The Wild have signed Mats Zuccarello to a five-year deal worth $30.0M ($6.0M AAV).
NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Capitals have signed Garnet Hathaway to a four-year deal worth $6.0M ($1.5M AAV).
The Stars have signed Corey Perry to a one-year, $1.5M deal.
The Canadiens have signed Keith Kinkaid to a one-year, $1.75M deal.
The Blue Jackets have re-signed Ryan Murray to a two-year deal worth $9.2M ($4.6M AAV).
The Panthers have signed Noel Acciari to a three-year deal worth $5.01M ($1.67M AAV).
The Penguins have signed Brandon Tanev to a six-year deal worth $21.0M ($3.5M AAV).
The Blue Jackets have signed Joonas Korpisalo to a one-year deal.
With Sergei Bobrovsky likely heading to Florida, Korpisalo becomes the No.1 netminder in Columbus with Elvis Merzilkins likely serving as his backup. Korpisalo will need to be better than he was in 2018-19, when he ranked 38th in the NHL in GAA (2.95) and tied for 48th in SV% (.897).
The Flames have signed Alan Quine to a one-year deal worth $735K.
Quine has been a fantastic AHL player over the years and led the Stockton Heat with 52 points (19G / 33A) in 41 games this season. The 26-year-old also recorded three goals and two assists (five points) in 13 games with Calgary—he has 27 points (9G / 18A) in 97 career NHL games.
The Ducks have signed Sam Carrick to a one-year contract extension.
Carrick spent most of the 2018-19 season with San Diego (AHL), where he led the team in goals (32) and points (61) in 61 games. The 27-year-old played in six games with the Ducks, picking up just one assist—giving him three points (1G / 2A) in 25 career NHL games.
The Blue Jackets signed Doyle Somerby to a one-year, two-way deal.
Somerby was a fifth-round pick of the Islanders in 2012 and just finished his second season with Cleveland (AHL). The 24-year-old led all Monsters defensemen with eight goals and added 12 assists to give him 20 points in 66 games last year. He will remain with Cleveland to start the 2019-20 season.
The Maple Leafs have signed Martin Marincin to a one-year contract worth $700K.
Marincin served as an extra defenseman for most of the 2018-19 season, playing just 24 NHL games and eight AHL games. The 27-year-old had one goal and four assists (five points) with the Maple Leafs and will likely serve as their No.7 defenseman in 2019-20.
The Maple Leafs have signed Michael Hutchinson to a one-year contract worth $700K.
Hutchinson started the 2018-19 season with the Panthers before being acquired by Toronto where he was 14-7-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .910 SV% in 23 games with the Marlies (AHL). He appeared in five games with the Maple Leafs, going 2-3-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .914 SV% and has a legitimate chance at being Frederik Andersen’s backup in 2019-20.
The Islanders have signed Tom Kuhnhackl to a one-year deal worth $850K.
Kuhnhackl had four goals and five assists (nine points) while appearing in just 36 games with the Islanders last season. The 27-year-old also registered three assists in eight games during the Islanders brief postseason run. He returns on a one-year deal where he will likely play in the Islanders bottom-6.
The Capitals have re-signed Mike Sgarbossa to a two-year deal worth $1.4M ($700K).
Sgarbossa has bounced around the league in his career but has been a good AHL scorer along the way. The 26-year-old led Hershey in points (65) and was second in goals (30) during 2018-19 and will likely remain with the Bears to start 2020.
The Maple Leafs have signed Andreas Johnsson to a four-year, $13.6M ($3.4M AAV) contract extension.
The Maple Leafs have found a seventh-round gem in Johnsson. The 24-year-old had 20 goals and 23 assists (43 points) in 73 games during his first full NHL season. Johnsson also added one goal and three assists in seven playoff games and should be locked into a top-6 role on a line with Auston Matthews in 2020.
The Maple Leafs have signed Kasperi Kapanen to a three-year, $9.6M ($3.2M AAV) contract extension.
During his first full season with the Maple Leafs, Kapanen registered 20 goals and 24 assists (44 points) in 78 games. The 22-year-old was quiet during the postseason but should be able to build off of strong start to his NHL career. However, Kapanen’s ceiling may be limited because he is destined to play third-line minutes on a deep Toronto roster.
The Hurricanes have signed Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract extension worth $1.45M ($725K AAV).
Nedeljkovic, who is viewed as one of the best goaltending prospects in the NHL, is coming off of an outstanding 2018-19 AHL campaign. Nedeljkovic led the AHL in wins (34) and GAA (2.26) en route to being named the league’s best netminder. He wasn’t done there, Nedeljkovic went 10-4-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 SV% in the AHL playoffs to help guide Charlotte to a Calder Cup Championship. With Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney both likely leaving in free agency, Nedeljkovic could see a lot of games at the NHL next year.
The Blackhawks have signed Dylan Sikura to a two-year contract worth $1.5M ($750K AAV).
Sikura was a prolific point producer during his time at Northeastern University but has not had the same success at the NHL-level yet. Last year he appeared in 46 AHL games and 33 NHL games. During his time in Rockford he had 17 goals and 18 assists (35 points) but registered just eight assists with the Blackhawks. The lack of wing depth in Chicago should allow Sikura to start the 2020 season in a middle-6 role with the opportunity to move up the lineup if he starts producing.
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.