Top remaining NHL free agents: The best 2025 UFAs still on the board

Every year, we’re told NHL free agency begins at noon ET on July 1, yet, miraculously, signings pour in by the dozen at breakneck speed when that moment arrives. That was the case July 1, with 117 contracts signed, totalling $666,480,000 as of 8:00 p.m. ET. Teams were not afraid to make big splashes with the salary cap spiking to from $88 million to $95.5 million for 2025-26 – whether that meant retaining their pending UFAs before the market opened or spending wildly on new ones.

Who are the top remaining unrestricted free agents? Here’s a look at the board, with players’ ranks in my Top 75 included along with contract projections from AFP Analytics. I’ve added a few more UFAs of note, as well.

Rank	Player	Pos	Age	Cap Hit	GP	G	PTS	AFP Project
1	Nikolaj Ehlers	LW	29	$6M	69	24	63	6 x $8.1M
5	Dmitry Orlov	LD	33	$7.8M	76	6	28	3 x $5.8M
9	Jack Roslovic	RW	28	$2.8M	81	22	39	3 x $4.1M
14	Anthony Beauvillier	RW	28	$1.25M	81	15	25	3 x $3.22M
15	Matt Grzelcyk	LD	31	$2.8M	82	1	40	3 x $3.8M
16	Max Pacioretty	LW	36	$1.5M	37	5	13	1 x $921K
21	Victor Olofsson	RW	29	$1.1M	56	15	29	3 x $3.4M
28	Brent Burns	RD	40	$8M	82	6	29	1 x $5.3M
36	Jeff Skinner	LW	32	$3M	72	16	29	1 x $2.5M
37	James Reimer	G	37	$1M	24	3.04	0.896	1 x $ 1.14M
38	Luke Kunin	RW	27	$2.75M	75	11	18	2 x $1.78M
39	Ilya Samsonov	G	28	$1.8M	29	2.82	0.891	1 x $2M
46	Evgeny Kuznetsov	C	33	N/A	––	––	––	N/A
47	Michael Carcone	LW	29	$775K	53	7	19	1 x $965K
49	Taylor Raddysh	RW	27	$1M	80	7	27	3 x $2.65M
50	Joel Kiviranta	LW	29	$775K	79	16	23	2 x $1.09M
52	Luke Glendening	C	36	$800K	77	4	7	1 x $775K
55	Alexandar Georgiev	G	29	$3.4M	49	3.71	0.875	1 x $1.96M
58	Craig Smith	RW	35	$1M	59	9	18	1 x $968K
60	Robby Fabbri	LW	29	$4M	44	8	16	1 x $992K
63	Klim Kostin	LW	26	$2M	35	1	7	1 x $775K
64	Jakub Lauko	LW	25	$788K	56	5	11	1 x $1.17M
65	Jan Rutta	D	34	$2.75M	54	3	9	2 x $1.52M
66	TJ Brodie	D	35	$3.75M	54	2	10	N/A
70	Jon Merrill	D	33	$1.2M	70	2	6	1 x $1.28M
71	Nathan Bastian	RW	27	$1.35M	59	4	10	1 x $1.32M
73	Conor Sheary	RW	33	$2M	5	0	0	N/A
74	Daniel Sprong	RW	28	$975K	30	2	7	1 x $924K
—	Brendan Smith	D	36	$1M	32	1	6	N/A
—	Noah Gregor	LW	26	$850K	52	4	7	1 X $775K
—	Joe Veleno	C	25	$2.28M	72	7	15	N/A

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