July 1 always brings the usual free-agency frenzy, but the extension market is where the real fireworks can start. While plenty of attention goes to players whose deals have already run out, the league’s biggest names can also lock in new money with their current teams once the calendar flips.
That group is loaded with star power this summer, from veterans still producing at an elite level to younger players who are already among the NHL’s most valuable pieces. Here are five players eligible to sign contract extensions as of July 1.
Sidney Crosby is still writing the final chapters of a legendary career, and the Pittsburgh Penguins captain is now eligible for another extension after signing a two-year deal in September 2024 at his symbolic $8.7 million per season. He’s already shown he can still drive the offense, finishing this past season with 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games at age 38. At this point, the only real question is how long he wants to keep going.
Nikita Kucherov is another superstar nearing the end of a major contract, and a raise feels like the obvious next step. The Tampa Bay Lightning winger is coming off an eight-year deal that paid him $9.5 million per season, and his latest season gave the case even more weight: he won the Hart Trophy, posted 130 points, matched his career high with 44 goals and recorded his sixth 100-point campaign. Even at 33, he’s positioned to cash in again.
Then there’s Quinn Hughes, whose next deal figures to be enormous. The Minnesota Wild defenseman has become one of the league’s most dynamic skaters, and his arrival helped push the team into Stanley Cup contender territory.
He’s nearing the end of a six-year contract that carried a $7.85 million cap hit, but that number won’t come close to defining his next one. A blueliner who can lead the NHL in ice time and still pile up 90 points is going to command top-tier money, and GM Bill Guerin will have to pay up if he wants to keep him.
Cale Makar sits at the top of the list for good reason. The Colorado Avalanche defenseman checks every box Hughes does, only with an even stronger resume.
His previous six-year deal carried a $9 million cap hit, and according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, he could end up becoming the highest-paid player in the NHL, overtaking Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and his $17-million average annual value. Makar’s 79 points this past season were labeled a down year, but that still comes with multiple 90-point seasons, a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy and two Norris Trophies.
Macklin Celebrini rounds out the group, though his situation is a little different from the rest. The San Jose Sharks center is already one of the brightest young talents in the league, fresh off an 115-point regular season in his sophomore campaign.
He’s eligible for a first standard NHL contract this summer as his entry-level deal runs through 2027, and while the Sharks should want to keep him as long as possible, he’ll be an RFA as of July 1. That means San Jose still has control, and the odds of him going anywhere are very slim.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Have Found A Cheap Answer To Their Depth Problem
The qualifying-offer deadline on June 29 has already started to reshape the Avalanches summer picture, and for Colorado it was a fairly quiet cut-down day. Daniil Gushchin was the only player in the organization who did not receive a qualifying offer, which put him on track to become an unrestricted free agent and left the front office with one more roster decision to sort through as it tries to round out its forward depth.
From there, the more interesting question is how Colorado shops the market for inexpensive help. A few unrestricted free agent forwards have surfaced as possible fits for the Avalanche based on need and recent performance, including Matias Maccelli, Philipp Kurashev and Arthur Kaliyev. Maccelli stands out as the kind of winger who could help fill minutes opened by departures on the wing, while the others offer the sort of low-cost, upside-driven options teams often examine when they need scoring depth without spending much. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Just Got Linked To A Center Fans Will Debate
With free agency about to open, the Avalanche are being mentioned in the kind of center-market chatter that tends to get fans talking for all the right and wrong reasons. One name floating around is Boone Jenner, a seasoned Columbus Blue Jackets pivot whose profile fits a few obvious needs: experience, stability down the middle and a long track record of handling faceoffs at a reliable level.
The fit is easy to understand, even if the deal itself is not. Colorado already has Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Nicolas Roy and Fyodor Svechkov in the middle, so any additional move would have to make sense both on the ice and on the cap sheet. Jenners previous price point gives a sense of where the discussion may go next, but for now this is still only a possibility, leaving the real debate to whether the Avalanche would want him and what kind of number would make it work. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Drouin Just Became A Very Intriguing Avalanche Question
Jonathan Drouin is suddenly back on the market after the Blues put him on waivers for buyout purposes, a move that will send him into unrestricted free agency. For the Avalanche, its at least worth noting because Drouin spent two seasons in Colorado and still sits in the category of forwards who could make sense if the price comes down to a bargain level.
Colorado has cap space and has shown interest in adding forwards, which makes this a name to keep in the conversation rather than just a familiar one from the past. Drouins best run recently came in Denver, and if he decides a return is appealing, the Avalanche could have a real opening even as the rest of the market waits to see where he lands next. [Read more 🡒]