NHL Hockey Player News

The Rangers have signed Nikolas Brouillard to a one-year, two-way contract.

Brouillard had six goals, 33 assists, 120 PIMs and a -27 plus/minus with San Diego (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers. The 28-year-old defenseman has yet to make his NHL debut after being signed as a free agent from McGill University (USports) in 2020-21.

Nikolas Brouillard
The Rangers have signed Mac Hollowell to a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV).

Hollowell had two assists, four SOG, two PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through six games with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV) with the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old defenseman was Toronto's 2018 fourth-round pick (118th overall) and should provide the Rangers with some defensive depth after making his NHL debut in 2022-23.

Mac Hollowell
Pittsburgh has signed Radim Zohorna to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Zohorna had a goal, nine SOG, and a -1 plus/minus through 10 games with both Calgary and Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed with Pittsburgh for a one-year, $775,000 contract. The 27-year-old left-winger is a massive 6'6" and has five goals and 11 points in 35 career NHL games played.

Radim Zohorna
Pittsburgh has signed Magnus Hellberg to a one-year, $785,000 contract.

Hellberg was 5-8-1 with a 3.20 GAA and a .888 SV% with Detroit and Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $785,000 AAV contract with Pittsburgh. The 32-year-old goaltender has appeared in 23 games throughout his NHL career, holding a 7-8-1 record, .886 SV% and 3.14 GAA while appearing for three teams.

Magnus Hellberg
Pittsburgh has re-signed Marc Johnstone to a two-year, two-way contract extension ($775,000 AAV).

Johnstone had nine goals, 13 assists, 39 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 69 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract extension ($775,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 27-year-old right-winger has never played in the NHL after being signed out of Sacred Heart University (NCAA) in 2020-21.

Marc Johnstone
Detroit has signed Christian Fischer to a one-year, $1,125,000 contact.

Fischer had 13 goals, 14 assists, 122 SOG, 20 PIMs and a -7 plus/minus through 80 games with Arizona in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1,125,000 contact. The 26-year-old right-winger joins Detroit after seven seasons in Arizona where he had 56 goals, 111 points, 97 PIMs and 608 SOG through 398 career NHL games.

Christian Fischer
The Maple Leafs signed John Klingberg to a one-year contract worth $4.15 milllion.

Klingberg had 10 goals, 23 assists, 112 SOG, 34 PIMs and a -25 plus/minus through 67 games with both Anaheim and Minnesota and has signed a one-year contract with Toronto worth $4.15 million. The 30-year-old defender joins his fourth NHL team bringing with him 81 goals and 407 points across 619 career NHL games.

John Klingberg
The Kings signed Steven Santini to a one-year, two-way contract.

Santini had an assist, two PIMs and five SOG through four games with St.Louis in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV with Los Angeles. The 28-year-old defenseman was drafted by New Jersey in the second-round of the 2013 draft (42nd overall) and brings five goals, 23 points and 57 PIMs across 123 career NHL games played to the Kings.

Steven Santini
The Kings signed Mikhail Maltsev to a one-year, two-way contract.

Maltsev failed to pick up a point across five games with Colorado in 2022-23 but has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings worth $775,000 AAV. The 25-year-old left-winger will be joining his third team and has six goals and nine points across 56 career NHL games after being drafted in the fourth-round (102nd overall) by the New Jersey Devils in 2016.

Mikhail Maltsev
The Kings signed David Rittich to a one-year deal worth $875K.

Rittich was 9-8-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .901 SV% in 2022-23 as Nashville's backup goaltender and has signed a one-year deal worth $875,000 AAV with Los Angeles. The 30-year-old towering netminder will be joining his fifth team in four years and brings a record of 79-51-21 with a .904 SV% and 2.87 GAA to the Kings this season.

David Rittich
The Oilers signed Noel Hoefenmayer to a one-year entry-level contract worth $845,000.

Hoedenmaker had 11 goals, 27 assists, 114 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 65 games with Toronto (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, entry-level contract worth $845,000 with the Edmonton Oilers. The 24-year-old undrafted defensemen has yet to make his NHL debut but has slowly risen through the leagues after a strong season in the ECHL with Newfoundland in 2021-22.

Noel Hoefenmayer
The Oilers signed Drake Caggiula to a two-year, two-way contract.

Caggiula failed to pick up a point across four games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23 but has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 29-year-old left-winger returns to the orginization that he broke into the NHL with in 2016-17 and spent three seasons at. Throughout his seven year career, he has 46 goals, 91 points and 136 PIMs across 282 NHL games played.

Drake Caggiula
The Predators signed Alexandre Carrier to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

Carrier had two goals, seven assists, 48 SOG and 27 PIMs across 43 games played in 2022-23 with Nashville and has signed a one-year contract extension worth $2.5 million. The 26-year-old defenseman will be entering his sixth season in Nashville, having picking up six goals and 42 points across 144 career games.

Alexandre Carrier
The Flyers signed Garnet Hathaway to a two-year contract worth $4.75 million ($2.375M AAV).

Hathaway had 13 goals, nine assists, 88 SOG, 69 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 74 games played with both Boston and Washington in 2022-23 and has agreed to a two-year contract worth $4.75 million ($2.375M AAV) with Philadelphia. The 31-year-old right winger is set to join his fourth NHL team, bringing 58 goals and 122 points through 457 career games played.

Garnet Hathaway
The Red Wings signed Brogan Rafferty to a two-year, two-way contract.

Rafferty had nine goals, 42 assists, 42 PIMs and a +28 plus/minus through 72 games with Coachella Valley (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV with Detroit. The 28-year-old undrafted defensemen has appeared in three career NHL games and has an assist and -2 plus/minus rating.

Brogan Rafferty
The Coyotes signed Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.

Villalta was a third-round pick of the Kings in 2017 and played for their AHL team for the last four seasons. In 2023, Villalta went 12-8-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .910 SV% in 22 games with Ontario (AHL). Villalta will likely start the 2023-24 season in the AHL, as he sits behind Karel Vejmelka, Connor Ingram and Ivan Prosvetov (RFA) on the depth chart.

Matt Villalta
The Red Wings signed Tim Gettinger to a one-year, two-way contract.

Oettinger had 13 goals, 22 assists, 26 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 52 games with Hartford (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Detroit. The 25-year-old left-winger played scarcely across four seasons in New York picking up one assist and 10 SOG through 16 career NHL games played.

Tim Gettinger
The Avalanche signed Corey Schueneman to a one-year, two-way contract.

Schueneman had an assist, eight SOG and a +1 plus/minus through seven games with Montreal in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract with Colorado worth $775,000. The 27-year-old defenseman has picked up two goals, seven points, eight PIMs and and 38 SOG through 31 career games across the last two seasons with Montreal.

Corey Schueneman
The Avalanche signed Arvid Holm to a one-year, two-way contract.

Holm was 18-11-4 with a .911 SV% and 2.67 GAA with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract with Colorado worth $775,000. The 24-year-old goaltender was Winnipeg's 2017 sixth-round pick (167th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut since heading to North America from the SHL in 2021-22.

Arvid Holm
The Avalanche signed Chris Wagner to a one-year, two-way contract.

Wagner had 19 goals, 12 assists, 69 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 62 games with Providence (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 32-year-old veteran right-winger has 63 points (37G/26A) through 360 career NHL games played after being a fifth-round pick (122nd overall) in 2010 to Anaheim.

Chris Wagner

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.