The Maple Leafs have signed Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year deal worth $1.0 million.
NHL Hockey Player News
The Red Wings have signed Andrew Copp to a five-year contract worth $28.125 million ($5.625M AAV).
The Rangers have signed Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year deal worth $39.375 million ($5.625M AAV).
The Canucks have signed Curtis Lazar to a three-year deal worth $3.0 million ($1.0M AAV).
The Flames have signed Kevin Rooney to a two-year contract worth $2.6 million ($1.3M AAV).
The Blues have signed Robert Thomas to an eight-year contract extension worth $65.0 million ($8.125M AAV).
The Devils have signed Brendan Smith to a two-year deal worth $2.2 million ($1.1M AAV).
The Maple Leafs have signed Ilya Samsonov to a one-year deal worth $1.8 million.
The Lightning have signed Ian Cole to a one-year deal worth $3.0 million.
The Senators have signed Claude Giroux to a three-year contract worth $19.5 million ($6.5M AAV).
The Oilers have signed Jack Campbell to a five-year contract worth $25.0 million deal ($5.0M AAV).
Campbell played a career-high 49 games (47 starts), going 31-9-6 with a 2.64 GAA and .914 SV% with the Maple Leafs. With Mike Smith likely headed to LTIR, Campbell should serve as the Oilers No.1 netminder and Stuart Skinner will be his backup.
The Sabres have signed Victor Olofsson to a two-year contract extension worth $9.5 million ($4.75M AAV).
In his first three NHL seasons, Olofsson has averaged 24 goals and 32 assists (56 points) per 82 games. Olofsson finished the 2021-22 season on a heater, scoring 13 goals with 12 assists (25 points) in his final 28 games.
The Avalanche have re-signed Josh Manson to a four-year deal worth $18.0 million ($4.5M AAV).
The Avalanche acquired Manson from the Ducks in mid-March and he had 15 points (5G / 10A) in 42 combined games between the regular season and playoffs. Manson sticks around as a top-4 D option to play alongside Samuel Girard/Bowen Byram.
The Avalanche have signed Darren Helm to a one-year contract extension worth $1.25 million.
Helm played a key role for the Avalanche during their run to the Stanley Cup, often matching up against the opposition's top lines. He finished the season with seven goals and eight assists (15 points) in 68 games and will play a similar bottom-6 role for the Avalanche in 2022-23.
The Maple Leafs have signed Dennis Hildeby to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Hildeby was selected in the fourth round (No.122 overall) in last week's NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old netminder was 3-2-0 with a 1.93 GAA and .930 SV% in nine games with Farjestads BK Karlstad (SHL) last season.
The Canadiens have signed Nate Schnarr to a one-year, two-way contract.
Montreal acquired Schnarr from the Devils in March and he had 10 points (4G / 6A) in 20 games after joining the Laval Rocket (AHL). The former third-round pick (2017) has yet to make an NHL appearance and finished 2022 with 36 points (17G / 19A) in 63 AHL games.
The Canadiens have signed Joël Teasdale to a one-year, two-way contract.
Teasdale spent the entire 2021-22 season with Laval (AHL) where he tallied 15 goals and 13 assists (28 points) in 44 games. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent will likely start 2022-23 in the AHL after inking a two-way deal.
The Canadiens have signed Alex Belzile to a one-year, two-way contract.
Belzile spent most of the 2021-22 season with Laval (AHL), where he scored 10 goals with 12 assists (22 points) in 32 games. He was held pointless in 11 NHL games with the Canadiens. The two-way contract suggests that he'll start 2022-23 in the AHL.
The Oilers re-signed Evander Kane to a four-year deal worth $20.5 million ($5.125M AAV).
After some off-the-ice issues ended his tenure in San Jose, Kane landed with the Oilers in the middle of the 2022 season and he flourished. The 30-year-old power forward scored 22 goals with 17 assists (39 points) in 43 games and was over a point-per-game during their postseason run, scoring 13 goals with four assists (17 points) in 15 games. Kane played 62.8 percent of his regular-season 5v5 ice-time with Connor McDavid, foreshadowing what his usage may be like next season. He was on pace for 42 goals and 32 assists this season, suggesting he could be one of the best fantasy hockey wingers available in 2022-23.
The Penguins have re-signed Evgeni Malkin to a four-year deal worth $24.4 million ($6.1M AAV).
Malkin has spent his entire 16-year career in Pittsburgh, totalling 1146 points (444G / 702A) in 981 games. At 36 years old, Malkin is still one of the NHL's best points-per-game players but injuries remain a huge issue for the Russian centre. In the last three seasons, Malkin has missed a combined 78 games (37.7% of the games) but was 17th in the NHL in points-per-game (1.12) over that span.
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.