3-year, $3,020,000 contract with the Nashville Predators. Can only earn $500K in "B" bonuses once during contract. Expires 2028 (RFA).
Source:
2025-08-20T23:59:00.000Z
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
1-year, $1,575,000 contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Expires 2026 (UFA).
Source:2025-08-20T23:59:00.000Z
Colorado has signed Victor Olofsson to a one-year, $1.575 million contract.
Colorado added some much-needed offensive depth on Wednesday with the signing of Victor Olofsson on a one-year, $1.575 million contract. The 30-year-old right-winger had 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games with Vegas in 2024-25 after spending the previous six campaigns in with the Buffalo Sabres. He is expected to play a top-nine role in Colorado and should see some power-play time on the second unit, despite that unit rarely seeing the ice.
Nashville has signed Brady Martin to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Martin was the 5th overall selection in this year's NHL Entry Draft and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Nashville on Wednesday. The 18-year-old center saw his draft stock skyrocket in 2024-25 after an impressive 33-goal, 72-point campaign with the Soo Greyhounds (OHL). He will compete for a spot on Nashville's roster to start the 2025-26 season, but is expected to return to the Soo for the majority of the season.
2-year, $1,820,000 contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Expires 2027 (RFA).
Source:2025-08-18T23:59:00.000Z
1-year, $775,000 contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. $350K Guaranteed. Expires 2026 (UFA).
Source:2025-08-18T23:59:00.000Z
Columbus has signed Daemon Hunt to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Hunt will remain in Columbus's organization after the 23-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Friday. The skilled defenseman was a key piece of the deal, which sent David Jiricek to Minnesota last November. He's appeared in 13 NHL games throughout his young career, picking up an assist and a -1 plus/minus. He is expected to start 2025-26 in Cleveland (AHL), where he had two goals and 14 points in 48 games last season.
New York has signed Talyn Boyko to a one-year, two-way contract extension,
New York announced the signing of a pair of goaltenders on Sunday after they signed ECHL starter Tayln Boyko to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 22-year-old will provide New York with plenty of goaltending depth after he posted a .913 SV% and 20-8-5 record with Tulsa (ECHL) in 2024-25. He is expected to start 2025-26 as Hartford's (AHL) backup.
New York has signed Dylan Garand to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
New York brought back their 2024-25 AHL starter on Sunday after they announced the signing of Dylan Garand to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 23-year-old was New York's 2020 4th-round pick (103rd overall) and appeared in 39 games as Hartford's (AHL) starter in 2024-25, posting a 20-10-9 record alongside his .913 SV% and 2.73 GAA. He is expected to return as Hartford's starter for the 2025-26 season, but has a shot to make his NHL debut if the Rangers run into any injury issues.
Columbus has signed Hudson Fasching to a one-year, two-way contract.
After three semi-successful seasons on Long Island, Hudson Fasching has signed with Columbus on a one-year, two-way contract to provide some offensive depth for the Blue Jackets. The 30-year-old winger struggled with the Islanders in 2024-25, putting up just two goals and four points in 43 games played. He is expected to battle for a bottom-six role in Columbus and will hope to return to the 19-point form we witnessed across 49 games in 2022-23.
Colorado has signed Alex Gagne to a two-year entry-level contract.
Gagne was a former 6th-round pick (2021) with Tampa Bay but failed to sign an entry-level contract with the Lightning and has now signed a two-year entry-level contract with Colorado. The 23-year-old defenseman will join the Colorado Eagles (AHL) after a successful senior season where he captained the University of New Hampshire (NCAA) in 2024-25 with four goals and 17 points in 35 games played.
1-year, $775,000 contract with the New York Rangers. $125K Guaranteed. Expires 2026 (RFA).
Source:2025-08-17T23:59:00.000Z
1-year, $775,000 contract with the New York Rangers. Expires 2026 (UFA NO QO).
Source:2025-08-17T23:59:00.000Z
1-year, $1,000,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Expires 2026 (UFA).
Source:2025-08-15T23:59:00.000Z
1-year, $775,000 contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. $110K Guaranteed . Expires 2026 (RFA).
Source:2025-08-15T23:59:00.000Z
Detroit has signed Travis Hamonic to a one-year, $1 million contract.
Hamonic will join his fifth NHL organization in his 16th season after he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Detroit on Friday to provide some defensive depth. The 35-year-old stay-at-home defender appeared in 59 games with Ottawa in 2024-25, picking up a goal, seven points, and a -16 plus/minus. He is expected to compete for a spot in Detroit's third defensive pairing to start the season.
1-year, $775,000 contract with the Florida Panthers. $150,000 Guaranteed. Expires 2026 (UFA NO QO).
Source:2025-08-14T23:59:00.000Z
Florida has signed Michael Benning to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
After two seasons in Charlotte (AHL), Michael Benning is expected to return to the Checkers after the 23-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Florida on Thursday. The puck-moving defenseman has yet to make an NHL appearance but has excelled with the Checkers in his last two seasons, putting up an impressive nine goals, 32 points and 34 PIMs in 54 games played last season.
1-year, $775,000 contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. $140,000 Guaranteed. Expires 2026 (RFA).
Source:2025-08-13T23:59:00.000Z
Columbus has signed Mikael Pyyhtia to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Pyyhtia will return for a fourth season in Columbus after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension on Wednesday. The 23-year-old left-winger was Columbus's 2020 4th-round pick (114th overall) and appeared in 47 games with the Blue Jackets in 2024-25, picking up career highs with four goals, seven points and 32 SOG. He is expected to play a depth role for the Blue Jackets for the upcoming season.
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.