Unfinished Pieces Of Business Heading Into The 2026-27 NHL Season: Red Wings, Jets And More

NHL training camp is less than two weeks away, and there are still plenty of items on the to-do list for several teams to address before then.

These teams with unfinished business heading into 2026-27 don't face situations they can sleep on or deal with later. Each exhibit listed here must be handled with a sense of urgency, as time is running out.

From outstanding contracts and trade requests to other matters, here are some pieces of unfinished business that need to be confronted as soon as possible.

The Detroit Red Wings have the longest list of tasks to complete before training camp kicks off. At the top of Detroit's list should be "hire a new GM' in big red letters. Without a GM or a leader of hockey operations, the Red Wings can't make progress and set up their team for the coming campaign.

Once that's settled, the organization can shift their attention to Dylan Larkin's commitment to the team and his trade request. It's tough to see a world where Larkin takes back his request under the new front-office leadership. Whoever comes in will have to find a way to make the Red Wings captain happy and still do what's best for the franchise.

Then there is still another piece of important business to get done, and that's to re-sign 23-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Already at his young age, he's one of the cornerstones in Detroit, averaging 22:21 on the back end last season, the second most on the team.

Not long ago, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made it clear that he wants out. Most of the time, when a superstar like Hellebuyck asks to be traded, more often than not, that wish is granted.

It's not ideal to have a disgruntled player in the organization, let alone someone with Hellebuyck's influence on the ice.

Not an NHL franchise, but nonetheless, a critical piece of business is insider Elliotte Friedman and analyst Kevin Bieksa. Their contracts with Sportsnet have officially expired, and while they are still able to sign new deals with them, it's yet to happen.

As time rolls on, the sports media platform with the national rights to the NHL may be without two of the sport's best broadcasting talents in the industry, and certainly the best hockey insider, Friedman.

If Sportsnet does lose Friedman, they'll be without a true hockey insider, with rivals TSN consisting of Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger. It's a negotiation Sportsnet cannot afford to lose in order to keep the broadcasting duo, but time may be running out.

Reaching the end of the first week of September, it may surprise many that multiple notable names are still waiting for contracts.

There are seven NHL RFAs still to be inked to new deals, according to puckpedia.com. That group includes young stars Cutter Gauthier, Adam Fantilli, Alexander Nikishin, and the aforementioned Edvinsson. 

Each team with the rights to these players would like to come to terms sooner rather than later. The team and the player in a contract dispute never benefit from lengthy holdouts that eat into training camp, pre-season, or even the regular season. 

On the UFA front, it's surprising to see players like Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, Logan Stanley, Carson Soucy, and others without NHL contracts for the coming season.

It's not necessarily unfinished business for any team in the league, but certainly for those available players and their representatives.

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