NHL’s Biggest Free Agents Set to Shatter Salary Records—Who Will Be the Game-Changers?

Free agency in the NHL has always been a whirlwind, hasn’t it? Back in the pre-salary cap days, players chasing the highest dollar seemed almost like a rite of passage—unrestricted free agents felt a certain loyalty to the top offers, often leaving hometown comforts behind. But now, with that cap looming like an invisible ceiling, things have gotten a lot more… nuanced. Recently, Elliotte Friedman joined Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio’s Morning Skate to chat about this very shift. The buzz? That this year’s free agent bunch—names like Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and Vladislav Gavrikov—might just redefine how far top-tier salaries can stretch. And what’s fascinating is the tug-of-war between players’ desires to stay put, sometimes even taking hometown discounts, versus the competitive drive pushing them—and their paychecks—ever higher. It’s a delicate balancing act, and Elliotte dives right into the heart of the matter, exploring how salary caps shape decisions and how the pursuit of being both the best on ice and the highest-paid is just part of the game these days. Curious about where this all might be headed? LEARN MORE

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin. He was asked about the upcoming free agent class and whether the ceiling for the top players in the NHL could be pushed even higher.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Gord Stellick: “I want to get back to on the ice, but what I’m really getting a vibe that I mean, pre-salary cap, before 2005, Bob Goodenow was big, that if you were an unrestricted free agent, you owed it to your brethren to go where there was top dollar. And so players might want to stay somewhere, but they went. But now the cap is a finite number, but I’m really getting a vibe, whether it’s (Mitch) Marner, whether it’s Sam Bennett, whether it’s (Vladislav) Gavrikov like, whatever it may be, are you getting that?

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Is that vibe out there? There’s a sense that this could be a year, I don’t know if the (Mikko) Rantanen thing is what set it in motion. I don’t know, but these players, because hockey players go oh gee darn will stay home, take a hometown discount, want to be there. But these kind of players may be prone to being more on the move than people think. What’s your take?”

Elliotte Friedman: “It’s a good question. I think that, like, I’m with you on the salary cap. Some people say you have to take top dollar. You have to take top dollar. And my point is, do what you want. But I understand the dollars are finite. It’s a 50/50, split, and every dollar you take should take $1 away from someone else. And that’s true. So I think people should make their own decisions. But it’s not like pushing the line and pushing the line and pushing the line comes without consequences to other players.

That all said that all said, I definitely feel Gordie that some of the star players, or some of the top players get pressured to push the line, move the line, move the line. And we’ve seen it over the last little while, you know? I mean, obviously, (Connor) McDavid was at 12.5. (Nathan) MacKinnon went over that. (Auston) Matthews went over that. And we’ll see where we end up here with some of these other players.

But one of the things, it’s funny, you mentioned this, because I was talking about this a couple of days ago with someone, and it was an agent that said to me, one of the reasons that some of these guys are so great is that they are competitive, right? And they want to be the best player. And for some of those players, wanting to be the best player also means that they’re at the top of the earnings chart. It’s another way of ranking yourself.

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I think I’m the best, so I should earn the most. Now, not everybody is wired like that. You’ll remember last time McDavid when he signed his contract, it was initially supposed to be 13.33 is the AAV, and then he dialed it back. So not everybody is wired that way, but some of these guys absolutely are wired that way, and it’s part of the competition.”

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