2025 UFA All-Value team: The top potential bargain signings

Jun 17, 2025, 10:00 EDT

Colorado Avalanche left winger Jonathan Drouin

Credit: Jan 31, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Jonathan Drouin (27) skates after the whistle during the second period against the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

NHL teams theoretically won’t focus as much on bargain hunting as normal this coming offseason. With the salary cap jumping a record $7.5 million, league-wide spending should skew toward frivoloous rather than thrifty this time around. Still, the teams that make wise buys and use their increased cap space to make big splashes could position themselves to improve rapidly this coming season. And despite the cap rising from $88 million to $95.5 million, a few top contenders are still squeezed for money and will need to get creative if they want to keep up with the aggressive spenders.

Which pending UFAs make for the best potential deals in 2025? I present Daily Faceoff’s third annual All-Value Team.

2025 UFA ALL-VALUE TEAM

Forward: Anthony Beauvillier (WSH)

Beauvillier was a reliable veteran plug-in who ended up on Washington’s first line by season’s end and finished third on the team in playoff scoring. In 5-on-5 play during the regular season, he quietly sat 20^thin the NHL in expected goals per 60 and was 12^th-best in the league at generating high-danger chances. It helped playing the majority of his minutes with Sidney Crosby as his center before the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Beauvillier, but that tells us he can still keep up with high-end players and move up and down a team’s lineup. As a bonus, his scoring rate jumps significantly between the regular season and playoffs for his career.

Forward: Jonathan Drouin (COL)

Drouin may feel like too much of a name brand for an all-value list. But “value” doesn’t mean each player mentioned will sign a league-minimum deal; it simply means he could turn you a profit relative to his perceived worth. Drouin’s 37 points didn’t attract much fanfare since they came in just 43 games during an injury-shortened campaign. But he remained one of the league’s better playmakers, sitting 90^th percentile in primary assist rate among 378 forwards who logged 500 or more minutes at 5-on-5. He may be perceived as someone who can only play his best hockey alongside his major junior and Colorado teammate Nathan MacKinnon, but that’s what could create the potential discount. What player isn’t better with MacKinnon, anyway? Given Colorado’s cap squeeze, Drouin could be a casualty, and he could help another contender’s top six and power play.

Forward: Eric Robinson (CAR)

We could say this about many players in Rod Brind’Amour’s system with the Carolina Hurricanes, but Robinson just feels like a guy you win with. Only six forwards in the league generated more high-danger chances per 60 at 5-on-5 this year. He was also inside the top 40 for individual scoring chances and primary assists. If theoretical stats aren’t your thing: he scored 18 actual goals while playing just 12:16 per game this season, dishing out 123 hits with his 6-foot-2, 211-pound frame. What team couldn’t use him wreaking havoc on its third line?

Defense: Nick Perbix (TB)

In the past, Perbix was likely overlooked because he played with a future Hall of Famer in Victor Hedman. But Perbix’s primary partner this season was Emil Lilleberg, not Hedman. Perbix flourished with almost any partner other than Lilleberg in 2024-25, albeit in a sheltered role. The Bolts had the edge in goals, scoring chances and expected goals with him on the ice, but it’s his individual stats that pop more. Perbix was give or take a top-50 blueliner in most metrics, from goal-scoring rate to individual expected goals. He’s not a pure talent who will take over and light it up if handed a larger role, but he’s someone who could be a positive third-pair contributor on most NHL teams, and he offers useful size at 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds.

Defense: Nate Schmidt (FLA)

I was torn on including Schmidt. It was tempting to pick Dante Fabbro for the second spot instead, but he could command a premium as a righty coming off a breakout season, and he’s looking rather unlikely to go to market as someone who really found his comfort zone in Columbus this season. Schmidt’s value could be inflated by the Panthers’ playoff run a bit, but he could still be a strong value signing based on how effective he fared in sheltered third-pair work this season. No defenseman in the entire league had a lower on-ice expected goals against or scoring chances allowed per 60 minutes this season. Yes, those numbers are still team stats, but Schmidt still graded out as the best on an elite team. He turns 34 in July, but it’s a “young” 34 given he’s still a good skater who can transport the puck out of trouble. Schmidt is not a dominator, but he’s an ideal third-pair guy on a team that doesn’t saddle him with the most difficult matchups.

Goaltender: James Reimer (BUF)

Reimer is 37, and there’s been talk of him retiring. But no pending UFA goalie was better this past season. Playing on the lowly Sabres, Reimer finished 13^th in the NHL in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes – right behind New York Rangers star Igor Shesterkin. Based on the team playing in front of Reimer, his goals-against average should have been 35 points higher than his 3.04 mark. He’s not going to sign as a starter anywhere at this stage of his career, but he’s still good enough to be a quality backup who even pushes a struggling starter for playing time. Will Reimer return for another season?

UFA All-Value Second Team

F – Jonny Brodzinski
F – Michael Eyssimont
F – Pius Suter
D – Dante Fabbro
D – Matt Grzelcyk
G – Alex Lyon

Skater stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick
Goalie stats courtesey of Money Puck

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