NHL Hockey Player News

The Bruins signed Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract worth $1.0 million.

Shattenkirk spent the last three seasons in Anaheim, where he averaged five goals and 24 assists (29 points) per 82 games. The Bruins have a much deeper blueline than the Ducks did, so Shattenkirk will likely played a more sheltered third-pairing role, but brings some added offence to that role. He should also see some time on the second power play unit.

Kevin Shattenkirk
The Stars signed Joel Hanley to a two-year contract worth $1.575 million ($787.5K AAV).

Hanley had two assists, 14 SOG, 15 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 26 games with Dallas in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract extension worth $1.575 million ($787.5K AAV). The 32-year-old defensemen has spent the last five seasons in Dallas and has two goals, 24 points, 33 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 151 career games played.

Joel Hanley
The Stars signed Craig Smith to a one-year deal worth $1.0 million.

Smith had nine goals, seven assists, 104 SOG, 18 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 64 games with both Boston and Washington in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year deal worth $1,000,000 with Dallas. The 33-year-old centre will be joining his fourth NHL team and has 200 goals, 414 points, 328 PIMs and a +95 plus/minus across 853 career games played.

Craig Smith
The Capitals signed Max Pacioretty to a one-year deal worth $2.0 million.

Pacioretty was only able to play in five games in 2022-23 after missing majority of the season with a torn Achilles but still had three goals and 16 SOG with Carolina last season and has now signed a one-year deal worth $2 Million with the Washington Capitals. The 34-year-old left-winger will be looking to prove he can still play in the NHL after only playing in 44 total games since 2021 due to injury. He currently sits on 326 goals and 319 assists through 855 career NHL games played.

Max Pacioretty
The Flyers signed Ryan Poehling to a one-year deal worth $1.4 million.

Poehling had seven goals, seven assists, 64 SOG, eight PIMS and a -2 plus/minus through 53 games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year deal worth $1.4 million with Philadelphia. The 24-year-old centre was selected in the first-round of the 2017 draft by Montreal (25th overall) and has scored 20 goals and 36 points in 138 career NHL games played.

Ryan Poehling
The Bruins signed Milan Lucic to a one-year contract worth $1.0 million.

Lucic played the first eight years of his career with the Bruins before spending the last eight years with the Kings, Oilers and Flames. The 6-foot-3, 240 lbs. winger returns to the team that drafted him as a bottom-6 option at this point in his career. In 2023, he had just 19 points (7G / 12A) in 77 games while averaging a career-low 11:18 TOI/gm. Still, he brings a physical presence to a fourth-line, having averaged 2.5 hits per game in his four seasons with the Flames.

Milan Lucic
The Devils have acquired Colin Miller from the Stars for a 2025 fifth-round pick.

Miller had six goals, 21 points, 106 SOG, 37 PIMs and a +23 plus/minus through 79 games played with Dallas in 2022-23 and has been traded to New Jersey for a 2025 fifth-round pick. The 30-year-old defeneseman enters his ninth NHL season with joins his fifth team in the Devils having accumulated 35 goals and 157 points across 466 games played.

Colin Miller
The Panthers signed Mike Reilly to a one-year deal worth $1.0 million.

Reilly had an assist, 12 SOG, and two PIMs across 10 games with Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1.0 million contract with the Florida Panthers. The 30-year-old veteran defensemen will be joining his fifth NHL team and has 12 goals and 98 points across 339 career NHL games.

Mike Reilly
The Red Wings signed Justin Holl to a three-year contract worth $10.2 million ($3.4M AAV).

Holl had two goals, 16 assists, 60 SOG, 39 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus through 80 games with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year contract worth $10.2 million ($3.4M AAV) in Detroit. The 31-year-old undrafted defenseman joined the Maple Leafs in 2017-18 and has scored 11 goals and 82 points with a +58 plus/minus in 285 career NHL games since.

Justin Holl
The Hurricanes signed Dmitry Orlov to a two-year contract worth $15.5 million ($7.75M AAV).

Orlov had seven goals, 29 assists, 124 SOG, 22 PIMs and a +12 plus/minus through 66 games played with both Washington and Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract worth $15.5 million ($7.75M AAV) with Carolina. The 32-year-old defensemen took a massive offensive step forward in 2022-23 with his change of screnary to Boston which led to an impressive eight assists in seven playoff games. He brings 64 goals, 273 points and a +114 plus/minus through 709 career NHL games to the Hurricanes.

Dmitry Orlov
The Bruins signed Morgan Geekie to a two-year contract worth $4.0 million ($2.0M AAV).

Geekie was originally a third-round pick of the Hurricanes before he was selected in the Seattle expansion draft in 2021. The 24-year-old centre played in the bottom-6 for most of his time with the Kraken, finishing the 2023 season with 28 points (9G / 19A) in 69 games. With the futures of fellow centres Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in doubt, Geekie could play more of a middle-6/third-line role for the Bruins in 2024.

Morgan Geekie
The Rangers have signed Riley Nash to a two-year deal worth $1.55 million ($775K AAV).

Nash had 24 goals, 35 assists, 37 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus with Charlotte (AHL) through 66 games in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year deal worth $1.55 million ($775K AAV) with the New York Rangers. The 34-year-old centre last played in the NHL with Tampa Bay in 2021-22 and bring 63 goals, 176 points and 751 SOG through 627 NHL games to the Rangers.

Riley Nash
The Sabres signed Connor Clifton to a three-year deal worth $9.99 million ($3.33M AAV).

Clifton spent the first five seasons of his NHL career in Boston, tallying 43 points (10G / 33A) across 232 games. The 2023 season was his best to-date, posting 23 points (3G / 18A) with 120 blocked shots and 208 hits in 78 games. He brings a hard-nosed style to the Sabres' blueline and should fit well on their second pairing, potentially as a partner to up-and-comer Owen Power.

Connor Clifton
The Red Wings signed James Reimer to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.

Reimer was 12-21-8 with a .890 SV% and 3.48 GAA with San Jose in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with the Detroit Red Wings. The 35-year-old goaltender will join his fifth NHL team and brings a career 204-169-61 record, 2.87 GAA and .911 SV% to the Red Wings.

James Reimer
The Sabres signed Erik Johnson to a one-year contract worth $3.25M AAV.

Johnson spent the last 13 years in Colorado, but lands in Buffalo on a one-year deal, where he will help mentor some of their young defensemen like Owen Power. In 2023, Johnson had just eight assists, 102 blocked shots and 121 hits in 63 games with the Avalanche.

Erik Johnson
The Rangers signed Tyler Pitlick to a one-year deal worth $787.5K.

Pitlick had seven goals, nine assists, 54 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 61 games with St.Louis in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers worth $785,500. The 31-year-old centre is joining his eighth NHL team and has 55 goals and 105 points across 386 games and nine NHL seasons.

Tyler Pitlick
The Sharks have signed Kyle Burroughs to a three-year deal worth $3.3 million ($1.1M AAV).

Burroughs had two goals, three assists, 47 SOG, 62 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 48 games with Vancouver in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year deal worth $3.3 million ($1.1M AAV) with San Jose. The 27-year-old defenseman has appeared in 95 career NHL games across three seasons; picking up three goals, eight assists, 89 SOG and 106 PIMs.

Kyle Burroughs

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.