The Rangers have signed Justin Fontaine to a one-year, two-way contract.
Fontaine, 28, spent the last five seasons with the Wild organization, compiling 68 points (27G / 41A) in 197 career NHL games. He will start the year with Hartford (AHL).
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Ducks have signed Rickard Rakell to a six-year deal worth $22.8 million ($3.8M AAV).
Rakell missed the first game of the season because of a contract holdout, but the Ducks were able to sign him to a six-year deal this afternoon. Rakell is imperative to the Ducks success as their second/third line centre. He is coming off of a career-year, having scored 20 goals with 23 assists (43 points) in 72 games.
Signing
The Canucks signed Jack Skille to a one-year deal worth $700K on Thursday.
Skille, 29, appeared in four preseason games during his professional tryout with the Canucks. Skill is coming off of 14 points (8G / 6A) in 74 games with the Avalanche last season.
The Flames have signed Nick Grossmann to a one-year deal worth $575K.
Grossmann was with the Flames on a professional tryout and made the team as a depth defenseman. Grossmann spent last season with the Coyotes where he had seven points (3G / 4A) in 58 games. He will not have any fantasy relevance in 2016-17.
The Sabres have signed Rasmus Ristolainen to a six-year deal worth $32.4 million ($5.4M AAV).
Ristolainen, 21, is coming off of a great sophomore season in which he tallied nine goals and 32 assists (41 points) in 82 games. Ristolainen led all Sabres players in ice-time last year as well, eating up a monstrous 25:16 per night, which ranked 10th in the NHL. Ristolianen’s possession numbers leave the Sabres wanting more, but as a 21-year-old defenseman, he is just scratching the surface of what he can become.
Signing
The Flames have reportedly signed Kris Versteeg to a one-year deal worth $950K.
Versteeg was in Oilers’ training camp on a professional tryout, but signed with the Flames one day before they are set to meet in the season opener. Versteeg split his 2015-16 campaign between the Hurricanes and Kings, amassing 15 goals and 23 assists (38 points) across 74 games. The Flames are fairly thin at right wing, so Versteeg could earn himself a top-6 role early in the year.
Signing
The Oilers have signed Eric Gryba to a one-year, two-way deal.
Gryba was with the Oilers on a professional tryout and did enough during training camp to earn a contract. Gryba was with the Oilers last year, tallying just six points (1G / 5A) in 53 games.
The Lightning have signed Nikita Kucherov to a three-year deal worth $14.2998M ($4.7666M AAV).
Kucherov burst onto the fantasy scene as a member of “The Triplets” line, only to improve on his numbers in 2015-16. Kucherov is coming off of 66 points (30G / 36A) in 77 games and has the potential to be a 70-plus point player who makes under $5 million per year. That’s unheard of.
The Flames have signed Johnny Gaudreau to a six-year deal worth $40.5 million ($6.75M AAV).
Gaudreau and the Flames waited until the final hour to get a deal done, but it was worth it for both the player and the team. Gaudreau gets $6.75 million per season and the Flames get one of the most dynamic wingers in the league for under $7 million per seasons. In his first two years in the NHL, Gaudreau is 12th in scoring, having picked up 54 goals and 88 assists (142 points) in 159 games. He definitely a top-5 left wing heading into 2016-17, with the potential to be among the top-3 at the position.
The Avalanche have signed Gabriel Bourque to a one-year deal.
Bourque, 26, has spent his entire career in Nashville, picking up just 78 points (31G / 47A) in 242 career games. However, he was let go by the Predators this summer and has made the Avalanche out of training camp after being brought in on a professional tryout.
The Avalanche have signed Rene Bourque to a one-year deal.
Bourque only appeared in 49 games with the Blue Jackets last season, picking up just eight points (3G / 5A). The 34-year-old winger makes the Avalanche opening night roster after being invited into training camp on a professional tryout.
The Dallas Stars have signed Lauri Korpikoski to a one-year deal worth $1 million.
Korpikoski was just released by the Flames, but signed on with the Stars, who have been brutalized by injuries in the preseason. Korpikoski is coming off of 22 points (10G / 12A) in 71 games with the Oilers last year and should play in the Stars’ bottom-6.
Signing
The Hurricanes signed Jakub Nakladal to a one-year deal worth $600K on Sunday.
Nakladal, 28, split his time between the AHL and NHL in 2015-16, totalling five points (2G / 3A) in 27 games with the Flames and 14 points (2G / 12A) in 35 games with the Stockton Heat. The 6-foot-2, 212 lbs. defenseman adds depth to the Hurricanes’ blueline but figures to start the year in the AHL.
The Oilers have signed Kris Russell to a one-year deal worth $3.1 million.
Russell, 29, spent the last two and a half years with the Flames, before being dealt to the Stars at last year’s deadline. Russell finished the year with four goals and 15 assists (19 points) in 62 games. Russell’s possession numbers are awful and that has led to him leading the league in blocked shots (751—3.1 per game) over the last four seasons. He should help bolster the Oilers’ blueline if he is used properly.
The Coyotes have signed Tobias Rieder to a two-year deal worth $4.45 million (2.225M AAV).
The Coyotes and Rieder have been negotiating for months and for awhile it looked as if Rieder was headed to the KHL. Rieder is coming off of a 37-point (14G / 23A) in 82 games last year and figures to be a key member of the Coyotes’ young top-6 in 2016-17. He is worth a late-round flier in drafts this October.
The Islanders signed Dennis Seidenberg to a one-year, $1 million deal last week.
Seidenberg spent the last six and a half years in Boston before he was bought out this summer. Seidenberg had just 12 points (1G / 11A) in 61 games last season and hasn’t topped 30 points since 2010-11. He shouldn’t be on your fantasy radar, but gives the Islanders some added depth on the blueline.
Signing
The Devils have signed Kyle Quincey to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million.
Quincey has spent the last four and a half seasons with the Red Wings, never topping 18 points (3G / 15A) in a single season. Quincey should file in on the Devils’ third pairing and provides them with some extra blueline depth.
The Bruins have signed Brad Marchand to an eight-year deal worth $49 million ($6.125M AAV).
Marchand, 28, is coming off of a career-high 37 goals and 60 points. The Canadian-born winger has scored 20-plus goals in every full 82-game season that he has played in and is in a great spot on Patrice Bergeron’s wing out in Boston. He has had a very strong showing in the World Cup of Hockey which shows last year may not be a fluke.
The Blues signed Alex Steen to a four-year deal worth $23 million ($5.75M AAV).
Steen is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery that kept him out of the World Cup of Hockey, but he is expected to be ready for the start of the season. The 32-year-old winger has missed 37 games over the last three years, but has produced solid numbers despite injury woes. Steen has averaged 25 goals and 35 assists (60 points) over that stretch and should be expected to post similar numbers in 2016-17.
The Capitals signed Dmitry Orlov to a one-year, $2.57 million deal.
Orlov is a key member of the Capitals’ top-4 on the blueline and will still be a restricted free agent after his one-year contract is up. The 25-year-old is coming off of his best offensive season, having posted eight goals and 21 assists (29 points) in 82 games.
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.