If the remainder of this NHL free agency class had existed a decade ago, there wouldn’t be a single team general manager on vacation right now.
Nearly two weeks into 2026 free agency, some of the biggest stars are still on the market. Unfortunately for them, Father Time is starting to catch up, meaning they aren’t nearly as sought-after as they once were.
Here’s a look at who’s still available.
Patrick Kane
- Position: Right wing
- Age: 37
- Height: 5-foot-10
- Weight: 176 pounds
- Hometown: Buffalo, New York
- 2025-26 team: Detroit Red Wings
- 2025-26 production: 67 games played, 16 goals, 57 points
Widely considered the greatest American-born player of all time, Patrick Kane still has the ability to choose his destination, even as he approaches his 38th birthday.
At the right price, no team would turn its nose up at him. Kane isn’t the 100-point player he once was, but he did score at a 70-point pace last season. Any team would be better with that type of player in its lineup.
He also brings the leadership and experience of three Stanley Cup championships (including the 2010 Cup-clinching goal), an Olympic silver medal and just about every individual award the NHL has to offer.
Anthony Mantha
- Position: Right wing
- Age: 31
- Height: 6-foot-5
- Weight: 240 pounds
- Hometown: Longueuil, Quebec
- 2025-26 team: Pittsburgh Penguins
- 2025-26 production: 81 games played, 33 goals, 64 points
Signing Anthony Mantha to the contract he probably feels he deserves would be a gamble.
He scored 33 goals in the 2025-26 season, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to the most unlikely of playoff berths — but that was his first time putting up double-digit goals in a season since 2023-24.
The injury bug just hasn’t been kind to him. If he can stay healthy the way he did last season, he could be a good addition for a team. Of those 33 goals, 26 came at even strength, meaning he doesn’t need to rely on power play time to put the puck in the net.
That’s a valuable ability to have.
Vladimir Tarasenko
- Position: Right wing
- Age: 34
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 219 pounds
- Hometown: Yaroslavl, Russia
- 2025-26 team: Minnesota Wild
- 2025-26 production: 75 games played, 23 goals, 47 points
In the last five seasons, Vladimir Tarasenko has played for six different teams. That’s a lot of moving for himself and his family, but he has proven in the process that he can provide value to almost any team (his year in Detroit seems to be an anomaly).
Adding him on a one- or two-year deal could be a smart move for a team looking to add a bit of secondary offense.
Patrik Laine
- Position: Left wing
- Age: 28
- Height: 6-foot-4
- Weight: 208 pounds
- Hometown: Tampere, Finland
- 2025-26 team: Montreal Canadiens
- 2025-26 production: 5 games played, 0 goals, 1 points
How many players in NHL history have had both a 44-goal season and a zero-goal season by age 28? Just Patrik Laine, though a core muscle injury kept him out of all but five games for the Montreal Canadiens this year.
The No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft has had fresh starts with a couple of new teams, but he has never been able to get back to the superstardom that he had with the Winnipeg Jets the first half of his career.
Still, his one-timer is one of the best in the world, and at a low dollar value on a short-term deal, the potential upside is of signing him is probably worth the risk.
Eeli Tolvanen
- Position: Right wing
- Age: 27
- Height: 5-foot-10
- Weight: 182 pounds
- Hometown: Vihti, Finland
- 2025-26 team: Seattle Kraken
- 2025-26 production: 78 games played, 12 goals, 36 points
Unlike some of the others on this list, Eeli Tolvanen is not a has-been. He’s still a productive, multi-faceted player who would boost any team. It’s possible, however, that he just waited too long to sign.
Still, teams would be smart to take a look at him. Even if all their roster spots are occupied, he’s a definite upgrade over certain players on every team in the league. A player like him would cost a decent amount at the trade deadline, so why not pick him up now?
Nick Blankenburg
- Position: Right defense
- Age: 28
- Height: 5-foot-9
- Weight: 177 pounds
- Hometown: Washington, Michigan
- 2025-26 team: Colorado Avalanche/Nashville Predators
- 2025-26 production: 61 games played, 8 goals, 24 points
There’s no question Nick Blankenburg is a capable NHL defenseman. The problem is that his genetics limit his ceiling. Unless you’re a Hall of Fame-caliber player, you’ll always get looked over at 5-foot-9.
Still, Blankenburg managed eight goals from the blue line this season — the 83rd percentile among defensemen — while seeing significantly fewer minutes than most. He can play special teams, too.
If that guy is your sixth or seventh defenseman, you’re probably in good shape.
Marcus Johansson
- Position: Left wing
- Age: 35
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 203 pounds
- Hometown: Landskrona, Sweden
- 2025-26 team: Minnesota Wild
- 2025-26 production: 75 games played, 15 goals, 49 points
Don’t let the age scare you away: Marcus Johansson’s 35-year-old season was the second-most productive of his 16-year NHL career, and he was in the 94th percentile in speed bursts between 20 and 22 miles per hour last year, per NHL Edge.
In other words, he’s still got it.
The Swede can fill in on the power play or penalty kill, but he doesn’t rely on those areas to be effective. He also averaged just 15:25 of playing time per game last season, meaning he won’t take ice time away from top-sixers.
Coming off a one-year deal worth $800,000, Johansson should be available at a cheap price point. Now that he’s older than 35, he’s also eligible for performance bonuses, meaning a team could essentially pay him for actual production rather than projected production.
Logan Stanley
- Position: Left defense
- Age: 28
- Height: 6-foot-7
- Weight: 231 pounds
- Hometown: Waterloo, Ontario
- 2025-26 team: Buffalo Sabres/Winnipeg Jets
- 2025-26 production: 76 games played, 9 goals, 26 points
The Buffalo Sabres paid a steep price to get Logan Stanley at the trade deadline, and teams seem much less interested in him now.
Until this season, Stanley was good for precisely one goal per year. He’d hit that number on the nose in all five of his previous NHL seasons, but he doubled that in the first five games this time around — and ended the year with nine.
Still, you don’t sign Stanley for his offense. He’s a big guy whose size allows him to clog up the defensive zone and move opposing forwards away from the net front. He plays a somewhat physical game, though he isn’t a menace by any means.
Despite an unfortunate post-deadline performance that ultimately saw him healthy scratched in the playoffs, he’s still a good bottom-pairing guy on most teams.
Carson Soucy
- Position: Left defense
- Age: 31 (turns 32 this month)
- Height: 6-foot-4
- Weight: 211 pounds
- Hometown: Viking, Alberta
- 2025-26 team: New York Islanders/New York Rangers
- 2025-26 production: 76 games played, 5 goals, 12 points
People criticize Carson Soucy’s speed and, in turn, his ability to defend rushes. He’s not necessarily the guy you want to defend against Connor McDavid, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be in the NHL.
Soucy is still a capable bottom-four defenseman with size and strength. He kills penalties and he chips in a bit of offense when the opportunity arises. He can hold his own in a fight, and he’s willing to go up against the toughest in the league.
If you’re looking for someone to play top-pairing minutes, Soucy isn’t your guy. But if you need depth, look no further.
James van Riemsdyk
- Position: Left wing
- Age: 37
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 210 pounds
- Hometown: Middletown, New Jersey
- 2025-26 team: Detroit Red Wings
- 2025-26 production: 72 games played, 15 goals, 31 points
Like many guys on this list, James van Riemsdyk is past his prime but still a capable NHL player. He played bottom-six minutes for the Red Wings last season but still managed 15 goals and nearly half a point per game.
He also brings a level of leadership that few others can, with more than 1,200 games of NHL experience (regular season and playoffs combined).
He might fit well with a team like the San Jose Sharks, who could use a bit more veteran presence to support their young core.
Mike Reilly
- Position: Left defense
- Age: 33
- Height: 6-foot-2
- Weight: 191 pounds
- Hometown: Glenview, Illinois
- 2025-26 team: Carolina Hurricanes
- 2025-26 production: 42 games played, 1 goal, 9 points
One day, Mike Reilly gets his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. The next, he’s unemployed.
Reilly spent the 2025-26 season as a seventh defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes, playing one more game than the minimum to automatically get his name on the trophy — and given that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon put his children’s names on it instead of Joel Nystrom, who played three games less than the cutoff, Reilly can consider himself lucky.
Reilly won’t be the guy that runs the power play or holds down the penalty kill, but a team can trust him to fill gaps as needed.
Connor Ingram
- Position: Goalie
- Age: 29
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 218 pounds
- Hometown: Imperial, Saskatchewan
- 2025-26 team: Edmonton Oilers
- 2025-26 production: 32 games played, 16 wins, 2.60 goals-against average, .899 save percentage
Connor Ingram deserves a lot of credit.
The move from Arizona to Utah coincided with the declining health and eventual passing of his mother, making it a difficult chapter of his life. But after going through the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, he came out strong on the other side and earned the starter’s net with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers signed 2026 Stanley Cup champion Frederik Andersen and acquired Devon Levi, a young goalie trying to prove himself. Them combined with Tristan Jarry, whom the Oilers acquired mid-season last year, means the goaltending group is more than set for the coming season.
A few teams still have question marks between the pipes, and Ingram’s numbers at the NHL level last season were respectable. If he doesn’t find work before the season begins, he might be wise to sit back and wait — there are always injuries, and it’s expensive to acquire a goalie mid-season.
