The Blackhawks signed Moore to an entry level contract on Saturday.
NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Blackhawks signed Rinzel to an entry level contract on Saturday.
The Blues have signed Jimmy Snuggerud to a three-year entry-level contract.
Snuggerud finished his third year at the University of Minnesota with 24 goals and 27 assists (51 points) in 40 games. Snuggerud is expected to join the Blues in St. Louis on Monday.
Buffalo has signed Topias Leinonen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Leinonen was a second-round pick, 41st overall, of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old goalie has spent the 2024-25 season with Mora IK (Swe-1), posting a 2.31 GAA and .910 SV% in 25 games (13-10-0).
Vegas has signed Cameron Whitehead to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Whitehead was a fourth-round pick, 128th overall, of the Golden Knights in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old goalie has spent the last two seasons playing collegiate hockey with Northeastern University (H-East). He posted a 2.74 GAA and .911 SV% in 35 games this season (13-17-3).
Washington has signed Dylan McIlrath to a two-year, $1.6 million contract extension ($800,000 AAV).
McIlrath has played 11 games with the Capitals this season, scoring two points (0G / 2A). The 32-year-old has nine points (3G / 6A) in 86 career games in the NHL.
Colorado has signed Cooper Gay to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Gay is a 6'4 undrafted forward that has spent the last three seasons playing hockey at the collegiate level. The 23-year-old Gay scored 30 points (19G / 11A) in 35 games with the University of St. Thomas (CCHA) this season.
Colorado has signed Isak Posch to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Posch is an undrafted Swedish goalie that has spend the previous two seasons played collegiate hockey. The 23-year-old posted a 2.40 GAA and .923 SV% in 22 games (12-10-0) with St. Cloud State (NCHC) this season.
Columbus has signed Caleb MacDonald to a two-year, entry-level contract.
MacDonald is a 22-year-old undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota. The 6-foot-3, 224 lbs. left-shot blueliner finished his second NCAA season with three goals and seven assists (10 points) in 46 games. MacDonald’s contract will begin in 2025-26.
Columbus has signed Charlie Elick to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Elick was a second-round pick, 36th overall, of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old defenseman has spent the past four seasons in the WHL. He has eight points (2G / 6A) in 33 games with the Tri-City Americans (WHL) this season.
Philadelphia has signed Ty Murchison to a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2025-26.
Murchison was a fifth-round pick, 158th overall, of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old defenseman has been developing with Arizona State University (NCAA) and has seven points (3G / 4A) in 37 games last season.
Los Angeles has signed Jared Woolley to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Woolley was a sixth-round pick, 164th overall, of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old defenseman has 28 points (9G / 19A) and 75 penalty minutes in 68 games with the London Knights (OHL) this season.
Buffalo has signed Tyler Kopff to a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2025-26.
Kopff is an undrafted 21-year-old forward that has spent the previous two seasons playing collegiate hockey for Brown University (ECAC). He scored 28 points (9G / 19A) in 32 games with Brown University this season.
Columbus has signed Jack Williams to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Williams is an undrafted forward that has spent the previous three seasons playing collegiate hockey for Northeastern University (H-East). The 23-year-old Williams scored 41 points (16G / 25A) in 37 games with Northeastern this season.
New Jersey has signed Ethan Edwards to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Edwards was a fourth-round pick, 120th overall, of the New Jersey Devils in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old defenseman has spent the previous four seasons playing collegiate hockey, including scoring 21 points (5G / 16A) in 36 games with the University of Michigan (Big-10) this season.
San Jose has signed Noah Beck to a one-year, entry-level contact starting in 2025-26.
Beck was a seventh-round pick, 194th overall, of the St. Louis Blues in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 24-year-old defenseman has spent the previous five seasons playing collegiate hockey, most recently scoring 33 points (5G / 28A) in 37 games with Arizona State University (NCHC).
Washington has signed Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year, $72 million contact extension ($9 million AAV).
Chychrun has been excellent in his first season with the Washington Capitals and has been rewarded with an enormous $72 million contract extension. The 26-year-old Chychrun is averaging 20:56 time-on-ice and has a career-high 43 points (18G / 25A) in 65 games this season.
St. Louis has signed Lukas Fischer to a three-year. entry-level contract.
Fischer was a second-round pick, 56th overall, of the Blues in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old defenseman has 37 points (15G / 22A) in 51 games with the Sarnia Sting (OHL) this season.
St. Louis has signed Adam Jecho to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Jecho was a third-round pick, 95th overall, of the Blues in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward has 53 points (25G / 28A) in 56 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) this season.
The Maple Leafs signed Haymes to a two-year contract on Monday, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
A 21-year-old native from Ottawa, Haymes was one of the most sought after NCAA free agents this season. Haymes finished the 2024-25 NCAA season scoring 12 goals and adding six assists in 22 games for Dartmouth College. He will join the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an amateur tryout for the remainder of the 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.