July 1 brings the usual free-agent frenzy, but it also opens the door for a different kind of business: contract extensions for stars who still have time left on their current deals. And when the names at the top of the list are this big, the money talk gets loud fast.
The headliners are the kind of players teams build around, not let walk away. From proven icons to younger stars just entering their prime, these are the five players eligible to work out new deals with their current clubs as of July 1.
Sidney Crosby is still doing Sidney Crosby things, which is wild to say this deep into his career. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain signed a two-year extension in September 2024 at his symbolic $8.7 million per season, and now he’s eligible for another new deal. In 68 games last season, Crosby put up 29 goals and 74 points at age 38, a reminder that even in the final years of his career, he’s still producing like a star.
Macklin Celebrini is the youngest name on the list, but his place here speaks to just how fast he’s rising. Coming off a 115-point regular season in his sophomore campaign, the 20-year-old San Jose Sharks center looks like a player who could be the best in the league next season.
The Sharks have every reason to lock him up early and for as long as possible. He’s lower on the list only because he’ll be an RFA on July 1, which means San Jose still has control and the odds of him leaving are slim.
He can sign his first standard NHL contract this summer once his entry-level deal expires in 2027.
Nikita Kucherov is another superstar reaching the end of a major contract, and the Tampa Bay Lightning winger has already made his case for a hefty raise. He just won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP after another monster season, finishing with 130 points and matching his career high with 44 goals.
That marked his sixth 100-point season. His current eight-year deal pays him $9.5 million per year, but at 33, and with production like that, a bigger number feels inevitable.
Then come the two defensemen who could reshape the top of the market. Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild is one of the most electric skaters in hockey, and his arrival helped push Minnesota into Stanley Cup contender territory.
If the Wild want to keep that going, GM Bill Guerin is going to have to pay up. Hughes is finishing a six-year deal that carried a $7.85 million cap hit, and his next contract should put him among the highest-paid players in the league.
A blueliner who can lead the NHL in ice time and still pile up 90 points is not a bargain.
Cale Makar sits at No. 1, and it’s easy to see why. Everything said about Hughes applies here too, only with an even louder resume.
Makar’s previous contract was also six years, and it expires after next season. He earned $9 million against the cap on that deal, but The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported he could become the highest-paid player in the NHL, topping Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and his $17-million average annual value.
Makar is coming off what was labeled a down year, yet he still scored 79 points. He’s also got the hardware to back up the salary talk: a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and two Norris Trophies, plus multiple 90-point seasons already on his ledger.
In Other News...
Wild Risk Repeating The Same Problem With Familiar Blue Line Fix
After another playoff exit exposed the same soft spots on the back end, the Wild are again staring at a familiar summer job: finding enough reliable help on defense without overhauling the whole group. A veteran stopgap like Zach Bogosian is part of that conversation, and his profile makes sense for a team that values size, experience and a player who can steady things in a pinch while the front office sorts out the bigger picture.
The complication is that Minnesotas blue line is not just about adding depth, but about protecting itself from more of the same strain next spring. Jared Spurgeon is approaching 37 and carries injury concerns, while the Wild also have to weigh whether to shop elsewhere for help or use assets to solve the problem a different way, even if that means considering a move involving Jesper Wallstedt. It leaves Bill Guerin with a defense decision that looks straightforward on paper and anything but once the options are laid out. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Face A Pivotal Zuccarello Decision They Can't Ignore
Mats Zuccarellos future is one of the first big summer decisions hanging over Minnesota, and it is not hard to see why. Even with age creeping up, he kept producing last season, piling up 54 points in 59 games and then adding nine more in eight playoff games, the sort of steady offensive touch the Wild have come to rely on in tight stretches.
Bill Guerin has already made it clear he would like to bring Zuccarello back, but the sides still have to find the right fit on term and money. For a player who has remained such a dependable part of Minnesotas attack, the question is less about whether he still matters and more about how the Wild structure the next deal before the summer market forces the issue. [Read more 🡒]