July 1 opens the door to the biggest contract conversations in hockey, and the names at the front of the line are exactly who you’d expect: stars, cornerstones, and in some cases, players who could reshape the top of the salary scale.
This isn’t the usual free-agency scramble for players whose deals have run out. It’s the other side of the calendar - the one where teams can lock up players who are still a year away from needing a new contract. And when those players are elite, the numbers can get serious fast.
Sidney Crosby is one of them. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is already deep into the final chapter of a legendary career, but he’s not done yet.
In September 2024, Crosby signed a two-year extension at his symbolic $8.7 million per season. Now he’s eligible to add more years if he wants to keep going.
Even at 38, he produced 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games last season.
Macklin Celebrini is the youngest name on the list, and the San Jose Sharks would love to get ahead of the curve. Coming off an 115-point regular season in his sophomore year, the 20-year-old is only getting more dangerous.
He’s eligible for a contract extension this summer, though he remains an RFA as of July 1, which means San Jose still has control and the odds of him going anywhere are slim. His entry-level deal runs through 2027, and he can sign his first standard NHL contract this summer.
Nikita Kucherov is right there in the superstar tier, too. The Tampa Bay Lightning winger just won the Hart Trophy and is nearing the end of his eight-year deal that paid him $9.5 million per season.
At 33, he’s positioned to cash in after another monster year: 130 points, 44 goals, and his sixth 100-point season. A raise feels like the natural next step.
Then come the defensemen who can really change a franchise’s financial picture. Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild is one of the NHL’s most electric skaters, and his next deal is going to reflect that.
The 26-year-old is finishing a six-year contract that carried a $7.85 million cap hit, and if the Wild want to keep their momentum going after his arrival helped turn them into a Stanley Cup contender, GM Bill Guerin is going to have to pay up. Hughes can drive the game from the back end, lead the league in ice time, and still pile up 90 points.
At the top of the list is Cale Makar, the Colorado Avalanche defenseman who checks every box Hughes does - and then some. His six-year deal, worth $9 million against the cap, runs out after next season, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that Makar could become the highest-paid player in the NHL, topping Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and his $17-million average annual value. Makar’s 79-point season may have been labeled a down year, but his résumé still includes multiple 90-point campaigns, a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy and two Norris Trophies.
In Other News...
Panthers Just Turned Bobrovsky Into A Huge Atlantic Story
Sergei Bobrovskys next stop is suddenly one of the more intriguing goalie questions on the market, and the ripple effect is being felt well beyond South Florida. With the Panthers moving in a different direction in net, Bobrovsky is expected to reach unrestricted free agency, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have already surfaced as one of the teams keeping close watch.
For Toronto, the appeal is obvious enough: a proven starter becomes available at a time when the club is weighing its options between the pipes. But any real pursuit would come with the usual hard questions about contract length, value and how much risk a team wants to absorb for a goalie entering his late 30s. If the Maple Leafs go that route, they may also have to clear space in a crowded goaltending picture, which only adds another layer to a decision that could shape the market quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Made A Goalie Move That Changes Everything
A major goalie shakeup appears to be taking shape for Florida, with the Panthers reportedly close to landing Jacob Markstrom from the Devils after already adding Akira Schmid recently. The move would bring another established option into a crease that has suddenly become the most watched part of the roster, and it comes with the kind of roster and cap maneuvering that tends to signal a bigger plan rather than a one-off addition.
New Jersey is expected to get Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves back in the deal, while Florida would also bring in Angus Crookshank. With no salary retention involved, the structure suggests the Panthers are willing to absorb the full commitment to make the move work, and it raises the next obvious question for a team that has not been shy about changing its goalie picture quickly: what comes after this? [Read more 🡒]
Evan Rodrigues Just Reopened A Familiar Sabres Debate
Evan Rodrigues move to New Jersey closed the book on another productive stretch in Florida, where he became one of the more reliable depth pieces on a roster built to win. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has been exactly the sort of versatile, playoff-tested forward contenders value, and his path through several NHL stops only adds to the sense that he can fit just about anywhere a team needs him.
For the Panthers, though, the deal also leaves behind a familiar kind of conversation about what he brought and what his departure means for the room. Rodrigues arrives with one year left on his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency, which gives the Devils a short-term veteran addition and Florida a chance to reshape its forward depth with an eye on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]