Top Available Free Agents Who Could Help Every NHL Team During the 2025-26 Season

It's been a month.

The period in which the NHL's batch of free agents could sign contracts arrived on July 1, kicking off a frenzy among team executives to get transactional hands on players who could change the complexion of a franchise.

Dozens of deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars were agreed to and many were deemed instantly impactful to the league-wide competitive landscape.

But not everyone's been claimed.

A deep pool of both restricted and unrestricted free agents remains available and the B/R hockey team waded in to determine which players could conceivably be the most impactful if an inquiring team might be willing to take a chance.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

Matt Grzelcyk, D

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It's a league in which many teams lack proven, dependable defensemen. So it's a league in which a guy like Matt Grzelcyk ought to be able to find work.

The 31-year-old was among the few bright spots on a subpar team in Pittsburgh last season, ultimately posting a career-high 40 points while logging better than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the Penguins.

He played 2024-25 on a one-year, $2.75 million deal after completing a four-year, $14.75 million pact with Boston, the team that had made him a third-round pick in the 2012 draft.

If a team needs a serviceable, left-shot blue liner, he's worth a call.

Luke Kunin, C

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We'll concede that no one ought consider Luke Kunin a blockbuster player.

He was drafted 15th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2016, has never scored more than 15 goals, and has already played for four teams across parts of nine NHL seasons.

But he's still only 27 years old and had numbers in Columbus at the tail end of the 2024-25 schedule that titillated the advanced stats gurus, including positives in both shots attempted differential at even strength and expected goals differential at even strength per 60 minutes.

He's made $2.75 million per season across each of the last four, but won't likely cost that much at this stage of the process and could provide bottom-six quality and value for a team in need.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, C

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And here we have the ultimate flyer for a brave NHL GM.

Evgeny Kuznetsov is hardly over the hill at 33 years old and is an eight-time double-digit goal-scorer in the NHL, including a career-best 27 with Washington in 2017-18 and 12 more in the playoffs on the way to a Stanley Cup.

But it's been a rougher ride in recent years, including a stint in the league's Player Assistance Program in 2024 before Carolina terminated his contract and prompted a year playing in Russia's KHL.

Word on the street is that Kuznetsov is interested in returning to North America and his 173 NHL goals indicate he could provide a worthwhile middle-six spark for a team willing to leap on a risk-free, incentive-laden deal.

Mason McTavish, C

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OK, here's where we get a slight bit technical.

Mason McTavish ended a three-year, entry-level deal at the close of the 2024-25 season, which, at age 22, makes him a restricted free agent.

So it's not as if a team can swoop in and snatch him away from Anaheim without cost. But what they can do is construct an offer sheet that would pry him from the Ducks for a draft pick or two, or use the threat of one to cajole them into a trade for the 219-pounder, who's progressed from 17 to 19 to 22 goals.

His 52 points last season were a career high and second-best on the team, which would surely be valuable to another interested team willing to match his reported contract demands, which exceed $5 million annually.

Jack Roslovic, C

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The most prolific point-scorer of the still-available restricted free agents, Roslovic is another former first-round draft pick (25th overall, 2015) and a two-time 20-goal scorer with a career high of 22 that he matched last season with Carolina.

He played for the Hurricanes at $2.8 million and has also suited up for Winnipeg, Columbus and the New York Rangers, having signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Blue Jackets in 2022 before a trade to New York at the 2024 deadline.

Despite the inability to stay put for the long term, Roslovic is still just 28 and is a versatile option in the middle six thanks to his ability to play center or wing.

And like Kunin before him, his advanced analytics were particularly good during his stints with both the Rangers and Hurricanes.

Marco Rossi, C

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The youngest and most potential-filled player still on the restricted market, Rossi was selected ninth overall by Minnesota in 2020 and has gone for 21 and 24 goals in two full NHL seasons while also jumping from 40 to 60 points.

He had seven goals and 16 points on the power play for the Wild with three game-winning goals and career highs in ice time (18:15) and shot percentage (17.6).

Like McTavish, the price is relatively low for a GM to swoop in and grab the 23-year-old with an offer sheet, or hope the specter of one will elicit productive trade talks for a player reportedly seeking a deal worth $6 million to $7 million per year.

If it works, the new team gets a player with a high hockey IQ and the ability to find the productive spots on the ice.