NHL Hockey Player News

Nashville has signed Adam Wilsby to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.

Wilsby was selected in the fourth-round of the 2020 NHL Draft and has spent the first two years of his career in North America with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Most recently, Wilsby had eight goals and 13 assists (21 points) in 61 AHL games. Expect him to remain with Milwaukee to start the 2024-25 season.

Adam Wilsby
Carolina has signed Jack Drury to a two-year, $3.45 million contract extension. ($1,725,000 AAV).

Drury decided to go to arbitration with Carolina and led to him signing a two-year, $3.45 million contract extension. ($1,725,000 AAV) to remain with the Hurricanes. The 24-year-old centre appeared in 74 games for Carolina in his third NHL season, and had career highs with eight goals, 27 points, 33 PIM and 106 SOG.

Jack Drury
Colorado has signed Kevin Mandolese to a one-year, two-way contract.

Mandolese was acquired just a day before alongside a 2025 7th round pick from Ottawa for a 2025 6th round pick and has now signed a one-year, two-way contract to stay in Colorado. The 23-year-old goaltender appeared in 23 games for Belleville (AHL) in 2023-24 and had a 3.53 GAA to go alongside his .918 SV%.

Kevin Mandolese
New York has signed Simon Holmstrom to a one-year contract extension worth $850,000.

Holmstrom waited to sign his contract after heading into the offseason as a RFA and has agreed on a one-year, $850,000 contract with New York on Tuesday. The 23-year-old right-winger was New York's 2019 1st round pick (23rd overall) and had a solid second NHL season in 2023-24 with 15 goals, 25 points, 72 SOG and 14 PIMs in 75 games played.

Simon Holmstrom
Boston has signed Marc McLaughlin to a one-year, two-way extension.

Boston brought back a staple of the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Tuesday as they resigned Marc McLaughlin to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 24-year-old centre only appeared in one game for Boston in 2023-24 but had his first career goal. In 68 games with Providence in 2023-24, he had eight goals and 14 points in 68 games played.

Marc McLaughlin
Vancouver has signed Arturs Silovs to a two-year contract extension worth $1.7 million ($850,000 AAV).

Silovs was Vancouver's playoff saviour in 2023-24 after both of their top two goalies went down and he has earned himself a two-year contract extension worth $1.7 million ($850,000 AAV). The 23-year-old Latvian also appeared in four games during the regular season for Vancouver, going 3-0-1 with a 2.47 GAA and .881 SV%. He is expected to be the Canucks' back up goaltender for the 2024-25 campaign.

Arturs Silovs
The Devils signed Adam Beckman to a one-year, two-way deal.

Beckman's rights were acquired from the Wild in late June and he signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Devils. The 23-year-old spent most of 2024 in the AHL, where he had 33 points (19G / 14A) in 51 games with the Iowa Wild. During his 11-game stint with Minnesota, Beckman had two assists, 10 SOG, 13 hits and three blocked shots.

Adam Beckman
The Senators signed Mads Sogaard to a two-year contract worth $1.55M ($775K AAV).

Sogaard spent most of the 2024 season in the AHL, but injuries at the NHL level allowed him to play six games with the Senators. He went 1-3-0 with an ugly 4.05 GAA and .859 SV% in those appearances. He's now 10-10-3 with a 3.44 GAA and .884 SV% in 27 career NHL games with Ottawa. Expect Sogaard to serve as the Senators' No.3 goalie entering 2024-25.

Mads Sogaard
The Ducks signed winger Nikita Nesterenko to a one-year, two-way contract.

Nesterenko was a fringe roster player for the Ducks in 2024, spending most of the year developing in the AHL. The 2019 sixth-round pick had 37 points (16G / 21A) in 70 games with San Diego (AHL) and had one goal in three games with the Ducks. Nesterenko should make a push for a roster spot out of training camp this fall.

Nikita Nesterenko
The Ducks signed Jackson LaCombe to a two-year contract extension worth $1.85 million ($925K AAV).

LaCombe turned pro in 2023 following his senior year at the University of Minnesota. He was a full-time NHLer in 2024, appearing in 71 games for the Ducks, collecting two goals and 15 assists (17 points). The 23-year-old should be a key part of the Ducks' blueline again in 2024-25.

Jackson Lacombe
The Stars signed Emil Hemming to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Dallas selected Hemming with the No.29 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old winger spent the 2024 season with TPS Turku (Liiga), where he had seven goals and four assists (11 points) in 40 games. He also represented Finland at the 2024 World Juniors, posting two assists in seven games.

Emil Hemming
Winnipeg has signed Ville Heinola to a two-year, contract $1.6 million extension ($800,000 AAV).

Restricted free agent Ville Heinola has come to an agreement with the Jets and will avoid arbitration after signing a two-year, contract $1.6 million extension ($800,000 AAV) with Winnipeg. The 23-year-old was Winnipeg's 2019 1st round pick (20th overall) and has a goal and 11 points in 35 career NHL games across four injury filled seasons.

Ville Heinola
Los Angeles has signed Quinton Byfield to a five-year, $31.25 million extension ($6,250,000).

After a breakout season in 2023-24 which saw Byfield put up career highs with 55 points (20G/35A) in 80 games played, the 21-year-old has earned himself a five-year, $31.25 million extension ($6,250,000) with Los Angeles. Byfield was Los Angeles 2020 1st round pick (2nd overall) and has 88 points (28G/60A) in 179 career NHL games played.

Quinton Byfield
New York has signed Matthew Robertson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Robertson has yet to make his NHL debut but has spent three successful seasons on Hartford's (AHL) blueline and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with New York on Monday.The 23-year-old was New York's 2019 2nd round pick (49th overall) and had four goals and 21 points in 68 games played in 2023-24 with Hartford.

Matthew Robertson
Carolina has signed Joakim Ryan to a one-year, two-way contract.

Ryan was a seventh-round pick back in 2012 and spent seven seasons in the AHL/NHL after turning pro following his senior season at Cornell University. Since 2022, Ryan has been in Sweden playing for Malmo (SHL), where he combined for 17 goals and 47 assists (64 points) in 156 games. Ryan returns to the Hurricanes' organization, where he played four NHL gamers in 2021.

Joakim Ryan
Seattle has signed Kim Saarinen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Saarinen was a third-round pick (No.88 overall) in this year's NHL Draft. The 6-foot-4 netminder spent most of the 2024 season with HPK in the Finnish U20 league, were he was 14-5-0 with a. 2.41 GAA, .917 SV% and two shutouts. In two games in the top Finnish league (Liiga), he was 1-0-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .909 SV%.

Kim Saarinen
New York has signed Braden Schneider to a two-year, $4.4 milllion extension ($2,200,000 AAV).

Schneider has become a reliable second/third-pairing defenseman for the Rangers of the last two seasons, appearing in all but one game while posting 10 goals and 27 assists (37 points) and a plus-8 rating. Following the completion of his entry-level contract, his $2.2M AAV cap-hit represents a $1.275M AAV raise for Schneider.

Braden Schneider

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.