A recent ranking by The Athletic’s Chris Johnston has placed several notable NHL stars among the top 20 players who could become unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire on June 30, 2026. Among the list are Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, who secured the 6th and 20th positions, respectively.
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky ranked 5th, while the top spot went to Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh. The full list of the top 20 players includes:
1. Darren Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning)
2. Rasmus Andersson (Vegas Golden Knights)
3. Alex Tuch (Buffalo Sabres)
4. John Carlson (Anaheim Ducks)
5. Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers)
6. Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
7. Charlie Coyle (Columbus Blue Jackets)
8. Bobby McMann (Seattle Kraken)
9. Stuart Skinner (Pittsburgh Penguins)
10. Jake Trouba (Anaheim Ducks)
11. Anthony Mantha (Pittsburgh Penguins)
12. Mason Marchment (Columbus Blue Jackets)
13. Jaden Schwartz (Seattle Kraken)
14. Logan Stanley (Buffalo Sabres)
15. Patrick Kane (Detroit Red Wings)
16. Mats Zuccarello (Minnesota Wild)
17. Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
18. Viktor Arvidsson (Boston Bruins)
19. Mario Ferraro (San Jose Sharks)
20. Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
