Saturday will mark one month until the maximum term for NHL contracts will drop from eight years when re-signing with a team to seven.
It’s possible that the last-ever eight-year deal has already been inked, with the most recent max-term deal surprisingly going to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Ville Koivunen, who signed for a cap hit of $4 million.
Koivunen became the seventh player to sign an eight-year deal this summer, joining John Marino, Tyson Foerster, Eetu Luostarinen, Ivan Demidov, Alex Tuch and Darren Raddysh.
While there are still a handful restricted free agents this summer and no shortage of players eligible to sign extensions as their deals get set to expire, only a few are realistic candidates for an eight-year term before the Sept. 15 cut off.
Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier headlines the unsigned RFAs this summer, with his price tag having likely risen after the team matched a five-year, $90 million offer sheet tendered by the Philadelphia Flyers to Leo Carlsson last month.
The Carlsson offer sheet appeared to mark a pivot among big name restricted free agents to signing shorter-term deals, with Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard and Pavel Mintyukov also inking five-year contracts.
It remains to be seen whether Gauthier or Columbus Blue Jackets centre Adam Fantilli, also a restricted free agent, will follow that trend or sign for eight years while the option remains available.
Six other restricted free agents remain unsigned this summer in Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Alexander Nishikin, Zack Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj of the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings blueliner Simon Edvinsson, and defencemen Vincent Iorio of the New York Rangers and Kevin Korchinski of the Chicago Blackhawks. None of them would appear prime candidates for the max year, though as the Penguins did with Koivunen, it’s possible a front office elects to get creative.
There are some big name pending unrestricted free agents for 2027, but an eight-year deal may not be in the cards for any of them.
Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes headline the list and, while their teams would be happy to lock in the superstars long-term, the players may have different thoughts. Makar has shown no signs of an unwillingness to commit long-term to the Avalanche, though he will likely have his pick of term on a new deal.
Hughes, meanwhile, is reportedly angling for a three-year term with the Minnesota Wild to walk him to unrestricted free agency at the same time as his brother, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils.
Makar is set to turn 28 in October, while Hughes will turn 27 in the same month, making both ideal candidates for an eight-year term. The same cannot be said for many of the other big-name players on expiring deals.
Reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov is a pending UFA, but at 33, an eight-year deal appears to be unlikely offer from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sidney Crosby, Ryan O’Reilly, Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson can all safely be put among that group as well.
Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat posted the third-most points among potential 2027 UFAs and appears to be at the right age at 28. Detroit, however, is continuing to search for the team’s new general manager after Steve Yzerman moved to a senior advisor role last month. Time appears to be working against DeBrincat if he was hoping for an eight-year deal as even once hired the new GM will be focused Dylan Larkin’s future and signing Edvinsson as he charts the team’s new direction.
Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson and Pavel Zacha of the Boston Bruins could also be outside possibilities to ink eight-year deals though reports would suggest those are unlikely. Zacha was floated as a possible trade candidate this off-season and Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia recently reported that Batherson and the Senators “aren’t close” on a deal.
Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, who finished behind only Kucherov in points among potential 2027 UFAs, turned down an eight-year deal at a cap hit of roughly $15 million earlier this year in a failed a sign-and-trade with the Seattle Kraken earlier this summer. After inking a one-year, $12 million contract to stay with the Stars, Robertson is ineligible to sign a new deal until January.
None of the pending 2027 restricted free agents would appear to be prime candidates for an eight-year term, but it’s still possible a team looks to lock one of them up on a max deal. Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko led the group with 27 goals and 67 points last season, but his future with the club has been a significant source of speculation.
Will Smith could be a candidate as the Sharks looks to lock in their lineup down the middle long-term after the Celebrini deal. The 21-year-old centre posted 24 goals and 59 points in 69 games last season.
As of Sept. 16, the max term for players re-signing while under contract will be seven years, while the maximum for players signing with new teams will be six years.
