- Pavol Regenda and Nick Blankenburg are the most interesting names left on a thin August free agent market
- Regenda scored nine goals in 24 games for the Sharks last season and added five points at the Olympics
- Read below for where both of them fit and who else is still waiting on a contract
August free agency is usually where the leftovers go to sit. This year’s pile has two names worth a phone call.
Pavol Regenda and Nick Blankenburg both spent last season proving they belong in an NHL lineup, and neither one has a deal for 2026-27. Bradley Keith of Pro Hockey Rumors flagged the pair Wednesday as the under-the-radar options teams keep skipping past.
Regenda is the more fun bet. The 26-year-old Slovak winger went undrafted, signed with Anaheim four years ago, and spent most of that stretch buried in the AHL before San Jose traded for him in January 2025.
Then he got his shot. Regenda scored nine goals in 24 games for the Sharks last season, seven of them in his first nine appearances.
His peak came January 3 against Tampa Bay, when the 6-foot-3 winger buried his first NHL hat trick. Watch all three go in:
San Jose’s giveaway that night was mini Earthquakes soccer balls, so that is what came over the glass instead of hats:
He kept it rolling in February. Regenda put up three goals and five points in six games at the Milano Cortina Olympics, and Slovakia finished fourth.
Blankenburg is the quieter name. The 28-year-old right-shot defenseman went undrafted out of Michigan and caught on with Columbus for parts of three seasons.
Nashville signed him to a two-way deal in 2024 expecting an AHL leader. He turned it into a regular NHL job instead, piling up 21 points in 49 games last season before the Predators moved him.
Colorado gave up a 2027 fifth-round pick to get him on March 4:
That fit never materialized. Blankenburg played 12 games for the Avalanche and finished with three points, which is what tends to happen when you join a blue line that deep in March.
He is 5-foot-9, so he will always project as somebody’s seventh defenseman. He is also a right-handed puck mover who can run a second power play unit, and there are not many of those sitting around cheap in August.
Everything else on the board is thin. John Klingberg and Logan Stanley lead the remaining defensemen, and Connor Ingram is still the best goalie without a job.
Training camps open in September. A tryout invite is the likeliest route back for both of them.
