NHL Signings & Free Agents

Pittsburgh has signed Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year, $5 million ($2,500,000 AAV) contract extension.

Nedeljkovic had an impressive first season in Pittsburgh, mostly backing up Tristan Jarry all season before leading the Penguins' end-of-the-year playoff push and has earned himself a two-year, $5 million ($2,500,000 AAV) contract extension. The 28-year-old finished 2023-24 with a 18-7-7 record, 2.97 GAA and .902 SV% while appearing in 38 total games.

Alex Nedeljkovic
Ottawa has signed Nikolas Matinpalo a one-year, two-way contract extension on Thursday.

Matinpalo made his NHL debut in 2023-24 with a short four-game appearance and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Thursday. The 25-year-old defenseman moved to North America from Finland in 2023-24 and spent the majority of his season with Belleville (AHL), picking up four goals and 14 points in 67 games played during the regular season.

Nikolas Matinpalo
Chicago has signed Cole Guttman to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Guttman had four goals and eight points in 27 games with the Blackhawks in 2023-24 and signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Thursday. The 25-year-old centre will be entering his third NHL season in 2024-25 and has eight goals, 14 points and nine PIMs in 41 career NHL contests.

Cole Guttman
Utah has signed Matt Villalta to a two-year, two-way contract extension.

Utah solidified their goaltending depth on Wednesday as they signed goaltender Matt Villalta to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The 25-year-old spent the majority of his 2023-24 with Tucson (AHL) but made his NHL debut for two games with Arizona, going 0-1-0 with a 4.17 GAA and .828 SV%.

Matt Villalta
Vancouver has signed Mark Friedman to a one-year, $775,000 extension.

Friedman appeared in 23 games for Vancouver in 2023-24 and signed a one-year, $775,000 contract extension on Wednesday into the 2024-25 season. The 28-year-old with 88 career NHL games played to his name had no goals, one assist, 16 SOG and 21 PIMs in 23 games played with Vancouver last season.

Mark Friedman
The Islanders have signed Kyle MacLean to a three-year contract extension.

MacLean made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and has earned himself a three-year, contract extension with the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The 25-year-old spent time in 2023-24 split between the Bridgeport Islanders (43 GP) and New York (32 GP) and had four goals and nine assists with the Islanders during his inaugural NHL season.

Kyle MacLean
Ottawa has signed Max Guenette to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Guenette appeared in seven games for Ottawa in 2023-24 and signed a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday to remain with the Senators into the 2024-25 season. The 23-year-old was Ottawa's 2019 seventh-round pick (187th overall) and has appeared in eight total NHL games in his career and is without a point.

Max Guenette
Philadelphia has signed Adam Ginning to a two-year, two-way contract extension.

Ginning played 67 combined games between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley (AHL) in 2023-24 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract to remain with the Flyers. The 24-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut in 2022-23 and has one goal in 10 NHL games played. He is likely to take on a bigger role with the Flyers in 2024-25.

Adam Ginning
Tampa Bay has resigned Gabriel Fortier to a one-year, two-way contract.

Fortier had 13 goals and 26 points in 62 games with Syracuse (AHL) in 2023-24 and signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Tampa Bay on Monday. The 24-year-old winger made his NHL debut in 2021-22 and has appeared in 11 NHL games with one goal to his name.

Gabriel Fortier
Philadelphia has signed Rodrigo Abols to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.

Abols spent the 2023-24 season with Rogle BK (SHL) and signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Philadelphia on Saturday. The 28-year-old Centre was drafted in the seventh round of the 2016 draft (184th overall) many moons ago and last played in North America with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) in 2019-20.

Rodrigo Abols
Seattle has signed Oscar Fisker Molgaard to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Fisker Molgaard is Seattle's 2023 second-round pick (52nd overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kraken on Saturday. The 19-year-old centre spent 2023-24 in Sweden's top league with HV71 (SHL) and had nine goals and 21 points in 50 games played.

Oscar Fisker Molgaard
Carolina has re-signed Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $9 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV).

Carolina has solidified their top-four defensemen heading into the 2024-25 season after they resigned Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $9 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV) on Friday. The 28-year-old shutdown defensemen hit career highs in multiple categories in 2023-24, including goals (8), assists (14), points (22) and average TOI/GP (15:11) in 72 games this season.

Jalen Chatfield
Colorado has signed Jere Innala to a one-year, entry-level contract.

Innala appeared in 42 games for Forlunda HC (SHL) in 2023-24, picking up 16 goals and 28 points and signed a one-year, entry-level contract on Thursday with Colorado. The 26-year-old left-winger has played the last three seasons for Frolunda HC and has also represented Finland at the World Championships three times in his career.

Jere Innala
Ottawa has signed Angus Crookshank to a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000.

Ottawa opened up its inaugural Spring Members Summit by announcing that they had signed 24-year-old Angus Crookshank to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 on Wednesday. The left-winger was Ottawa's 2018 fifth-round pick and made his NHL debut in 2023-24, picking up two goals and three points across a short 13-game showing.

Angus Crookshank
St. Louis has signed Colten Ellis to a one-year, two-way contract extension through 2024-25.

St. Louis has secured their goaltending tandem in Springfield (AHL) for the 2024-25 season after they re-signed Colten Ellis to a one-year, two-way contract extension on Tuesday. The 23-year-old netminder was St. Louis' 2019 third-round pick (93rd overall) and was sensational in 2023-24, posting a .923+ SV% in both the ECHL with Orlando (21 games) and AHL with Springfield (16 games).

St.Louis has signed Mathias Laferriere to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Laferriere spent the 2023-24 season with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension to remain with the Blues next season. The 23-year-old was St.Louis' 2018 sixth-round pick (169th overall) and had seven goals and 25 points in 68 games in his third AHL season with Springfield last year.

Mathias Laferriere

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.