NHL Hockey Player News

Toronto has signed Philippe Myers to a one-year, two-way contract.

Myers had a really strong year in the AHL in 2024, posting 23 points (4G / 19A) and a plus-29 rating in 61 games for the Syracuse Crunch. He'll likely be an AHLer to start 2024-25 but gives the Maple Leafs some nice organizational depth on the right side of the blueline. He appeared in five NHL games with the Lightning last year and has 158 career games under his belt.

Philippe Myers
Ottawa has re-signed Shane Pinto to a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension ($3,750,000 AAV).

After serving a 41-game suspension for gambling, Pinto had 27 points (9G / 18A) in 41 games upon making his season debut on January 21st. The 23-year-old will serve as the team's No.2 centre behind Tim Stützle and will look to build on the 19-goal and 22-assist per 82-game pace he's set in his first two full seasons.

Shane Pinto
Tampa Bay has signed Cam Atkinson to a one-year contract worth $900,000.

Atkinson had a strong first season in Philadelphia but missed all of 2023 and struggled with 2024, scoring just 13 goals and 15 assists (28 points) in 70 games. At age-35, Atkinson's days of 30-plus goals are over, but he should provide the Lightning's bottom-6 and PP2 with some offensive punch.

Cam Atkinson
Anaheim has signed Jansen Harkins to a two-year contract.

Harkins has been a fringe NHLer for the last two seasons, splitting his time between the NHL and AHL. In 2024, he had 12 points (5G / 7A) in 14 AHL games and four assists in 45 NHL games with the Penguins. Now with the Ducks, he'll likely be in the mix as their No.12 forward.

Jansen Harkins
St. Louis has signed Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year, $950,000 contract.

Joseph will join his brother in St. Louis who was acquired in an earlier deal on Tuesday after the defensemen signed a one-year $950,000 contract with the Blues. The 25-year-old defenseman had spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh and had two goals, 11 points and 14 PIMs in 52 games played in 2023-24.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Winnipeg has signed Jaret Anderson-Dolan to a two-year, $1.55 million contract.

Winnipeg has added to their offensive depth on Monday by signing Jaret Anderson-Dolan to a two-year, $1.55 million contract. The first year of Anderson-Dolan's contract will be a two-way contract, with the second season (2025-26) being only a one-way. In 31 games in 2023-24 with both Nashville and Los Angeles, the 24-year-old had a goal and four points.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Philadelphia has signed Anthony Richard to a two-year, two-way contract.

Richard will join his sixth organization in five years after he signed a two-year, two-way contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 27-year-old played in nine games with Boston in 2023-24, picking up a goal, three points and two PIMs while averaging 10:36 TOI/GP. He has four goals and eight points in 24 career NHL games.

Anthony Richard
Dallas has signed Colin Blackwell to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Blackwell has spent the last two seasons in Chicago but earned himself a one-year, $775,000 contract on Tuesday with Dallas. The 31-year-old is entering his seventh NHL season and had eight goals, 12 points, 10 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus in 44 games in 2023-24.

Colin Blackwell
Chicago has signed Mackenzie Entwistle to a one-year, two-way contract.

Entwistle will return to Chicago for a fifth season after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has yet to surpass 12+ points in any of his four NHL seasons but had five goals, 11 points, 47 PIMs and a -29 plus/minus in 67 games played in 2023-24.

MacKenzie Entwistle
New Jersey has signed Tomas Tatar to a one-year, $1.8 million contract.

Tatar will return to New Jersey on a one-year, $1.8 million contract for the 2024-25 season where he was a fan favourite after spending two seasons with the Devils between 2021 and 2023. The 34-year-old left-winger spent 2023-24 split between Colorado and Seattle and had nine goals, 24 points and 20 PIMs in 70 games played.

Tomas Tatar
Colorado has resigned Wyatt Aarnodt to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Aarnodt will return to Colorado for a third season after he signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Tuesday. The 26-year-old undrafted defenseman joined Colorado from Minnesota State University (Mankato) in 2021-22 and had six goals and 14 points in 60 games played in 2023-24 with the Eagles (AHL).

Wyatt Aamodt
St. Louis has signed Pavel Buchnevic to a six-year, $48 million ($8,000,000 AAV) contract extension.

St. Louis locked up one of their key core pieces on Tuesday as they signed 29-year-old Pavel Buchnevic to a six-year, $48 million ($8,000,000 AAV) contract extension. The Russian left-winger just completed his eighth NHL season and had 27 goals, 63 points, 48 PIMs and 207 SOG in 80 games played in 2023-24.

Pavel Buchnevich
The Blue Jackets signed Dylan Gambrell to a one-year, two-way contract.

Gambrell spent the entire 2024 season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL), scoring 14 goals with 22 assists (36 points) in 66 games. Gambrell provides the Blue Jackets with some organizational centre depth but will likely start the year in the AHL. The 27-year-old has plenty of NHL experience, playing 233 career games for the Sharks and Senators.

Dylan Gambrell
The Capitals have signed Luke Philp of a one-year, two-way contract.

Philp has been with the Flames and Blackhawks organizations since turning prop in 2020 following three years at the University of Alberta. Most recently, he had six points (2G / 4A) in 15 AHL games with Rockford (AHL). Expect him to start 2025 in Hershey (AHL).

Luke Philp

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.