NHL Signings & Free Agents

The Jets signed Mathieu Perreault to a four-year deal worth $16.5 million ($4.125M AAV).

After posting 18 goals in back-to-back seasons, Perreault’s nine goals in 2015-16 was disappointing. In his first two years with the Jets he has posted back-to-back 41-point seasons and should be expected to be back in that range again in 2016-17.

Mathieu Perreault
The Penguins signed Garrett Wilson to a one-year, two-way deal.

Wilson, 25, split his 2015-16 season between the AHL and NHL. Wilson, a former fourth round pick (107 overall in 2009), had no points in 29 games with the Panthers despite posting 20 points (7G / 13A) in 37 games with Portland (AHL). Look for him to start the 2016-17 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Garrett Wilson
The Senators signed Chris Kelly to a one-year deal worth $900K.

Kelly, 35, is a bottom-6 forward that can play centre or wing that the Senators are very familiar with. He was drafted by the Senators back in 1999 and spent the first six and a half years of his NHL career in an Ottawa uniform. He the last five and a half years in Boston, but was limited to just 11 games in 2015-16 because of a fractured left femur.

Chris Kelly
The Devils signed Kyle Palmieri to a five-year deal worth $23.25 million ($4.65M AAV).

Palmieri 25, had the best season of his career in his first year in New Jersey. He entered 2015-16 with a career-high of 14 goals, but burst out for 30 goals along with 27 assists (57 points) in 82 games. Palmieri should benefit from the Devils adding Taylor Hall to the mix for 2016-17.

Kyle Palmieri
The Senators signed Fredrik Claesson to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K.

Claesson, 23, was a fifth round pick (126th overall) in 2011 and finally made it to the NHL in 2015-16. He spent most of the year with Binghamton (AHL), but appeared in 16 NHL games, but collecting just two assists. During his time in the AHL, Claesson had 10 points (3G / 7A) in 55 contests. He will look to crack the Senators’ opening night roster in training camp.

Fredrik Claesson
The Red Wings signed Jared Coreau to a two-year contract worth $1.225 million ($612K AAV).

Coreau, 24, was 29-15-2 with a 2.43 GAA and .922 SV% in 47 games as the No. 1 option in Grand Rapids (AHL). Coreau is a monster netminder, standing in at 6-foot-6 and 220 lbs. He fits the mould of the modern era NHL netminder, but as long as Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard are ahead of him on the depth chart, he will likely only see AHL duty.

Jared Coreau
The Panthers have signed Derek MacKenzie to a two-year deal worth $2.7 million ($1.35M AAV).

MacKenzie is a quality fourth line centre, that will not do a lot of scoring. He led the Panthers in face-off percentage (54.8%) and was second in hits per game with 2.4. MacKenzie’s value lies in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill, where he led all Panthers’ forwards with a 2:38 PK/TOI per game.

Derek MacKenzie
The Devils signed Sergey Kalinin to a one-year deal worth $800K.

Kalinin, 25, recorded 15 points (8G / 7A) in 78 games in his first NHL season after playing five seasons in KHL before hand. Kalinin is a big centre (6’3” / 200 lbs) who should find himself in a third line role in 2016-17.

Sergey Kalinin
The Hurricanes signed Matt Tennyson to a one-year, two-way contract.

Tennyson, 26, spent the majority of last season with the Sharks, but only played in 29 games. He also appeared in five games in the AHL, but failed to record a point. Tennyson will either start as the Hurricanes’ seventh defenseman.

Matt Tennyson
The Oilers signed Taylor Beck to a one-year contract.

Beck, 25, played the majority of last season in the AHL, where he recorded 33 points (16G / 17A) in 46 games with Bridgeport. He played just two games with the Islanders and has just 23 points (11G / 12A) in 87 career NHL games.

Taylor Beck
The Blues re-signed Magnus Paajarvi to a one-year deal worth $700K.

Paajarvi, 25, serves as a depth forward for the Blues. He worked himself in and out of the lineup during the 2015-16 season, appearing in 48 games. The former 10th overall pick had just nine points (3G / 6A) in those games while picking up seven points (4G / 3A) in seven games with Chicago (AHL).

Magnus Paajarvi
The Flyers signed T.J. Brennan to a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.25 million ($625K AAV).

Brennan, 27, is a Moorestown, New Jersey native, which is just 30 minutes away from Philadelphia and he grew up watching the Flyers. Brennan has bounced around from team-to-team throughout his career, despite posting elite numbers at the AHL level. He is coming off of a 68-point (25G / 43A) season with the Toronto Marlies, but has just 13 points (5G / 8A) in 53 career NHL games.

T.J. Brennan
The Senators signed Ryan Dzingel to a one-year, two-way contract.

Dzingel, 24, split the 2015-16 campaign between Ottawa and Binghamton (AHL). His 30 games with Ottawa were the first 30 games of his NHL career and he tallied three goals with six assists. In his time with the the “Baby Sens” he picked up 36 points (12G / 24A) in 44 contests. Dzingel figures to be in the Senators opening day roster.

Ryan Dzingel
The Rangers signed Nicklas Jensen to a one-year deal.

Jensen was acquired in the deal that sent Emerson Etem to Vancouver, and he spent the entire year in the AHL. Jensen had 15 goals and 10 assists (25 points) in 41 games with Hartford, to go along with the 12 points (4G / 8A) he had with Utica before the trade. The 2011 first round pick (29th overall) will look to make the Rangers out of training camp this fall.

Nicklas Jensen
The Islanders signed Jean-Francois Berube to a one-year deal.

Berube, 24, was hampered by a lower-body injury early in 2015-16, limiting him to just 12 games between the NHL and AHL. In seven games with the Islanders, he was 3-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .914 SV%. In his brief time with Bridgeport, he was 4-1-0 with an impressive 1.25 GAA and .960 SV%. Berube will continue to serve as the Islanders’ third goalie behind Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.

Jean-Francois Berube
The Devils signed Luke Gazdic to a one-year, two-way deal worth $700K.

Last year, Gazdic played between Edmonton and Bakersfield (AHL). He had one goal and 24 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Oilers and three points (1G / 2A) in 11 games with the Condors. He brings some toughness to the Devils fourth line, replacing the loss of Jordin Tootoo.

Luke Gazdic
The Devils signed Jacob Josefson to a one-year contract worth $1.1 million.

Josefson, 25, is a former first round pick (20th overall in 2009), who has struggled to find any offence in his NHL career. The Sweden native has recorded just 17 goals and 33 assists (50 points) in 238 career NHL games (all with the Devils) and he should once again find himself in the Devils’ bottom-6 to begin 2016-17.

Jacob Josefson
The Canadiens signed Philip Danault to a two-year deal worth $1.82 million (912K AAV).

Danault, 23, is a former first round pick (26th overall in 2011), who was traded to the Canadiens last year. He spent the first 30 games of the year wit the Blackhawks, where he had five points (1G / 4A) and added another five points (3G / 2A) in 21 games following the trade. He should find himself on the Habs’ third line in 2016-17.

Phillip Danault
The Wild have re-signed Darcy Kuemper to a one-year deal worth $1.55 million.

Kuemper appeared in 21 games, including 16 starts as Devan Dubnyk’s backup last season. He had a 6-7-5 record with a 2.43 GAA and .915 SV% in those games and will return for one more season as Dubnyk’s backup. The 26-year-old has a career .912 SV% in 72 NHL starts and 12 relief appearances.

Darcy Kuemper

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.