Top 10 NHL Free Agents Still Available on July 2nd
Many of the notable (and not-so-notable) unrestricted free agents found new homes in free agency on Wednesday. But that was just Day 1. There's still a whole summer ahead for those who didn't sign to find themselves a team.
Here now, we present the Top 10 UFAs that are still available as of the start of July 2nd—Day 2 of NHL free agency.
- Alex Ovechkin
- Anthony Mantha
- Patrick Kane
- Logan Stanley
- Claude Giroux
- Patrik Laine
- Vladimir Tarasenko
- John Klingberg
- Michael Bunting
- Eeli Tolvanen
Okay, Ovi's case is a bit of an exception. He will either retire, or return to the Washington Capitals. That decision should be coming soon. But it's not like he's up for grabs for teams around the league looking for some offense.
Anthony Mantha and Patrik Laine are, however. But they're coming off very different seasons. Mantha had a career year with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the age of 31. He popped 33 goals, eight better than his previous high, and 64 points, 16 better than he'd ever done before in his 11-year career. It doesn't feel like there are too many clubs that have been fooled by that one-off, as he doesn't have a deal yet. He'd averaged just 12 goals a year over the previous five seasons.
Laine, on the other hand, is a seven-time 20-goal scorer, and still just 28 years old. But his 2025-26 campaign was a completely lost year. Just five games played with the Canadiens back in October before an injury kept him out for months, and he never played again the rest of the season.
Kane, the three-time Stanley Cup champion, has proven he can still bring it, even at 38. The Toronto Maple Leafs had been linked to Kane if he leaves the Detroit Red Wings.
Logan Stanley is the top defenseman among those still available, and the 6-foot-7 physical blueliner is highly coveted in the market for his size.
Giroux certainly has some suitors out there, also at age-38. He maintained his usual double-digit scoring this past season, and he was the best faceoff man in the league, winning in the dot at a 63.1% rate. Ottawa would love to have him back, but there's some thought he could return to his original team, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tarasenko had a 23-goal season, and he recently changed agents. He's been linked to Edmonton.
