NHL Hockey Player News

The Canadiens have signed Joseph Blandisi to a one-year, two-way contract extension ($700k/325k).

Blandisi started last season with the Penguins but was dealt to the Canadiens in a minor league swap in mid-February. Montreal didn't get much of a look at Blandisi before the season was paused but he registered four points (1G / 3A) in four AHL games and that was enough to get a one-year extension. The 26-year-old has 10 goals and 21 assists (31 points) in 101 career NHL games with the Devils, Ducks and Penguins.

Joseph Blandisi
The Canadiens have signed Jeff Petey to a four-year, $25 million ($6.25 million AAV) contract extension.

Petry had one-year left on his six-year, $33M contract that he signed in 2015 but earned a fresh four-year extension and got a $750K AAV raise. Petry has recorded three-straight seasons of at last 40 points and has not missed a game over that stretch.

Jeff Petry
The Flyers have signed Alex Lyon to a one-year, $700k contract extension.

Lyon spent most of 2020 in the AHL going 11-14-5 with a 2.69 GAA and .913 SV%. With Brian Elliott set to become a UFA, it looks like the Flyers plan to have Lyon as Carter Hart's backup in 2021. The 27-year-old is 5-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA and .893 SV% in 16 career NHL games.

Alex Lyon
The Sabres have signed Curtis Lazar to a two-year, $1.6 million ($800k AAV) contract extension.

Lazar split his 2020 season between the AHL and NHL, totalling 10 points (5G / 5A) in 38 games with the Sabres. Lazar has never lived up to the hype of being a top-20 draft pick but he seems to have settled in in the Sabres' bottom-6. Expect him to centre the third or fourth line behind Jack Eichel and Eric Staal in 2021.

Curtis Lazar
The Predators have signed Yakov Trenin to a two-year, $1.45 million ($725K AAV) contract extension.

Trenin closed out the 2020 season with the Predators after spending much of the year in the AHL. During his time with the Predators, he scored two goals with four assists (six points) in 21 games. He was tied for third on the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring with 20 goals despite playing just 32 AHL contests before being called-up. Trenin will likely factor in on the Predators' third or fourth line in 2021.

Yakov Trenin
The Capitals have re-signed Brian Pinho to a two-year contract worth $1.45 million ($725K AAV).

Pinho was a sixth-round pick in 2013 and made his NHL debut during the playoffs, failing to record a point in two games. The 25-year-old centre spent the regular season with the Hershey Bears (AHL), where he was second on the team in goals (20) and fourth in points (37).

Brian Pinho
The Canadiens have signed Joel Edmundson to a four-year deal worth $14.0 million ($3.5M AAV).

Edmundson was acquired from the Hurricanes last week and quickly got a deal done with the Canadiens. This contract includes a 10-team no trade clause and will keep Edmundson in Montreal through the 2024 campaign. The 27-year-old is coming off of a career-high 20 points (7G / 13A) in 68 games.

Joel Edmundson
The Wild have signed Jonas Brodin to a seven-year, $42M extension ($6.0M AAV).

Brodin is entering the final year of a six-year deal that he signed in 2014. Starting in the 2021-22 season, Brodin's AAV will go up from $4.167M to $6.0M, tying him for the 26th highest-paid blueliner in the NHL. Brodin is a terrific defensive-defenseman but is also coming off of a career-high 28 points (2G / 26A) in 69 games.

Jonas Brodin
The Coyotes have signed Adin Hill to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $800K.

As of now, Hill is the Coyotes No.3 netminder but there's a chance that Antti Raanta is moved in the offseason. In 2020, Hill was 2-4-3 with a 2.62 GAA and .918 SV% in the NHL and 15-5-0 with a 2.40 GAA and .918 SV% at the AHL-level.

Adin Hill
The Golden Knights and Robin Lehner have agreed on a five-year, $25 million ($5.0M AAV) contract extension, to be signed after the playoffs.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Golden Knights and Lehner agreed to this extension before the NHL's Return to Play and it will become official following their playoff run. This sheds a little light on why the Golden Knights have been riding Lehner throughout the postseason and have been reluctant to go to Marc-Andre Fleury at times. This could also spell the end of Fleury's time in Vegas. Since being acquired from Chicago, Lehner has gone 12-5-0 with a .924 SV% in 17 games with Vegas.

Robin Lehner

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.