patrik Laine — Left Wing
Patrik Laine is the high-risk, high-reward gamble of this class. He played only five games last season because of injury. That is the problem. He has made it to 50 games just three times in the last six seasons. But the guy can score. In every season where he has hit 50 games, he has put up at least 20 goals. In 2018-19, he played all 82 and racked up 50 points.
The issue is money. Laine just finished a deal paying him $8.7 million per year. He will not get anywhere near that now. Teams like Los Angeles, Calgary, and Minnesota have been mentioned as possible landing spots. Nothing is official. But if Laine accepts a one-year prove-it deal, he could be the steal of the summer.
Logan Stanley — Defenseman
Teams looking for a big, physical defenseman should have Logan Stanley on speed dial. He is 28, which is young for a free agent blueliner, and he is six-foot-seven and 231 pounds. He hits. He clears the net. He plays mean. That kind of player does not grow on trees.
Stanley was a first-round pick by Winnipeg in 2016 and broke into the NHL in 2020-21. He spent most of his career with the Jets before getting traded to Buffalo in March 2026. And last season was his best. He scored nine goals and added 17 assists, both career highs. The Jets might try to bring him back. But a lot of teams need a left-shot defenseman who can play the body and move the puck, so Stanley will have options.
Connor Ingram — Goalie
There is not a starting goalie left on the market. But there is one solid backup. Connor Ingram wanted to stay in Edmonton. According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, negotiations with the Oilers did not go anywhere. So Ingram is testing the open market.
He played 32 games for the Oilers last season and went 16-10-3 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. Those are decent numbers for a backup. His playoffs were rough — 3.86 GAA and .876 save percentage — but most teams do not sign a backup for his playoff work. They sign him to keep the starter fresh over 82 games. Ingram can do that. For any team needing a reliable No. 2, he is the guy.
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