Pending NHL Free Agents 2027 Who Could Get Traded During the 2026-27 Season
With the way life in the NHL goes, it's never too early to start thinking about trades. While all eyes now are on Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin, looking ahead to next summer's free agent class gives us a look at a lot of other players who could be moved this season.
We haven't dug into the science of it all, but players set to become free agents tend to be the ones most likely to be traded before the season is out. Whether it's because their team feels like they might not be able to keep them or a team is looking to sell before the trade deadline, players at the end of a contract make the most sense to deal away.
Even though the list of names of potential free agents is really juicy now, we know that a healthy number of them won't make it to July 1 without an extension in place. That's why we're keeping our list of names a bit more realistic... in most cases anyway.
Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings
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Unlike his teammate Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat is a Michigan native who would like to stick around with the Red Wings. Unfortunately for him, whatever happens with Larkin may dictate how the Wings' season goes and if it turns really bad, Detroit might be better suited to trade DeBrincat to cash in on a potentially juicy return.
DeBrincat was the Red Wings leading scorer last season with 41 goals and 44 assists (85 points). He's been an electrifying goal scorer throughout his career in Chicago and Ottawa previously and he's due for a big payday after this season is up as a free agent, whether he gets there or not.
No doubt that discussing an extension is on Detroit's to-do list, but they've been a bit, uh, messy this offseason dealing with Larkin, a search for a new GM, and trying to re-sign RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson. One thing at a time, apparently. If time gets away from them, trading DeBrincat is a real possibility. And you thought Detroit's year couldn't get worse!
Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild
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All eyes will be on Minnesota this season and not just because they're going to be a fun team to watch. They'll also be watching to see if/when Quinn Hughes gets traded for the second season in a row.
Wild GM Bill Guerin desperately wants to sign Hughes to an extension and considering how brilliant he was from the moment he arrived in St. Paul that's the right move. Then again, Quinn Hughes will cash in no matter where or when he signs and with his two younger brothers already playing together with the New Jersey Devils, it's impossible not to think that's ultimately where he wants to go.
Whether that means a trade to the Devils or to another team ready to make Hughes the highest paid player in the NHL the second he hops off the plane remains to be seen.
Then again, Guerin having all the time and ability to try and hammer something out gives him the advantage to either lock Hughes in for years to come or to trade him before word gets out that he needs to do that to ensure a whopper of a return.
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
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It's kind of wild to think that Erik Karlsson is in the final year of his contract and that he very well could be a great deadline pickup for a team one more time in his career.
The 36-year-old three-time Norris Trophy winner is coming off a fantastic resurgent season with the Pittsburgh Penguins after finding new life in coach Dan Muse's system. There's no reason to think he can't continue doing that again this season and help spur Pittsburgh back into the playoffs again.
But should things go sour for the Pens, and the playoffs get out of reach, Karlsson would be immensely attractive on the final year of his contract. Yes, he's got a whopper of a cap hit at $10 million, but that's lower than it should be thanks to the San Jose Sharks eating part of that from the trade that sent him to Pittsburgh in 2023. A move at the deadline would make Karlsson's hit even more palatable and his skills and abilities would ideally bring more than a few suitors.
Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets
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Although our lists like this like to focus on unrestricted free agents-to-be, it's hard to not look past some of the RFAs who are in awkward positions of their own with contracts coming due. None are more awkward than Columbus' Kirill Marchenko.
Marchenko had a thorny return to Blue Jackets training camp after he demanded a trade this summer. While he stated he loved hockey and enjoys being out there on the ice, when it came to doing all that in Columbus, he was a bit more evasive in answering.
It's hard to imagine things staying cool with the Blue Jackets and Marchenko much longer, never mind the rest of the season, and for a player of his skill and scoring ability, there's no doubt there are teams interested in finding a way to add him.
Marchenko will no doubt command top dollar for an extension and oddly enough, his RFA status has him in the driver's seat in a way to pick where he wants to go. After all, what team is going to spend assets to acquire him if he won't sign long-term there either?
Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins
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A lot of how this season goes will determine what happens with a couple of the Boston Bruins top free agents-to-be and in Pavel Zacha's case, he could be in high demand if the Bruins fall out of contention.
Zacha has become a top two-way player in Boston and is coming off his most productive season as a pro. He had 30 goals and 35 assists (65 points) and set new career highs in goals and points. Since joining the Bruins, Zacha's offensive game has grown, and his defensive play has stayed steady from his years in New Jersey.
Zacha turns 30 in April and while that age can be a bit scary for some GMs, others see it as a sign of the player being their ideal self. For teams in need of a top six center with two-way ability, he'd make an ideal addition should things change with Boston in the standings or financially.
Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators
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Some players have a way of finding their names in trade rumors all the time and Ryan O'Reilly is one of them. Ever since he landed in Nashville, there's been idle chatter about him finding his way to another team and now that he's in the last year of his contract with the Predators, that's not about to change.
What's working in O'Reilly's favor is he's already won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy with St. Louis in 2019 which makes him an ideal player for contenders to zero in on for a trade. It also means O'Reilly won't just be cool with a trade to any team just for fun either.
O'Reilly is 35 years old and still playing strong hockey. His defensive game is still solid, he's good on faceoffs and he can still generate a ton of offense (74 points last season with 25 goals). If Nashville is out of playoff contention, it's hard to imagine he'll still be there by the trade deadline.
Braden Schneider, New York Rangers
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Another young player who's set to be a restricted free agent this summer is Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider. What's interesting with him is he was an RFA this summer and signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract. If it was a "show me" contract, it's a lot of money for one year to prove yourself which means teams ought to be calling New York about his availability.
Schneider is 25 years old and has been a fixture on the Rangers blue line the past four seasons. He's a steady 15-to-20 point a year player, can move the puck well and his advanced metrics are average-ish. You get the feeling the Rangers don't want to give up on a younger player but also lack internal options to push him and efforts to change that from the outside have fallen short.
Schneider could be an ideal change-of-scenery candidate in a trade, but if fortunes change for the Rangers, he could benefit from that. Then again, 2026 first-round pick Alberts Smits might be the guy that causes a Schneider trade to happen if he takes the blue line by storm.
Morgan Frost, Calgary Flames
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Things haven't been looking positive for the Flames the past couple seasons and as they head into a new year, they could be looking at ways to tinker with the roster more, especially with forward Morgan Frost heading into free agency next summer.
Frost had his best season in three years last season with 22 goals and 21 assists (43 points) and should he build on that, it would help land him a raise on his $4.375 million cap hit this season. Since he became a full-time NHL player in 2022-2023 with the Flyers, he's been a steady 40-point per season player with the hope that his offensive numbers would improve and setting a career high with 22 goals last season might be an indicator of that happening now.
If Frost's offense continues to grow this season, the Flames will have a choice to make whether or not to offer him a raise on an extension or potentially have to deal him if he wants to test the market. At 27 years old, he's not likely going to develop as a player further, but if veteran savvy leads to more goals, he could be a sneaky addition for another team.
Casey Mittelstadt, Boston Bruins
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It's not to say that Casey Mittelstadt has been a perplexing player the past few seasons, but the offensive breakout we saw from him a few years ago with the Buffalo Sabres hasn't found its way to either Colorado or Boston in full. In Buffalo, he was nearly a 60-point player, but since then he's been around a 40-to-45-point player, still solid, but obviously not quite as potent.
Mittelstadt's skill is still very good. He possesses incredible hands and scoring instincts and a quick offensive mind. As he enters the final year of his contract with the Bruins, whether his future is meant to remain in Boston or to go elsewhere that his offense can better shine remains to be seen, but if the Bruins struggle this season, the chances of Mittelstadt going elsewhere in a trade would rise.
What's more interesting about his setup in Boston is that with J-J Peterka's arrival with the Bruins, Mittelstadt could end up on a line with fellow UFA-to-be Pavel Zacha, and that kind of arrangement could lead to both of them having career years with new contracts in the waiting. That would be a nice problem for the Bruins to have.
Shane Wright, Seattle Kraken
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If it feels like we've been waiting a long time for Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin to get traded, imagine what it's been like for RFA-to-be Shane Wright. The Kaken more-or-less made it clear they were looking to move the 2022 No. 4 overall pick.
Wright has been a change of scenery candidate for about a year now (at least it feels that way) and after seeing his point total go from 44 two years ago to 27 last season under new coach Lane Lambert, it's more than a cause for concern for everyone involved. He was an elite skill player in junior hockey and had a strong first pro season in the AHL at 19 years old, but the situation in Seattle has been less-than helpful for Wright.
What Seattle would want in a trade and what a team would offer almost certainly differ drastically because Kraken management wouldn't want to have egg on their faces should Wright break out somewhere else. Barring a breakout to start this season, Seattle moving him seems inevitable if not overdue.
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