NHL free-agent market opens with 100-player board as salary cap rises to $104 million
The 2026 NHL free-agent class, featuring goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defensemen John Carlson and Jacob Trouba, will be available on Wednesday, with teams preparing for higher spending amid a rising salary cap.
NHL teams are set to begin negotiations on Wednesday at noon Eastern Time as the 2026 free-agent market opens. The league’s salary cap is projected to increase to $104 million for the upcoming season, which is expected to raise the overall cost of acquiring players.
Among the top unrestricted free agents are goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, a future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, and defensemen John Carlson and Jacob Trouba, who concluded last season with the Anaheim Ducks. Recent extensions have removed several pending free agents from the market, leaving the remaining players in a relatively limited pool.
Analysts have compiled a “big board” that now lists 100 potential targets, ranking players based on their projected impact and the level of interest they generate.
