The Wiild have re-signed Mitchell Chaffee to a one-year, two-way contract.
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Maple Leafs have re-signed Pierre Engvall to a one-year, $2.25 million contract.
The Blues have re-signed Niko Mikkola to a one-year, $1.9 million contract.
The Panthers have signed Michael Del Zotto to a one-year contract.
The Oilers have signed Mattias Janmark to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.
The Ducks have signed Pavel Mintyukov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Canadiens have re-signed Rem Pitlick to a two-year, $2.2 million contract.
The Wild have signed Liam Ohgren to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Wild selected Ohgren with the No.19 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old winger led Djurgardens Jr (J20 SuperElit) in goals (33) and points (58) in 30 games during thee 2022 season.
The Penguins have signed Owen Pickering to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Penguins selected Pickering with the No.21 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blue liner had nine goals with 24 assists (33 points) in 62 games with the Swift Current Broncos (WHL).
The Predators have signed Zach Sanford to a one-year deal worth $850K.
Sanford started 2022 with the Senators before getting traded to the Jets at the Trade deadline. The 27-year-old finished the season with nine goals and 12 assists (21 points) in 80 games. Sanford should fill a bottom-6 role in Nashville in 2022-23, presumably as Nick Cousins replacement.
The Jets have signed Elias Salmonsson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Jets selected Salomonsson in the second-round (No.55 overall) of this summer's NHL Draft. The 17-year-old defenseman had 11 goals and 11 assists (22 points) in 35 games with Skelleftea AIK Jr. (J20 SuperElit) in 2022.
The Oilers have signed Reid Schaefer to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Oilers selected Schaefer with the No.32 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft. Schaefer, who was born in Edmonton, played for Seattle (WHL) in 2022, scoring 32 goals with 26 assists (58 points) in 66 games.
The Hurricanes have signed Malte Stromwall to a one-year, two-way contract.
Stromwall was an undrafted free agent out of Sweden that spent one season with the Rangers' AHL affiliate in 2017. He had been in Sweden and the KHL since 2018, most recently scoring 19 goals with 13 assists (32 points) in 37 games with Minsk Dynamo (KHL) in 2022.
The Hurricanes have signed Mackenzie MacEachern to a one-year, two-way contract.
MacEachern played four years with the Blues, scoring 11 goals with eight assists (19 points) in 111 games. He played most of 2022 in the AHL, tallying 25 points (12G / 13A) in 47 games with Springfield. In Carolina, he'll likely be a fringe roster player again and could start the season in the AHL.
The Predators have signed Joakim Kemell to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Predators drafted Kemell with the No.17 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft and wasted no time signing the 18-year-old winger. Kemell spent the 2022 season with JyP HT Jyvaskyla (Liiga), scoring 15 goals with eight assists (23 points) in 39 games.
The Blue Jackets have re-signed Nick Blankenburg to a two-year contract.
Blankenburg tallied one goal and two assists (three points) in seven games with the Blue Jackets after turning pro following his final year at the University of Michigan. With the Blue Jackets' blueline entering the season healthy and adding Erik Gudbranson in free agency, there's a good chance that Blankenburg starts the year in the AHL.
The Flyers have re-signed Morgan Frost to a one-year, $800k contract.
Frost set career-highs in games played (55), goals (5) and assists (11) with the Flyers in 2022. The RFA gets a one-year deal and will maintain his RFA status next summer. Frost should be a full-time NHLer in 2022-23.
The Maple Leafs have signed Calle Jarnkrok to a four-year, $8.4 million contract.
Jarnkrok is a responsible two-way forward that can chip in a little bit of offence. In the last three seasons, he's averaged 18 goals and 24 assists (42 points) per 82 games--however he's missed 13.5 percent of the games during that stretch. He'll likely replace Ondrej Kase in Toronto and skate on the third line with David Kampf and Pierre Engvall.
The Sabres have signed Jiri Kulich to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Sabres selected Kulich with the No.28 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft. The Czech centre scored nine goals with five assists (14 points) in 49 games with Karlovy Vary HC (Czech Extraliga) in 2022.
The Sabres have signed Noah Ostlund to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Sabres selected Ostlund with the No.16 overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft. The Swedish centre had nine goals and 33 assists (42 points) in 32 games with Djurgardens Jr. (J20 SuperElit) in 2022.
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.