The Avalanche have signed T.J. Hughes to a one-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2026-27 season.
Hughes will join the Colorado Eagles on an AHL Professional Tryout agreement (PTO) for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Red Wings have signed Dylan James to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2026-27 season.
Calgary has signed Abram Wiebe to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Hours after North Dakota was elimated from the Frozen Four, Abram Wiebe has signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. The 22-year-old defensemen was originally drafted by Vegas in the 7th round of the 2022 NHL draft (209th overall) but was traded to Calgary in the deal that saw Rasmus Andersson go the other way. In 40 games at the University of North Dakota (NCAA), he had five goals and 29 points.
Pittsburgh has signed Jake Livanavage to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Just hours after being knocked out of the Frozen Four with North Dakota, Jake Livanavage has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Pittsburgh. The 21-year-old undrafted defensemen had a successful third season in North Dakota (NCAA), with five goals, 25 points and a +10 plus/minus in 39 games this season.
Minnesota has signed Viking Nyberg Gustafsson to a two-year, two-way entry-level contract.
Gustafsson Nyberg is an undrafted 22-year-old defenseman that recently made his professional debut, tallying one assist in two games with the Iowa Wild (AHL). He has three seasons of collegiate hockey under his belt, including an 11-point (0G / 11A) campaign in 2025-26 with the University of Connecticut.
Philadelphia has signed Jack Berglund to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Boston has signed James Hagens to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Hagens was drafted seventh-overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward recently completed his second season of collegiate hockey with Boston College, where he scored 47 points (23G / 24A) in 34 games.
Detroit has signed Dower-Nilsson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Los Angles has signed Grant Slukynsky to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Los Angeles has signed Hampton Slukynsky to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Slukynsky was a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft that just earned a three-year, entry-level contract after completing his second year of collegiate hockey. The 20-year-old goalie had a 2.30 GAA and .915 SV% this season in 39 games (27-11-1) with Western Michigan University.
Edmonton has signed Owen Michaels to a one-year, entry-level contract starting in 2026-27.
Michaels is an undrafted forward that has just been rewarded with a one-year, entry-level contract after completing his third season of collegiate hockey. The 23-year-old forward scored 26 points (13G / 13A) this season in 39 games with Western Michigan University.
Philadelphia has signed David Jiricek to a two-year contract extension worth $1.5 million AAV ($3M total).
Jiricek was drafted sixth-overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, but has had trouble being a permanent fixture at the NHL level. The 22-year-old defenseman has been traded twice in the last two years, with stints in Columbus, Minnesota, and now Philadelphia. He has yet to play a game with the Flyers, but has been effective at the AHL level, scoring 10 points (2G / 8A) in 10 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Buffalo has signed Maxim Strbak to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Strbak is a Slovak-born defenseman that was just awarded a three-year, entry-level contract after completing his third season of collegiate hockey. The 20-year-old 45th-overall pick from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft had 18 points (3G / 15A) in 37 games this season with Michigan State University.
Edmonton has signed William Nicholl to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Nicholl was a seventh-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft that was just rewarded with a three-year, entry-level contract. The 19-year-old forward scored 26 points (15G / 11A) this season in 32 games with the London Knights (OHL).
Calgary has signed Axel Hurtig to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Hurtig was a seventh-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft that has just been rewarded with a three-year, entry-level contract. The 20-year-old defenseman scored 19 points (6G / 13A) this season in 64 games with the Calgary Hitmen (WHL).
Chicago has signed Adam Gajan to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Gajan has played well on the international stage for the Slovak U-20 team and has translated that success to the collegiate level, posting a 2.25 GAA and .908 SV% this season in 33 games (19-13-1) with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The 21-year-old goalie was drafted 35th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-drafted goalie in that draft class.
Detroit has signed Trey Augustine to a three-year, entry-level contract starting in 2026-27.
Augustine was a second-round pick of the Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft that has been awarded a three-year, entry-level contract. The 21-year-old goalie was tremendous this season while playing collegiate hockey for Michigan State University, posting a 2.11 GAA and .929 SV% in 34 games (24-9-1).
Tampa has signed Noah Steen to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Steen was a seventh-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old Norwegian forward is currently playing in Sweden, where he has 22 points (12G / 10A) in 52 games with Orebro HK (SweHL).
The Flames signed Castagna to a three-year entry-level deal on Monday.
The 70th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Castagna was acquired from the Mammoth earlier this season in the Mackenzie Weegar trade. Castagna recently finished his Junior season of NCAA hockey at Cornell University, where he tallied 15 goals and 19 assists in 34 games.
Florida has signed Tyler Muszelik to a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2026-27.
Muszelik was a sixth-round pick of the Florida Panthers who just completed his fourth year of collegiate hockey. The 21-year-old goalie impressed this season, posting a 2.21 GAA and .926 SV% in 35 games (19-11-5) with the University of Connecticut, earning himself a two-year, entry-level contract.
NHL Free Agents: Best Available Players in 2025
Once the dust settles on the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL offseason officially commences as the latest wave of free agents hit the market as teams and players alike reevaluate their current situation and plot their next steps toward success.
With a plethora of talent up for grabs every summer, Stanley Cup contenders can be formed as well as broken up through free agency. With NHL signings going down at a breakneck pace throughout the opening days of free agency, we’ll keep you in the loop with our 2025 NHL free agency tracker. You can find all of the latest NHL signings of the free agency period as players switch teams, sign extensions, and change the outlook of the league with a single decision.
Whether you’re a diehard fan of your favourite team and are looking to stay up to date with every move made by the front office, or are an avid daily fantasy sports bettor that wants to prep for their wagers, our NHL free agency tracker is the best destination for all your free agent market news.
Types of Free Agent Markets
Each NHL free agent holds their own unique distinction when signing with a team. These distinctions are made based on a number of factors including age, NHL experience, as well as their current contract situation. NHL free agents are divided by restricted and unrestricted free agents, with each classification of player holding varying rights, including how teams are able to offer them contracts, and the results of receiving an offer.
Below, we take a deep dive into each type of NHL free agent so you can get a thorough understanding of each free agent market type, how they are able to sign with teams, and the possible outcomes from each offseason acquisition.
Restricted Free Agents
A restricted NHL free agent (RFA) is a player that is either under the age of 27 or has been in the NHL for less than seven seasons. Teams hold a form of protection over their restricted free agents, providing them with a sort of insurance if their RFA decides to sign with a new team.
While restricted free agents are technically eligible to sign a new contract with different teams, the process can become messy if a team other than their original squad makes them an offer and they accept. Restricted free agents are only able to sign a standard NHL contract with the team that currently owns the players rights, all other squads must submit an offer sheet if they want to lure away a player from their team. If an offer sheet is made to an RFA, the team who holds the players rights will be left with the option to either match the offer made to their player, or allow the player to sign with the team that made the offer sheet, in return receiving draft compensation depending on the value of the contract offered.
Qualifying Offers
In order for a team to retain a player’s rights heading into the free agency period, they must make a qualifying offer to the player. These offers are in the form of a one-year contract, with the amount offered being formulated depending on the value of their previous contract.
For any player who was on a deal worth $660,000 or less, the qualifying offer they receive must be worth 110% the amount of their previous season’s salary. For a player making between $660,000 and $1,000,000, they must be offered 105% their previous seasons salary. Finally, if a player was making more than $1 million in their previous year of duty, their team must offer them 100% of their previous season’s salary.
These offers are not final and players are eligible to receive greater or lesser valued contracts from the team that holds their rights once free agency begins. Players who reject qualifying offers remain restricted free agents.
Non-Qualified RFAs
If a team decides to not submit a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent on their roster, all non-qualified RFAs instantly become free agents and are welcome to sign contracts with any team come July 1st.
Unrestricted Free Agents
The other form of NHL free agent is the unrestricted free agent (UFA). UFAs have the right to sign their next deal with any team without restriction, as long as the offer they sign complies with league salary cap mandates and rules. Unrestricted free agents are truly what can shake up the free agent market, with many of the leagues top stars entering into the offseason as UFAs.
There are multiple forms of unrestricted free agents, each with their own unique classifications, but don’t necessarily affect the potential value of the contracts offered to them in the offseason. Below are two of the most common UFAs.
Group 3 UFAs
Common among NHL veterans, Group 3 comprises players entering free agency that are 27 or older, or have played in the NHL for more than seven accrued seasons. An accrued season is defined as a season in which a player has suited up for action on an NHL roster in at least 40 games (30 for goalies). Any player that fits this criteria will become an unrestricted free agent once their contract expires in the following offseason.
Group 6 UFAs
Another way that players can become an unrestricted free agent is by being 25 years of age or older and to have played three or more professional hockey seasons under an NHL contract (AHL, ECHL, Europe), but played in less than 80 NHL games (28 for goalies) in their career. Often, Group 6 unrestricted free agents are developing players that, for one reason or another, have not had the chance to crack into an NHL lineup, but still possess experience as a high-level player. There is no difference in the rights of Group 3 and Group 6 unrestricted free agents, but typically the latter will receive smaller contracts, both in terms of value as well as in duration.
Undrafted UFAs
The final way that a player may enter into free agency as an unrestricted free agent is by going undrafted in their three years of draft eligibility. If a player is not selected by an NHL franchise through the draft they are still eligible to crack into a final roster as a free agent.
NHL Free Agency FAQs
Who are the top NHL free agents in 2025?
Some of the top NHL free agents available this summer are Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Aaron Ekblad, Nikolaj Ehlers, John Tavares, Brock Boeser, Brad Marchand and Linus Ullmark.
This offseason will bring a stacked crop of free agents to the market that will shape the landscape of the 2025-26 NHL season. Not only will the final landing spots for each of the top 2025 NHL free agents shake up the framework of the league, but will also have major implications on the upcoming fantasy hockey season. Be sure to stay in the know in regard to the latest free agency updates with our NHL player news.
What time does free agency start?
On July 1st, 2025, at 12 PM EST, the 2025 NHL free agency period officially opens. While some players will have all but signed the dotted line up to this point, nothing can become official until noon on Canada Day.