Seven Players Re-Enter 2026 NHL Draft After Rights Expire

The NHL rights deadline passed on June 1, and several previously drafted prospects no longer belong to any NHL club after failing to sign entry-level contracts by 5:00 p.m. ET, according to tracking by PuckPedia. The group includes players selected in the 2022 and 2024 NHL Drafts who did not reach an agreement before their rights expired. For some of these prospects, the result is a return to the draft; for others, it is unrestricted free agency.

Seven of the unsigned players are from the CHL and will re-enter the NHL Draft in June 2026. These cases generally involve North American draftees who remained in the CHL until age 20 and did not have an NCAA commitment, as well as certain other players outside the CHL who also lacked NCAA arrangements. NCAA players follow a different timeline because they cannot sign professional contracts and keep college eligibility, so their rights expire later than the June 1 deadline.

The remaining unsigned prospects were European players drafted from European pro or junior leagues. Their rights lapsed because they did not sign within the required window after being selected in the 2022 NHL Draft, if they were drafted before age 20, or in the 2024 NHL Draft if they were drafted at age 20.

As a result, these players are now free from NHL club control, and their paths forward depend on their draft status, age, and league eligibility. Some will go back into the draft this year, while others—particularly those from the 2022 class—have become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team.

The June 1 deadline is a key date on the NHL calendar because it determines whether drafted players remain under a team’s exclusive rights or become eligible to re-enter the draft or hit the open market. This year’s deadline again created movement for a small but notable group of prospects from the CHL and Europe.

For players still unsigned after the deadline, the outcome can have major implications for development and future contract opportunities. Re-entering the draft gives some prospects another chance to find a new organization, while free agency opens the door to immediate negotiations with any NHL team.