In his first season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25, McLeod scored a career-high 53 points (20G / 33A) in 80 games. He returns to the Sabres on a four-year contract extension worth $5 million AAV. The 25-year-old McLeod will likely be relied upon for even more offensive production after the loss of JJ Peterka in the offseason.
Schuldt is an undrafted 30-year-old defenseman who spent most of his career playing in the AHL, limited to only nine NHL games. He scored 21 points (6G / 15A) in 64 games with the San Jose Baracuda (AHL) last season.
Cuylle had a breakout 2024-25 season, emerging as one of the league's better power forwards, earning himself a two-year, $3.9 million AAV contract extension with the Rangers. The 23-year-old Cuylle had a career-high 45 points (20G / 25A) in 82 games last season while being amongst the league leaders with 301 hits.
The Sharks are heading in a different direction between the pipes in the 2025-26 season, now with Alex Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov battling for the crease. The 29-year-old Nedeljkovic posted a subpar 3.12 GAA and .894 SV% in 38 appearances last season (14-15-5) on a Pittsburgh Penguins team that struggled defensively.
After spending most of the previous three seasons with the Dallas Stars, Dadonov has signed a one-year contract worth $1 million with the New Jersey Devils. The 36-year-old Dadonov was effective in a sheltered role with the Stars, averaging 13:39 time-on-ice and scoring 78 points (35G / 43A) in 154 combined games. He will likely play a similar bottom-six role for the Devils in 2025-26.
Boyd is a veteran of 299 NHL games but only played three last season with the Minnesota Wild. Boyd returns to the Maple Leafs on a one-year, $775K contract after spending a portion of the 2020-21 season with them, scoring eight points (3G / 5A) in 20 games.
Groulx was the 54th overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending most of his career with the Ducks organization. The 25-year-old scored 37 points (15G / 22A) in 47 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Mermis played four NHL games last season, splitting time between Utah and Toronto, but spent most of the campaign in the AHL. He had seven points (0G / 7A) in 32 games with the Toronto Marlies.
Toninato played 77 games with the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021-22 season, scoring 14 points (7G / 7A), but only played 25 combined NHL games over the next three seasons. The 31-year-old scored 36 points (18G / 18A) in 60 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) last season and will hope for a more prominent NHL role in 2025-26 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lundestrom was a first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The 25-year-old forward spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Anaheim Ducks and will have a change of scenery in 2025-26, joining the Columbus Blue Jackets on a two-year contract worth $1.3 million. He has 84 points (35G / 49A) in 337 career games.
Vanecek joined the Florida Panthers and the trade deadline last season and served as the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky during the run to a Stanley Cup Championship. The 29-year-old Czech goalie has battled consistency over the previous few seasons and will hope to emerge as a reliable option for the Utah Mammoth in 2025-25.
Gaudette played a career-high 81 games last season and scored a career-high 19 goals with the Ottawa Senators. The 28-year-old has split most of his career alternating between the AHL and NHL and will hope to continue a trend from last year, playing as an NHL regular in the 2025-26 season.
Katchouk has 36 points (15G / 21A) in 176 career NHL games but spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season in the AHL. The 27-year-old forward scored 49 points (21G / 28A) in 67 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) last season.
Megna has played 193 career NHL games but spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL. The 32-year-old defenseman scored 16 points (2G / 14A) in 62 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL). He provides the Vegas Golden Knights with depth at the defence position after signing a two-year deal worth $800K AAV.
The Dallas Stars were reportedly interested in bringing Granlund back after meshing with the team after joining before the trade deadline. However, the Stars were not able to match the $7 million AAV, three-year contract from the Anaheim Ducks. Granlund provides some depth at the center position after losing Trevor Zegras in a trade last week. The 33-year-old Granlund had 66 points (22G / 44A) in 80 games last season.
Lundmark was the 51st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft but has yet to play an NHL game. He has spent the previous four seasons in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, including scoring 14 points (4G / 10A) in 66 games last season.
Holmberg was a sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The 26-year-old had spent his entire career with the Maple Leafs organization, including scoring 49 points (19G / 30A) in 159 career games. He joins the Tampa Bay Lightning on a two-year deal worth $1.55 million AAV and will add some depth to their bottom-six forward group.
