1-year, $900,000 contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Expires 2026 (UFA).
Source:
2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
8-year, $96,000,000 contract with the Dallas Stars. Full NMC. Expires 2033 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
5-year, $42,000,000 contract with the Dallas Stars. Yr 5: 10 team No trade list. Expires 2030 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
2-year, $3,100,000 contract with the New York Rangers. Expires 2027 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
2-year, $9,500,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres. 5 team no trade list Yr 1-2. Expires 2027 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
5-year, $20,000,000 contract with the New Jersey Devils. Full NTC Yrs 1-2; then 10 team no trade list Yrs 3-5. Expires 2030 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
2-year, $1,625,000 contract with the Colorado Avalanche. $275,000 Guaranteed in Year 1. Expires 2027 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-08T04:59:00.000Z
San Jose has signed Gabriel Carriere to a one-year, two-way contract.
Carriere is an undrafted 24-year-old goalie out of the University of Vermont. He is playing his first full professional season, posting a 2.85 GAA and .902 SV% in 10 games (5-4-1) with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Dallas has signed Mikko Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension ($12 million AAV).
A contract extension was necessary for the Dallas Stars to execute a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes to acquire Mikko Rantanen, which was signed on Friday afternoon, making him the highest-paid winger in the league, making $12 million per season for the next eight seasons. The 28-year-old superstar forward is coming off consecutive 100+ point seasons in Colorado and instantly makes the Dallas Stars a Stanley Cup favorite. Rantanen is poised to suit up on the Stars' top line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.
Wyatt Johnston has signed a five-year, $42 million extension ($8.4 million AAV) with the Dallas Stars.
Johnston was set to become a restricted free agent in the offseason, but has signed a five-year contract extension, worth $42 million, making him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2029-30 season. The 21-year-old Johnston has 59 points (23G / 36A) in 62 games this season, including 14 points (8G / 6A) in his last eight games.
New York has signed Urho Vaakanainen to a two-year, $3.10 million contract extension ($1.55 million AAV).
Vaakanainen was acquired in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks earlier this season and has earned himself a two-year, $3.10 million contract extension with the Rangers. The 26-year-old defenseman has averaged 15:599 time-on-ice and scored nine points (2G / 7A) in 30 games with the Rangers this season.
New Jersey has signed Johnathan Kovacevic to a five-year, $20 million contract extension ($4 million AAV).
Kovacevic has been a staple on New Jersey's blue line this season and earned himself a five-year, $20 million contract extension. The 27-year-old defenseman has 14 points (1G / 13A), 81 blocks, and 83 hits in 63 games this season.
Buffalo has signed Jason Zucker to a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension ($4,750,000 AAV).
Zucker has impressed in his first season in Buffalo, earning himself a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension. The 33-year-old forward is enjoying one of the most productive seasons of his career, with 44 points (18G / 26A) through only 54 games this season, a total he has topped only three times in his 14-year career.
3-year, $2,810,000 contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Expires 2028 (RFA).
Source:2025-03-07T04:59:00.000Z
1-year, $775,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings. $400k guaranteed . Expires 2026 (UFA).
Source:2025-03-07T04:59:00.000Z
2-year, $1,625,000 contract with the St Louis Blues. Expires 2027 (RFA).
Source:2025-03-07T04:59:00.000Z
Calgary has signed Connor Murphy to a two-way contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Murphy is an undrafted goaltender out of Northeastern University. The 26-year-old has spent part of the season in the AHL, posting a 4.14 GAA and .881 SV% in four games (2-2-0).
St. Louis has signed Colten Ellis to a two-year, two-way contract extension.
Ellis was a third-round pick, 93rd overall, of the Blues in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 24-year-old goalie has yet to play an NHL game but has had an impressive season in the AHL, posting a 2.41 GAA and .926 SV% in 31 games (19-7-3) with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Utah has signed Cameron Hebig to a one-year, two-way contract through the rest of the 2024-25 season.
Hebig an undrafted 28-year-old forward that has yet to play an NHL game. He has spent most of the previous seven seasons in the AHL, including scoring 37 points (20G / 17A) in 48 games with the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) this season.
Boston has signed Tyler Pitlick to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 through the 2024-25 season.
Pitlick has 420 games of NHL experience, scoring 109 points (56G / 53A), but has almost exclusively spent the previous two season in the AHL. The 33-year-old Pitlick has 33 points (16G / 17A) in 43 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL) this season.
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.