The Blues have signed Brian Flynn to a one-year, two-way deal worth $650K.
NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Panthers have signed Jared McCann to a two-year contract.
The Bruins have signed Joakim Nordstrom to a two-year deal worth $2M ($1.0M AAV).
The Canadiens have signed Matthew Peca to a two-year deal worth $2.6M ($1.3M AAV).
Signing
The Devils have signed Eric Gryba to a one-year deal worth $700K.
The Lightning have signed Ryan McDonagh to a seven-year extension worth $47.25M ($6.75M AAV).
The Canadiens have signed Xavier Ouellet to a one-year, two-way deal worth $700K.
The Sabres have re-signed Scott Wilson to a two-year deal worth $2.1M ($1.05M AAV).
The Bruins have signed John Moore to a five-year deal worth $13.75M ($2.75M AAV).
Moore had his best offensive seasons during his three years in New Jersey, averaging eight goals and 12 assists (20 points) per season. However, a 46.5 CF% and -1.1 relative Corsi in those seasons, suggests that the Bruins may regret a five-year term in a few seasons. Regardless, Moore is a reasonable third-pairing defenseman that increases the Bruins’ D-depth.
The Panthers have signed Michael Hutchinson to a one-year, $1.3M contract.
Hutchinson started at least 28 games for three straight seasons from 2015-to-2017 but spent the majority of 2018 in the AHL. Overall, he was 17-5-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .935 SV% with the Manitoba Moose. Hutchinson is No.3 on the Panthers’ goaltending depth chart, so he will start the 2019 season in the AHL.
The Penguins have signed Jack Johnson to a five-year contract worth $16.25M ($3.25M AAV).
Johnson is a former No.3 overall pick, who has had a few bad years. Johnson is coming off of a season in which he had a -5.4 relative Corsi and was a healthy scratch during the playoffs. However, Johnson remains a high-end skater who can play a physical style of game and brings some offence as well. In Pittsburgh, he will be an upgrade on Chad Ruhwedel as a third-pairing defenseman.
The Maple Leafs have signed John Tavares to a seven-year, $77M ($11M AAV) deal.
Tavares walks away from the Islanders after nine seasons, in which he scored 272 goals with 349 assists (621 points) in 669 games. The 27-year-old signs with his childhood team, joining one of the best, young teams in the NHL. Tavares, Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri is as formidable of a trio down the middle as you will find across the league. Over the last four seasons, Tavares is sixth in the NHL in points (306), tied for sixth in goals (136) and 22nd in assists (170). His cap-hit is now tied with Drew Doughty for the second highest in the NHL.
The Coyotes have signed Michael Grabner to a three-year contract worth $10.05M ($3.35M AAV).
Over the last two seasons, Grabner is tied for 35th in the NHL with 54 goals. However, he leads the league in empty net goals (11) over that span. That’s 20.4 percent of his goals without a goalie, so don’t expect the 30-year-old to score 25-plus goals each year. In Arizona, he brings a ton of speed, some offence and penalty killing to a young team in need of all of those qualities.
The Hurricanes have signed Petr Mrazek to a one-year deal worth $1.5M.
Mrazek looked like the goalie of the future in Detroit during the 2016 season, when he was 27-16-6 with a 2.33 GAA and .921 SV%. In the two seasons since, Mrazek is tied with the second-worst SV% (.901) among qualified starters. The Flyers elected not to qualify the 26-year-old, so he lands in Carolina where he will battle with Scott Darling for playing time in the crease.
The Oilers have signed Kyle Brodziak to a two-year contract worth $2.3M ($1.15M AAV).
Brodziak, who was born in nearby St. Paul, Alberta returns to Edmonton, where he played from 2006 to 2009. The 34-year-old showed he still has some left in the tank last year, posting 33 points (10G / 23A) in 81 games with the Blues. He is a defensively-sound, hard-working centre who will play on the Oilers’ fourth line and help their penalty kill.
The Sabres have signed Carter Hutton to a three-year deal worth $8.25M ($2.75M AAV).
Hutton had an excellent 2018 season, going 17-7-3 with a 2.09 GAA, .931 SV% and three shutouts in 32 games with the Blues. Over the last three seasons, Hutton is tied for first in GAA (2.25) among goalies with at least 60 starts—posting a .922 SV%. Now with the Sabres, Hutton has the chance to become their No.1 netminder, but he will have to outplay Linus Ullmark.
The Blues have signed David Perron to a four-year, $16M ($4.0M AAV) contract.
Perron was originally drafted by the Blues and played for them from 2008-to-2013 and against in 2017. The 30-year-old returns to St. Louis after one year in Vegas, where he posted career-highs in assists (50) and points (66). Perron will find himself back in the Blues’ top-6, where he will likely play alongside Ryan O’Reilly.
The Islanders have re-signed Thomas Hickey to a four-year deal worth $10M ($2.5M AAV).
Hickey was the No.4 overall pick in 2007 and has enjoyed moderate success during his first six seasons with the Islanders. Hickey is coming off of a career-year, picking up 25 points (5G / 20A) in 69 games. He is a very mobile, puck-moving defenseman who will be a key part of the Isles’ top-4.
The Blues have signed Tyler Bozak to a three-year, $15M ($5.0M AAV) deal.
Bozak is a No.2/No.3 line centre with some offensive ability. Bozak skates very well and is good on the face-off dot. The 32-year-old has scored 20-plus just once during his nine year career, but has registered 30-plus assists in three of the last five years. Bozak was likely going to be the Blues second-line centre, until they acquired Ryan O’Reilly from Buffalo—pushing him down the depth chart.
The Avalanche have signed Ian Cole to a three-year deal worth $12.75M ($4.25M AAV).
Cole has good size (6-foot-1, 219 lbs.) who is a mainly a shutdown defenseman. Despite not having high-end ability or seeing power-play time, Cole has had 20-plus points in back-to-back seasons. Cole’s signing in Colorado suggests that Conor Timmins may not be in the NHL in 2019.
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.