Signing
The Blues have signed Jordan Caron to a one-year, two-way contract.
NHL Signings & Free Agents
Signing
The Sabres signed Casey Nelson to a two-year deal worth $1.3 million.
The Panthers signed Greg McKegg to a one-year deal worth $700K.
The Wild re-signed Jason Zucker to a two-year deal worth $4 million ($2.0M AAV).
After scoring 21 goals in just 51 games in 2014-15, the Wild were hoping for big things out of Zucker last season, but he never seemed to gain any traction. The 24-year-old winger struggled with just 13 goals and 10 assists (23 points) in 71 games, but the Wild we able to secure him for two more years at a very reasonable cap-hit.
The Sharks signed Tomas Hertl to a two-year extension worth $6 million ($3.0M AAV).
Hertl, 22, is coming off of his best year as a pro, having racked up 21 goals and 25 assists (46 points) in 81 games with the Sharks. The former 17th overall pick found a nice spot on the left wing with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski and if he plays there for most of 2016-17, we could see Hertl’s first 25-goal and 50-point season.
The Blue Jackets signed Seth Jones to a six-year contract worth $32.5 million ($5.416M AAV).
Jones, 21, had 20 points (2G / 18A) in 41 games with the Blue Jackets after he was acquired from Nashville. Overall, he had 31 points (3G / 28A) in 2015-16, which was a new career-high for the 2013 4th overall pick. Jones has top-pairing upside and the Blue Jackets are hoping he takes a big step forward in 2016-17.
Stamkos is reportedly re-signing with the Lightning; expected to be around eight years, $68 million ($8.5M AAV).
The Lightning cut it close, signing Stamkos two days before he hit the free agency market. There were a tonne of teams hoping Stamkos would become a free agent, but it looks like he will be with the Lightning through the 2023-24 NHL season. Stamkos missed games at the end of the season with a blood clot issue, but he finished with 36 goals and 28 assists (64 points) in 77 games.
The Ducks have signed Dustin Tokarski to a one-year contract extension.
Tokarski, 26, appeared in just two games with San Diego (AHL) after being acquired from the Canadiens—he was 1-1-0 with a 2.35 GAA and .920 SV%. Tokarski is 10-12-5 with a 2.85 GAA and .904 SV% in 27 career NHL starts.
Signing
The Oilers signed Iiro Pakarinen to a one-year contract worth $725K.
Pakarinen, 24, spent the majority of the year with the Oilers, where he scored five goals with eight assists (13 points) in 63 games. During his brief time in Bakersfield (AHL) he had three points (1G / 2A) in four games.
The Blues inked Kyle Brodziak to a two-year contract extension.
Brodziak, 32, had 11 points (7G / 4A) in 76 games with the Blues in 2015-16. It was his first season with St. Louis and he will be in a Blues uniform for the next two seasons after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Oilers and the Wild.
The Coyotes signed Louis Domingue to a two-year contract extension worth $2.1 million ($1.05M AAV).
Domingue, 24, spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with the Coyotes, where he went 15-18-4 with a 2.75 GAA and .912 SV%. The former fifth round pick also appeared in 13 games with Springfield (AHL) where he was 6-6-1 with a 2.55 GAA and .919 SV%.
The Red Wings signed Drew Miller to a one-year deal worth $1.025 million.
Miller appeared in just 28 games in the 2015-16 season because of a knee injury. Miller underwent ACL and meniscus reconstruction surgery in January, but is expected to be ready for the 2016-17 season.
Signing
The Canucks have signed Emerson Etem to a one-year contract extension worth $775K.
Etem, 24, had 12 points (7G / 5A) in 39 games with the Canucks after he was acquired from the Rangers, where he had three assists in 19 games. The 2010 29th overall pick has yet to make a big dent at the NHL level after posting 107 points (61G / 46A) in his final WHL season.
The Kings signed Trevor Lewis to a four-year extension worth $8 million ($2M AAV).
Lewis, 29, had eight goals and eight assists (16 points) in 75 games with the Kings last season. He has spent the first eight years of his NHL career with the Kings after being drafted 17th overall in 2006. He has 89 points (35G / 54A) in 424 career NHL games.
The Canadiens signed Andrew Shaw to a six-year contract worth $23.4 million ($3.9M AAV).
Shaw, who was a restricted free agent, was acquired from Chicago for two draft picks during the NHL Draft over the weekend. The 24-year-old forward spent the first five years of his career with the Blackhawks, tallying 137 points (70G / 67A) and 300 PIMS in 322 games, including 34 points (14G / 20A) in 78 games last season.
The Predators have signed Filip Forsberg to a six-year deal worth $36 million ($6.0M AAV).
Forsberg was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, but is now signed through the 2021-22 season. Forsberg just wrapped up his second full NHL season with the Predators, where he recorded his first 30-goal season (33) with 31 assists to give him 64 points in 82 games. He has not missed a game in the last two years, finishing with nearly identical 63 and 64-point campaigns.
The Stars have signed Jordie Benn to a three-year extension worth $3.3M ($1.1 AAV).
Unlike his brother Jamie, Jordie Benn is not known for his offence. The 28-year-old blueliner had just three goals and nine assists (12 points) in 64 games with the Stars in 2015-16. Carrying just a $1.1M cap-hit, the Stars have a solid third pairing defenseman for next to nothing.
The Lightning have signed J.T. Brown to a two-year contract extension.
Brown, 25, had eight goals and 14 assists (22 points) in 78 games with the Lightning last season. He has amassed 51 points (15G / 36A) in 198 career NHL games and has settled in nicely in the Lightning’s bottom six over the last three seasons.
The Panthers have signed Keith Yandle to a seven year deal worth $44.45 million ($6.35M AAV).
Florida acquired Yandle’s rights from the Rangers a few days back and wasted no time inking the 29-year-old defenseman to a seven year contract. Handle has not missed a game in the last seven seasons and has averaged 10 goals and 40 assists (50 points) per 82 games over that stretch. He becomes the highest paid player in the Panthers organization.
The Jets have signed Michael Hutchinson to a two-year contract extension worth $2.3 million.
Hutchinson, 26, appeared in 30 games for the Jets this past season, going 9-15-3 with a 2.84 GAA and .907 SV%. There is a risk of Hutchinson falling to the Jets’ No. 3 netminder behind Ondrej Pavelec and Connor Hellebuyck.
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.