Four Metro Contract Situations to Watch in 2026-27
Carolina's Blake and Stankoven deals already look favorable, while Marchenko, Allen and Schaefer face very different contract questions.
Sportsnet highlighted one contract situation for every team in the Metropolitan Division. Four stand out because of the value already delivered or the decisions still ahead.
Carolina enters 2026-27 with two deals that already look favorable. Jackson Blake ($5.117 million annually) and Logan Stankoven ($6 million) signed eight-year extensions in 2025, then posted career highs in the regular season and combined for 36 points in 19 playoff games during the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup run. Blake led Carolina with 20 playoff points, while Stankoven added 16. Sportsnet used Leo Carlsson's $18 million offer sheet this summer as an example of how much more the market might have demanded had Blake and Stankoven waited.
In Columbus, Kirill Marchenko is entering the final year of a $3.85 million AAV deal after putting up 58 goals and 141 points over the past two seasons. His agent went public this summer saying a re-signing in Columbus is unlikely, and the trade rumours have been loud. General manager Don Waddell has said Marchenko is in camp and motivated to play, but with restricted free agency looming after the season, this situation is not resolved.
In New Jersey, the Jake Allen contract has taken on a different shape than anyone anticipated when it was signed in July 2025. The five-year deal at $1.8 million annually made sense as a backup arrangement behind Jacob Markstrom. But Markstrom was traded to the Florida Panthers this offseason, leaving Allen as the projected starter. New GM Sunny Mehta has not moved to add a higher-priced option, which suggests he sees something in Allen worth betting on at that cap number.
On Long Island, Matthew Schaefer's entry-level deal is technically the least surprising contract on paper, but the context makes it fascinating. Schaefer tied Brian Leetch's NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenceman with 23 and finished with 59 points, winning the Calder Trophy unanimously. GM Mathieu Darche cannot sign him to an extension until next summer, and every defenceman contract signed between now and then, like Zeev Buium's eight-year deal at $9.38 million annually in Vancouver, is raising the floor on what Schaefer will eventually cost.
