NHL Hockey Player News

Buffalo has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000.

Murray had 23 goals, 26 assists, 46 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 71 games with Rochester (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000 with Buffalo. The 24-year-old right-winger was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2016 NHL Draft (99th overall) and has two goals and six points across 21 career NHL games played.

Brett Murray
Pittsburgh has re-signed Jonathan Gruden to a one-year, $775,000 contract extension.

Gruden had 16 goals, 15 assists, 54 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 54 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) in 2022-23 and has re-signed a one-year, $775,000 contract extension with Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old left-winger made his NHL debut with the Penguins in 2022-23, but failed to pick up a point across a short, three-game showing. He was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2018 draft (95th overall) by the Ottawa Senators.

Jonathan Gruden
St. Louis has signed Dalibor Dvorsky to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Dvorsky was St.Louis' 2023 first-round pick (10th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blues. The 18-year-old Slovakian forward had six goals, eight assists, 16 PIMs and a -19 plus/minus through 38 games with AIK of the HockeyAllsvenskan League. He is currently expected to play for IK Oskarshamn of the SHL in 2023-24.

Dalibor Dvorsky
Dallas has signed Ty Dellandrea to a one-year, $900,000 extension.

Dellandrea had nine goals, 19 assists, 92 SOG, 54 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 82 games in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract extension with Dallas worth $900,000. The 22-year-old centre was drafted in the first-round of the 2018 NHL Draft (13th overall) by the Stars and completed his first full season of his career in 2022-23. The two-way specialist has 12 goals and 33 points in 109 games in his career.

Ty Dellandrea
Boston has signed Jesper Boqvist to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Boqvist had 10 goals, 11 assists, 67 SOG, two PIMs and a +8 plus/minus through 70 games with New Jersey in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Boston. The 24-year-old centre was selected by New Jersey in the second-round of the 2017 NHL Draft (36th overall) and has collected 28 goals and 55 points across 189 games in four seasons in New Jersey.

Jesper Boqvist
Ottawa has signed Kevin Mandolese to a one-year, two-way contract extension ($775,000 AAV).

Mandolese was 1-2-0 with a 3.29 GAA and .916 SV% with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension ($775,000 AAV). The 22-year-old netminder was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2018 draft (157th overall) and made his NHL debut in 2022-23 after playing in both the AHL and ECHL in the same season.

Kevin Mandolese
Carolina has signed Brendan Lemieux to a one-year, $800,000 AAV contract.

Lemieux had two goals, seven assists, 44 SOG, 74 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 45 games between Los Angeles and Philadelphia in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with Carolina. The 27-year-old scrappy left-wing will be joining his fifth NHL team and has 33 goals, 69 points and 484 PIMs through 275 career games.

Brendan Lemieux
Montreal will sign Alex Newhook to a four-year, $11.6 million contract ($2,900,000 AAV).

Newhook had 14 goals 16 assists, 116 SOG, and 22 PIMs across 82 games played with Colorado in 2022-23 and has signed a four-year, $11.6 million contract ($2,900,000 AAV) with Montreal. The 22-year-old's rights were acquired by Montreal for a pair of early round draft picks and a prospect earlier in the month. The American centre was the Avalanche's 2019 first-round pick (16th overall) and has 27 goals and 66 points across 159 career NHL games.

Alex Newhook
Los Angeles has signed Samuel Fagemo to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV.

Fagemo had two goals, an assist, five SOG, and a -4 plus/minus through nine games with Los Angeles in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV. The 23-year-old was the Kings 2019 second-round pick (50th overall) and has played 13 games in the NHL over the last two seasons.

Samuel Fagemo
Los Angeles has signed Tyler Madden to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV.

Madden had 20 goals, 13 assists, 12 PIMs and a -11 plus/minus through 71 games with Ontario (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV. The 23-year-old centre was drafted by Vancouver in 2018 in the third-round (68th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut.

Tyler Madden
Minnesota has signed Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV.

Lucchini had a goal, 14 SOG, and a -2 plus/minus through 11 games played with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV. The 28-year-old forward also had 19 goals, 34 assists, six PIMs and a -20 plus/minus through 61 games with Belleville (AHL) in 2022-23 after making his NHL debut in the same season.

Jake Lucchini
Minnesota has signed Vinnie Lettieri to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 million ($750,000 AAV).

Lettieri had 23 goals, 26 assists, 34 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 48 games played with Providence (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 million ($750,000 AAV) with Minnesota. The 28-year-old veteran right-winger brings seven goals and 18 points across 83 career NHL games played to the Wild after appearing in one game for the Boston Bruins in 2022-23.

Vinni Lettieri
Boston has signed Ian Mitchell to a one-year, $775,000 AAV contract as a pre-arbitration agreement.

Mitchell had a goal, seven assists, 25 SOG, eight PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 35 games with Chicago in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 AAV contract as a pre-arbitration agreement with Boston. The 24-year-old defenseman had his rights acquired by the Bruins as a part of the deal that saw Taylor Hall head to Chicago. He has four goals and 16 points across 82 career NHL games played.

Ian Mitchell
Philadelphia has signed Cam York to a two-year, $2.6 million extension ($1,300,000 AAV).

York had two goals, 18 assists, 42 SOG, 18 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 54 games in 2022-23 with Philadelphia and has signed a two-year, $2.6 million extension ($1,300,000 AAV). The 22-year-old defender was Philadelphia's 2019 first-round pick (14th overall) and has five goals, 25 assists, and 76 SOG throughout his 87 career NHL games in three seasons.

Cam York

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.