Schultz had five assists and a minus-13 rating in 69 games with the Blue Jackets and Oilers last season. Schultz will likely start the season as the Flyers seventh defenseman and carries no fantasy value.
Kulemin tallied nine goals and added 11 assists (20 points) in 70 games with the Maple Leafs. He spent the first six years of his career with Toronto, and 2013-14 was his worst year. The former 30 goal scorer has tallied just 23 goals over the last three seasons (188 games played). He could play with John Tavares, which would boost his fantasy value or he may be re-united with Mikhail Grabovski.
Grabovski was limited to 58 games by injuries in 2013-14. He had a strong start to the year and finished with 13 goals and 22 assists (35 points). He joins the Islanders, who now have three good centres with Grabo, John Tavares and Frans Nielsen. He is also reunited with Nikolai Kulemin, the two played together in Toronto from 2008-13.
The 35-year-old veteran centre had 18 goals and 25 assists (43 points) with a minus-8 rating in 82 games with the Jets last season. The Predators do not have the most talented pivots, so Jokinen could be the one that starts the season with James Neal.
McCormick returns to Buffalo for his fifth season with the Sabres after finishing the 2013-14 season with 14 games as a member of the Minnesota Wild. McCormick was a part of the trade that sent Matt Moulson to the Wild, but now they are both back with the Sabres for the next few years.
MacKenzie scored nine goals and added nine assists (18 points) in 71 games with the Blue Jackets last season. D-MacK provides the Panthers with some depth at centre; he won 51.5% of his face-offs in 2013-14.
Vitale had one goal and 13 assists in 53 games with the Penguins last year. The Coyotes needed a centre that can win face-offs and that is exactly what Vitale brings to the table. In 2013-14 he won 62.5% of the draws that he took, which will certainly help the Coyotes get out of their own end this season.
Bickel had one goal, seven assists and 85 penalty minutes in 24 games with Hartford (AHL) last season. He signed a two-way deal and will likely start the year with Iowa (AHL).
Downie scored four goals with 20 assists and 106 penalty minutes in 62 games between the Avalanche and the Flyers. Downie battled a number of injuries including a concussion in 2013-14, so the Penguins take nearly no risk by signing him to a one-year, million dollar contract.
Desjardins made just one start for the Lightning last season, but he was 9-18-4 with a 2.81 GAA and .900 SV% with Syracuse (AHL). He will likely find himself with the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) to start next season.
After being acquired from the Oilers, LaBarbera was 15-15-2 with a 2.94 GAA and .901 SV% with the Blackhawks AHL affiliate in Rockford. He joins a deep group of good goaltenders in Anaheim and will not hold any fantasy value.
After losing Justin Peters in free agency, the Hurricanes have locked up MacIntyre for next season. MacIntyre was 29-15-3 with a 2.53 GAA and .917 SV% with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) last season. He is expected to start the season with the Hurricanes AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers.
Chorney had five goals and 20 assists (25 points) in 69 games on the Chicago (AHL) blueline last season. He has seven career points in 61 NHL games. Taylor is the son of former Penguins defenseman Marc Chorney.
Eaves scored two goals with three assists in 23 games with the Red Wings last season. In eight games with Grand Rapids (AHL), he had six points (4G / 2A). Eaves provides the Stars with a little more depth up-front, but he will not be fantasy relevant.
Drazenovic, 27, played the majority of the 2013-14 regular-season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). He also suited up for one regular-season game with Pittsburgh. The 6-foot, 192-pound Drazenovic finished the regular season ranked second on WBS in both assists (29) and points (42). He added four points (1G-3A) in nine AHL playoff games.
Van Der Gulik only played in two games with the Avalanche last season. He played 33 games in Lake Erie, where he tallied 13 goals and nine assists (22 points).
Cracknell had two assists in 19 games with the Blues last season. He spent half of the season with Chicago (AHL) where he scored 12 goals with 13 assists (25 points) in 28 games. He is physical player who should fit right in with the Kings.
Hunwick, 29, only appeared in one game with the Avalanche last season. In 52 games with Lake Erie (AHL), he posted 10 goals and 21 assists (33 points) with a plus-4 rating.
After the Red Wings lost out on many free-agent defensemen earlier in the day, the Red Wings elected to bring back Quincey to shore up their blueline. The Red Wings D was ravaged by injuries last season, but Quincey was able to suit up in all 82 games, posting 13 points (4G / 9A) and a minus-5 rating.
Nabokov was 15-14-8 with a 2.74 GAA and .905 SV% with the Islanders last season. Towards the end of the season he was splitting time with Anders Nilsson, but he is more likely to be in a back-up role in Tampa Bay.
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.
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.