The 2026 free agency class may only feature one or two big-name players, if any at all
Dave Pagnotta, Issue 4, joins Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Monday morning along with Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick. Paniotta was asked about the 2026 UFA class and whether Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers will be the last man standing on July 1.
Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Scott Laughlin: “As we look ahead to next summer’s impending unrestricted free agency, a lot of people are wondering if unrestricted free agency is now officially dead. And the bread guy, Artemi Panarin, is still looking for a contract. He recently got a nice haircut, which doesn’t leave much to the imagination, right, David? That seems to be working out better for the bread guy.”
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Panarin, though, has been scoring higher here lately, for the most part. But what do we make of Panarin here? Will he be the only shining star we’re going to be talking about on July 1st? Or do you think there’s still a chance that Rangers will deal with him in the coming weeks and, dare we say, even months? “
Dave Pannotta: “Yeah, I think first of all, if he keeps this up, maybe the rest of the team should start shaving their heads as well. He’s been playing the last five or six games, whatever it is, a head game, right? You mind yourself making noise sometimes, and it pays off, and it works, and he’s done a good job, so maybe that’ll have a trickle-down effect. But I think the Rangers still want to see what they’re getting here.
It sounds like he’s seeking an additional term. But the Rangers might feel comfortable in three or four years. I think he falls more into the fifth range, but in terms of their initial discussion. But I still think they want to continue to know exactly where they are and what they have.
Quick was instrumental in everything in yesterday’s (Sunday) 2-1 loss to Detroit. But I think they still want to see if that energy continues first? Will this help motivate this team and keep them going? If that’s the case, if they start to heat up and make a run here, then I think that gives them more of a reason to try and keep a guy like Artemi Panarin on the team for a while.
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You had Kempe, but not anymore. He’s out. But Alex Tuch is also at the top of the list. Nick Schmaltz. There are others whose contracts are expiring — Boone Jenner is currently battling injuries. Like, there’s going to be some quality work, but it’s certainly not the star-studded event we were hoping for on July 1st.
I do wonder, as the season progresses, as things progress, this is going to be a trend as a lot of teams have more cap space to play with. Do we now view the trade market as an area where we will once again see those blockbuster big moves that we saw in previous years? Going back a while, when you look at future Hall of Famers and things like that.
Teams looking to shake things up may have to be a little more aggressive on the trade market because some of the things they want to do with free agency won’t be achievable for them. So this will be interesting.
I’m sure there are teams that are paying close attention to how the Rangers will handle Panarin, but I still think the Rangers are in a wait-and-see mode as to how their season will go. “
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