Charlie Coyle signed a six-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, which means there will be one less center available in NHL free agency.
The Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed center Charlie Coyle to a six-year contract worth $36 million on Tuesday.
This new deal, which carries a $6-million cap hit, will expire following the 2031-32 campaign. Coyle would be 40 years old at that point.
The 34-year-old was one of the top pending UFA centers available this off-season. But with the veteran center coming off the board, the free-agent market has just gotten thinner down the middle.
Despite entering his mid-30s, Coyle was actually one of the younger centers of note on track to become a UFA this summer.
Here are the best centers remaining in this 2026 free agency class.
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin has panned out to be one of the best centers of his generation in the NHL. However, the Russian will be turning 40 this July, and his best years are behind him.
Nonetheless, Malkin had a fairly impressive campaign in the regular season, putting up 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games. If he kept that scoring pace across a full 82-game season, he would finish the year close to the 90-point mark.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is at the end of a four-year contract that he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in July 2022, paying him $6.1 million per season.
While Malkin said he wants to re-sign, he said he'd be open to signing elsewhere if the Penguins don't want him back.
Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets
After handling business with Coyle, it appears Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell isn't quite finished handling his veteran centers, as Boone Jenner is next in line for a new deal.
Jenner, 32, has had some injury issues for several seasons now. In fact, the last time he played every game in a season was in the 2019-20 campaign.
This year, he had 13 goals and 38 points while averaging 16:05 of ice time in 67 games.
The Blue Jackets captain is coming off a four-year contract at $3.75 million in average annual value.
Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators
Claude Giroux, who has spent most of his time on the wing for the Ottawa Senators, is another veteran who is due for a new contract.
The 38-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Senators in the off-season for $2 million to complete what was his fourth season with his hometown club.
He put up respectable numbers for the past couple of campaigns, essentially producing identical statistics offensively. This past year, he recorded 14 goals and 49 points in 82 games, while he registered 15 goals and 50 points in 81 appearances in the season prior.
Giroux said after the season that he'll take time to decide whether he'll play another season. If he does return, he's interested in re-signing with the Senators.
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