Stillman has been an effective depth player for multiple organizations in his six-year career, stepping in when called upon, splitting time between the NHL and AHL. The 27-year-old defenseman has 26 points (4G / 22A) in 163 career NHL games.

Stillman has been an effective depth player for multiple organizations in his six-year career, stepping in when called upon, splitting time between the NHL and AHL. The 27-year-old defenseman has 26 points (4G / 22A) in 163 career NHL games.
Highmore has quietly been an effective depth player in his career and will hope to continue that trend on a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. The undrafted 29-year-old has 35 points (14G / 21A) in 187 career games. He scored six points (2G / 4A) in 41 games with the Ottawa Senators last season.
Cholowski was a first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft but has not been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player, playing more than 16 games only once in his previous five seasons. Still, he has a respectable 40 points (13G / 27A) in 156 career games as an NHL defenseman.
Holmstrom had a breakout 2024-25 season, scoring 45 points (20G / 25A) in 75 games, earning himself a two-year contract extension with the Islanders worth $3.625 million. The 24-year-old produced at an extremely impressive rate to end the season, with 22 points (10G / 12A) in 30 games from late January to early April.
Foote was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft but has not been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. The 24-year-old spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, scoring 39 points (18G / 21A) in 53 games with Utica Comets.
Brazeau is an undrafted 27-year-old forward who spent his entire career in the AHL before making his NHL debut in the 2023-24 season, playing 19 games with the Boston Bruins. He became an NHL regular last season, scoring 22 points (11G / 11A) in 76 combined games between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild. He joins the Pittsburgh Penguins on a two-year contract worth $1.5 million AAV, looking to make an even bigger offensive impact on a team desperate for depth scoring.
Reinhardt was a sixth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and will have a change of scenery in the 2025-26 season after joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization on a two-year, two-way contract. The 25-year-old scored 32 points (14G / 18A) in 45 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) last season.
Mike Reilly missed a significant portion of the 2024-25 season, attending to medical concerns with his heart, but returned to action before the end of the season and will continue his career on a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. The 31-year-old Reilly has 124 points (18G / 106A) in 418 career games.
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.
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.
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.
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.