NHL Hockey Player News

The Lightning re-signed Kristers Gudlevskis to a one-year, two-way contract.

Arguably, Gudlevskis, 23, is good enough to be at the NHL level, but in Tampa Bay he is the third best option, which limits him to the AHL level. He was 16-12-8 with a 2.83 GAA and .907 SV% in 41 games with Syracuse last season and the only way he makes it to the NHL this year is as an injury replacement or if the Lightning end up trading Ben Bishop.

Kristers Gudlevskis
The Panthers have signed Jason Demers to a five-year deal worth $22.5 million ($4.5M AAV).

Demers was acquired mid-season in 2014-15, so 2015-16 was his first full season with the Stars. He missed 20 games, but still picked up 23 points (7G / 16A) in 62 games. He is a solid two-way defenseman who solidifies the Panthers’ second pairing and should look good as the third best defenseman on the team behind Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle.

Jason Demers
The Coyotes signed Justin Peters to a one-year, two-way contract.

Peters appeared in a career-high 21 games with the Hurricanes in 2013-14, but failed to make it to the NHL last season. He played the entire year at Hershey (AHL), where he was 17-8-7 with a 3.04 GAA and .896 SV%. Look for him to start this year with Springfield.

Justin Peters
The Flyers signed Andy Miele to a one-year deal worth $600K.

Miele, 28, is a former Hobey Baker Award winner, but has only appeared in 15 career NHL games since turning pro in 2011-12. The Flyers signed him to a one-way contract, which means that he should get a shot with the Flyers out of training camp. He spent the last two years with the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he had a 70 and a 62-point season.

Andy Miele
The Canucks signed Jayson Megna to a one-year contract worth $600K.

Megna, 26, spent the majority of last season with Hartford (AHL) where he had 44 points (15G / 29A) in 68 games. He only appeared in six games with the Rangers and now heads to Vancouver where he will look to crack their roster in training camp. If he doesn’t he will start the year in Utica (AHL).

Jayson Megna
The Islanders re-signed Shane Prince to a two-year extension.

Prince, 23, was acquired from Ottawa at the trade deadline and had five points (3G / 2A) in 20 games with the Islanders to go wit the 12 points (3G / 9A) he had with the Senators before the trade. He is destined for a bottom-6 role with the Islanders again in 2016-17.

Shane Prince
The Predators signed Yannick Weber to a one-year contract worth $575K.

After the Predators traded Shea Weber to Montreal they needed to bring in another Weber. The 27-year-old defenseman is known for his offensive ability and the power-play is his primary strength. He had just seven assists in 45 games with Vancouver last season, but had 11 gaols in 65 games the year prior.

Yannick Weber
The Flyers signed Boyd Gordon to a one-year contract worth $950K.

Gordon, 32, is a former first round pick (17th overall in 2002) but has never cracked 30 points in his NHL career. In 2016-17 he will play for his third team in as many years as he heads to Philadelphia to serve as their fourth line centre. He isn’t known for his offence, but he ranked third in Face-off percentage (57.9%) among players who took at least 900 draws.

Boyd Gordon
The Bruins signed Riley Nash to a two-year deal worth $1.8 million ($900K).

Nash, 27, was a first round pick (21st overall) in 2007 but has yet to develop into a full-time top-6 forward. He had nine goals and 13 assists (22 points) in 64 games with the Hurricanes last season. He enters the 2016-17 season with the Bruins where he will likely serve as their third-line centre.

Riley Nash
The Bruins signed Anton Khudobin to a two-year deal worth $2.4 million ($1.2M AAV).

Khudobin entered 2015-16 as the Ducks backup, but the emergence of John Gibson sent him to San Diego (AHL) where he was 19-8-3 with a 2.46 GAA and .921 SV%. During his brief stint with the Ducks, he was 3-3-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .909 SV%—the 30-year-old is expected to serve as Tuukka Rask’s backup and he comes in with a career 2.42 GAA and .918 SV%.

Anton Khudobin
The Kings have signed Tom Gilbert to a one-year deal.

Gilbert, 33, served as an extra defenseman with Montreal last year, appearing in 45 games. Gilbert had solid offensive numbers early in his career, but had just five goals and nine assists (14 points) in 117 games with the Habs over the last two years. Look for Gilbert to be a sixth or seventh defenseman in Los Angeles.

Tom Gilbert
The Penguins signed Stuart Percy to a one-year, two-way deal worth $575K.

Percy, 23, was a first round pick (25th overall) in 2011 but was not qualified by the Maple Leafs, so he signed in Pittsburgh. He has only appeared in 12 career NHL games, but has enjoyed a solid AHL career to this point. He had 24 points (4G / 20A) in 58 games with the Marlies last year and will be with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to start 2016-17.

Stuart Percy
The Lightning have signed Michael Bournival to a one-year, two way contract.

Bournival, 24, has not played a lot of hockey in the last three years. He only appeared in 20 games last season (all with St. John’s) while picking up eight points (1G / 7A). Now with the Lightning, expect Bournival to start the 2016-17 season in the AHL.

Michael Bournival
The Coyotes signed Jamie McBain to a one-year, two-way contract.

McBain, 28, was the Kings seventh defenseman for the majority of last year, collecting nine points (2G / 7A) in 44 games. McBain is an offensive defenseman, but usually doesn’t play enough time on the power-play to be fantasy relevant. McBain signs in Arizona with 110 career points (30G / 80A) in 345 NHL games.

Jamie McBain
The Canadiens have signed Daniel Carr to a two-year deal worth $2.9 million ($1.45M AAV).

Carr, 24, played his first professional season with Hamilton (2014-15) but split his second year between the AHL and NHL. He had nine points (6G / 3A) in 23 games with Montreal and 21 points (10G / 11A) in 24 games with St. John’s (AHL). He will fight for a permanent roster spot in training camp.

Daniel Carr
The Wild have signed Victor Bartley to a one-year, two-way contract.

Bartley, 28, split his 2015-16 with the Predators and Canadiens’ organizations, spending more of his time in the AHL. He had one goal and three assists in 24 AHL games with Milwaukee and St. John’s. He signs with Minnesota, where he will likely start the year in Iowa.

Victor Bartley
The Senators have signed Mike Blunden to a two-year, two-way contract.

Blunden, 29, has been a fringe NHLer for his entire career, most recently splitting time between the Lightning and Syracuse Crunch (AHL). He had 38 points (21G / 17A) in 49 games with Syracuse and five points (3G / 2A) in 20 games with Tampa Bay. He heads to Ottawa where he will likely split time with the Senators and Binghamton (AHL).

Mike Blunden

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.