NHL free agency is officially underway, and old faces will soon find new places as the game of musical chairs unfolds. The 2026 free agent class is underwhelming, to put it lightly, but there is still value to be found.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been hunting for an upgrade in goal, and they may have found one, but it wasn’t cheap. Two-time Stanley Cup champion Sergei Bobrovsky has signed with the Maple Leafs on a three-year contract worth a total of $21 million. Bobrovsky is one of the best goalies in the world at his best, but he’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career at the age of 37.

Due to the rising salary cap and teams’ urgency to lock up their stars long-term before they hit the market, anyone looking for fireworks on July 1 will have to look elsewhere. The biggest name on the market is technically Alexander Ovechkin, but he will either return to the Washington Capitals or retire.

Teams in need of defense will be pleased to find a handful of quality options, though a couple have already come off the board. After acquiring the rights to Radko Gudas, the Florida Panthers signed him to a six-year contract worth just $9 million in order to minimize the AAV. The Carolina Hurricanes acquired the rights to John Carlson prior to Wednesday, but he is now on the open market.

NHL Draft 2026 results, takeaways, complete list of Round 1 picks: Maple Leafs swing big, Sharks loading up

Austin Nivison

The No. 1 player in our rankings is Rasmus Andersson, and he has re-signed with the Vegas Golden Knights. In spite of a disappointing playoff run with the Golden Knights, he still got a hefty seven-year, $59.5 million contract. Vegas is banking on a bounce-back from Andersson, who slots into the top four on the blue line.

Here are the top 30 NHL free agents as we track where each one lands.