Greg Wyshynski May 29, 2026, 08:00 AM ET Close Greg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer. How deep the NHL free agent pool could have been. This was supposed to be the summer of Connor McDavid , before he gave the Edmonton Oilers two more years to win a Stanley Cup with his services . Or the summer of Kirill Kaprizov , before he signed the richest contract in NHL history ($136 million) to remain with the Minnesota Wild . It could have been the summer of Kyle Connor , Adrian Kempe , Evgeni Malkin , Martin Necas and Artemi Panarin , all of whom reupped with their respective teams before free agency. The rising salary cap -- set at $104 million next season, an increase of $8.5 million -- has allowed teams to retain their players, who no longer need competing offers to get the money they're chasing. For those players who will hit the free agent market this summer, it'll be a frenzy. Look at Charlie Coyle . The center re-signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets for six seasons.…