The Blues signed Philip Broberg to a six-year contract extension worth $8.0M AAV ($48.0M total).
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
Dallas has signed Justin Hryckowian to a two-year, $950,000 AAV contract extension ($1.9M total).
Hryckowian is an undrafted forward who impressed in the AHL last season, winning the rookie of the year, scoring 60 points (22G / 38A) in 67 games with the Texas Stars (AHL), ultimately earning himself a roster spot with Dallas in training camp this season. The 24-year-old has played all but one game for Dallas this season, primarily in a bottom-six role, scoring 13 points (6G / 7A) in 42 games.
Columbus has signed Egor Zamula to a one-year, $1 million contract.
Pittsburgh recently acquired Zamula in a trade, but he failed to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL), leading to the team placing him on waivers and terminating his contract. He has since since a one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old defenseman averaged 14:02 time-on-ice and recorded one assist in 13 games with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers signed Dvorak to a five-year contract extension on Monday worth $5.15M AAV.
The extension marks a major pay day for Dvorak, who signed with the Flyers on a one-year deal this off-season. Long thought of as a defensive specialist, the two-way centre is on pace to fly past his previous career high in points of 38, racking up nine goals and 16 assists in 39 games this season. The five-year deal ties down the 29-year-old Dvorak through the 2030-31 season.
Nashville has signed Justus Annunen to a two-year, $1.25 million AAV contract extension.
Annunen was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, but they traded him to Nashville last season. Since joining the Predators, the 25-year-old goalie has a 3.21 GAA and .884 SV% in 35 combined appearances (12-16-2).
St. Louis has signed Alexey Toropchenko to a two-year contract extension worth $2.5 million AAV ($5M total)
Torpochenko was drafted by the Blues in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and has spent his entire career with the organization. The 26-year-old forward is averaging 12:22 time-on-ice and has five points (2G / 3A) in 27 games this season.
The Sharks have signed Alex Wennberg to a 3-year contract extension worth $6.0M ($18.0M total).
Vancouver has signed Linus Karlsson to a two-year contract worth $2.25 million AAV ($4.5M total).
Tampa Bay has signed Charle-Edouard D'Astous to a one-year, $875,000 AAV contract extension.
Injuries on Tampa Bay's blueline gave D'Astous a chance to draw into the lineup, and he has impressed with his opportunity in his first NHL season, earning a one-year, $875,000 contract extension. The 27-year-old defenseman is averaging 19:05 time-on-ice and has 13 points (3G / 10A) in 33 games this season.
Calgary has signed Devin Cooley to a two-year contract worth $1.35M AAV ($2.7M total).
Cooley has unexpectedly been excellent in a supporting role in his first season as a full-time NHL backup and has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension. The 28-year-old California-born goalie has a solid 2.40 GAA and .914 SV% in 13 appearances (4-4-2).
The Lightning have signed J.J. Moser to an eight-year contract extension worth $6.75M AAV ($54.0M total).
Moser was key piece of the Mikhail Sergachev trade in 2024 and has been outstanding on the Lightning's blueline in 2026. Moser and Darren Raddysh have formed one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL, leading the league in xGF% (64.3%) of pairings with at least 150 minutes together.
Montreal has signed Bryce Pickford to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Pickford was drafted in the third round, 81st overall, by the Canadiens in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old defenseman is in his fourth WHL season and has 44 points (25G / 19A) through 31 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Los Angeles has signed Jimmy Lombardi to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Lombardi was drafted in the fourth round, 125th overall, by the Kings in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old, in his third season with the Flint Firebirds (OHL), has 41 points (21G / 20A) in 33 games during the 2025-26 season.
The Canucks signed Sasson to a two-year contract extension on Monday with a $1M AAV.
Sasson's extension means he will no longer become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. The 25-year-old forward has appeared in 29 games for the Canucks this season, logging six goals and two assists while featuring primarily in Vancouver's bottom-six.
Carolina has signed Joel Nystrom to a four-year contract extension worth $1.225M AAV ($4.9M total).
Nystrom was not expected to be a full-time presence on the Hurricanes' blueline this season, but injuries thrust him into a regular role that he has thrived in. The 23-year-old, a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is in his first NHL season and has four assists while averaging 16:02 time-on-ice through 23 games.
Buffalo has signed Trevor Kuntar to a one-year, two-way contract.
Los Angeles has signed Vojtech Cihar to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Cihar was drafted 59th overall by the Kings in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and has earned himself a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year-old Czech forward has eight points (4G / 4) in 27 games playing Czechia with Karlovy Vary HC.
Fabbri has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract.
Fabbri has battled a myriad of injuries in his career, making his return to the NHL this season a challenging one. He signed a PTO with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) last week, scoring two points (1G / 1A) in three games, and ultimately earned himself a one-year, two-way contract. The 29-year-old Fabbri has 216 points (106G / 110A) in 442 career NHL games, but has only played more than 56 games in a season once in the last decade.
Los Angeles has signed Samuel Helenius to a two-year extension worth $875,000 AAV ($1.75M total).
Helenius was a second-round pick, 59th-overall, of the Kings in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old forward made his NHL debut last season, scoring seven points (4G / 3A) in 50 games, but has been limited to only three NHL outings in 2025-26. He has six points (2G / 4A) in 20 games with the Ontario Reign (AHL) this season.
Montreal has signed Mike Matheson to a five-year, $6 million AAV contract extension ($30M total).
With the emergence of Lane Hutson and the acquisition of Noah Dobson, Matheson has fallen down Montreal's depth chart since his career-best 62-point season (11G / 51A) in 2023-24, but remains a key component of their blueline and has been rewarded with a five-year, $6 million AAV contract extension. The 31-year-old defenseman doesn't see much powerplay time anymore, but still leads the team, averaging 24:50 time-on-ice this season. He has 14 points (4G / 10A) in 22 games.
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.