The Hurricanes signed Nadeau, their 2023 first-round selection, to a three-year entry-level contract on Sunday.
NHL Signings & Free Agents
Carolina has signed Gleb Trikozov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Minnesota has signed Samuel Hlavaj to a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2024-25.
Hlavaj is an undrafted 22-year-old Slovak Netminder that played the last several years in Europe after two seasons in the QMJHL. He had a 3.10 GAA and .902 SV% in 28 games (8-20-0) with Plzen HC (Czech) this season.
New Jersey has signed Dylan Wendt to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Wendt is an undrafted 23-year-old out of Michigan who has spent the last three seasons playing collegiate hockey. He scored 44 points (23G / 21A) in 38 games with Western Michigan University in the 2023-24 season.
Arizona has signed Sam Lipkin to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Lipkin was a seventh-round pick of the Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has earned himself a three-year-, entry-level contract. In 39 games with Quinnipiac University this season, Lipkin has 35 points (15G / 20A).
San Jose has signed Collin Graf to a three-year, entry-level contact.
Graf is an undrafted 21-year-old out of Massachusetts who has played collegiate hockey for the last three seasons. He scored 49 points (22G / 27A) in 34 games with Quinnipiac University this season.
Colorado has signed Chris Wagner to a one-year contract extension for the 2024-25 season.
Wagner scored his first goal as a member of the Colorado Avalanche on Monday and has earned himself a one-year contract extension for the 2024-25 season. The 32-year-old veteran should compete for Colorado's fourth-line centre role next year but will hope to build off of his two points (1G/1A) in 10 games this season.
Anaheim has signed Coulson Pitre to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Pitre was the 65th overall pick of the Ducks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward has enjoyed a productive third season with the Flint Firebirds (OHL), scoring 55 points (27G / 28A) in 55 games.
Anaheim has signed Yegor Sidorov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Sidorov was the 85th overall pick of the Ducks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward has 88 points (50G / 38A) in 66 games with the Saskatoon Blades (WHL) this season.
Chicago has signed Nick Lardis to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Lardis was the third-round pick (67th overall) of the Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old has 50 points (29G / 21A) in 47 games with the Brantford Bulldogs (OHL) this season.
Seattle has signed Victor Ostman to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Ostman is an undrafted 23-year-old out of Sweden who has played collegiate hockey for the last four seasons with the University of Maine. His 2023-24 campaign consisted of a 2.81 GAA and .892 SV% in 21 games (13-6-1).
Carolina has signed Scott Morrow to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Morrow, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, is one of the Hurricanes' top prospects. The 21-year-old defenseman had 30 points (6G / 24A) in 37 games at UMass-Amherst in 2023-24.
The New York Rangers have signed Kalle Vasianen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Vaisanen was the fourth-round pick of the Rangers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has earned himself a three-year, entry-level contract. The 21-year-old forward has 14 points (9G / 5A) in 58 games this season with TPS Turku (SM-liiga).
The New York Rangers have signed Victor Mancini to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Mancini was a fifth-round pick of the Rangers in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has spent the last three seasons playing with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The 21-year-old defenseman scored 23 points (4G / 19A) in his 110-game college-hockey career.
Boston has signed Jaxson Nelson to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Nelson is an undrafted 24-year-old out of Minnesota who has spent the last four seasons playing collegiate hockey with the University of Minnesota. In 39 games this season, Nelson scored 31 points (19G / 12A).
Florida has signed Cooper Black to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Black is a 6'8 goalie out of Michigan who has spent the last two seasons playing collegiate hockey with Dartmouth College. The 22-year-old netminder has a 2.58 GAA and .910 SV% in 30 games this season (13-8-8).
The Maple Leafs signed Quillan to a two-year entry-level contract with an AAV of $0.875M.
The Leafs announced the signing of the college free-agent during their game against the Panthers on Monday night. The contract will officially begin during the 2024-25 season, and Quillan will technically spend the rest of this season on an amateur try-out in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. Quillan scored 17 goals and 29 assists in 39 games with Quinnipac University this season, and was notably named the 2023 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player.
Vancouver has signed Ty Mueller to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Edmonton has signed Olivier Rodrigue to a one-year, two-way contract extension through 2024-25.
Rodrigue has earned himself a one-year, two-way extension with the Oilers after an impressive 17-10-4 record, .915 SV% and 2.72 GAA with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2023-24. The 23-year-old was Edmonton's 2018 second-round pick (62nd overall).
Nashville has signed Ryan Ufko to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Ufko is Nashville's 2021 fourth-round pick (115th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Nashville on Friday. The 20-year-old defenseman had an impressive third season at UMass (NCAA) as the team captain, with 10 goals, 26 points, 14 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus in 37 games played.
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.