2025 UFA Matchmaker: Ideal fits for the top names on the market

Jun 26, 2025, 10:30 EDT

Credit: Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand and Nikolaj Ehlers (Imagn Images)

We’re only a few days away from one of the most anticipated unrestricted free agency seasons in NHL history. The class itself features some players sure to draw rabid interest league wide, including the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Conn Smythe runner-up in the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, not to mention 102-point scorer Mitch Marner. We can also expect reckless spending with the salary cap jumping a record $7.5 million, from $88 to $95.5 million, with even larger projected increases looming for 2026 and 2027.

So where will the top UFAs end up?

Let’s play a game of matchmaker. Which teams represent ideal fits for Daily Faceoff’s current top 10 free agents? Love Island USA, meet Love Island UFA.

Disclaimer: these are not necessarily predictions of where I believe each UFA will end up, nor are they pipe-dream picks that make zero sense from a cap or hockey fit. I’m picking what I believe is the best fit for player and team amid the realistic potential unions. Example: I predict the Vegas Golden Knights land Mitch Marner, but I see a different team as the ideal fit.

1. Mitch Marner, RW: Los Angeles Kings

The Kings were close to a Stanley Cup contender this season. They were deep, they were defensively elite, and they got stellar goaltending from Darcy Kuemper. But despite driving the play at both ends, they finished 14^th in goals and 27^th in power-play efficiency. Marner isn’t a sniper, but he’s an elite facilitator; only four forwards averaged more primary assists per 60 on the power play this past season. No King has scored 100 points since Wayne Gretzky in 1993-94; Marner could fill their superstar void and forge a new long-term forward core alongside Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe as future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar inches closer to this end of his career. Los Angeles would also provide Marner a refuge from the crushing pressure of Toronto while also not feeling like too small of a market. You’d get the big city excitement and a reasonable amount of anonymity.

2. Sam Bennett, C: Florida Panthers

Almost any fan with a pulse should drool over the idea of Sam Bennett in their team’s jersey, bludgeoning opponents and steamrolling his way into the blue ice. But Bennett has reiterated his love for being a Panther at every moment, even going full Jordan Belfort and proclaiming, “I ain’t leaving.” The Panthers can offer an eighth year and, thanks to the lack of income tax in the state of Florida, keep Bennett’s AAV lower than almost any other realistic suitor could. Retaining him while they still have the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling locked up long-term could keep the Panthers’ dynastic window open several more years.

3. Brad Marchand, LW: Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s a virtual certainty that Marner’s tenure with Toronto ends at nine seasons. The Leafs will need to replace him with a top-six winger. Nikolaj Ehlers might be a closer imitation to what Marner brings as a playmaker, but Ehlers has historically struggled in the postseason, just like Marner. If the Leafs want to get truly reactionary and conquer the intangibles that have held them back, they can bring in the man who has beaten them in five Game 7s since 2013. With a dominant postseason, Marchand showed he still has plenty to give at 37, and his swashbuckling swagger epitomizes what’s missing from the Leafs’ dressing room. Even former Marchand enemies like Bennett spoke so glowingly about Marchand’s inspirational impact on his teammates this spring.

4. Brock Boeser, RW: Minnesota Wild

It’s more than just the hometown Minnesota connection. Boeser becomes a UFA just as the Wild are sliding out from under the worst of their buyout penalties for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. General manager Bill Guerin finally gets to be a player with his cap space. Local boy Brock Nelson is off the board, and while Boeser isn’t a center, he’d still bring welcome secondary goal scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. Boeser averages 30 goals per 82 games in his career and has played at least 74 games in three consecutive seasons, dispelling some of the concerns about his durability. The Wild had the 25^th-best shooting percentage in the NHL this season at 9.93 percent; Boeser’s career mark of 14.1 would be welcome.

5. Aaron Ekblad, D: Detroit Red Wings

It’s no secret the Wings desperately need help on their blueline to support Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider. That’s why I suggested them as key suitors to watch in potential trades for Rasmus Andersson and Noah Dobson. While they absolutely have the necessary pick-and-prospect capital to make pitches for either blueliner…GM Steve Yzerman could also spend “only” money to land Ekblad. He hasn’t lived up to the promise that made him the 2014 NHL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick, but he’s a top-pair workhorse and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Panthers. He’d be a significant upgrade over the likes of Justin Holl and Jeff Petry.

6. John Tavares, C: Toronto Maple Leafs

Even if the Leafs don’t want to treat Tavares as their No 2 center anymore…the market may dictate it. They aren’t many appealing options available, and Tavares is fresh off a 38-goal season. Unless Toronto woos Bennett, which seems unlikely at this point, retaining Tavares is the right choice – especially since the Leafs are perhaps the only market that can get the hometown boy to stay at a significant discount. It would be unrealistic to expect Tavares to sign the Matt Duchene contract – four years, $4.5 million AAV – given Duchene signed in a market without state income tax and he’s still earning money from his Nashville Predators buyout. But even getting Tavares for three or four years at $6 million per would be a discount; he had a better year than Brock Nelson, who re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche at 3 x $7.5 million.

7. Nikolaj Ehlers, RW: Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes, equipped with significant cap space, could emerge from this offseason as the Eastern Conference’s top contender given they’re already a great defensive team and have so many of their core contributors signed long term. To break through and get past the Panthers, who knocked them out of the 2023 and 2025 Eastern Conference Final, the Canes need to add high-end scoring. Marner aside, there isn’t a lot of it on the UFA market, and while Carolina really needs a center, goals are goals. Ehlers averages 27 goals and 63 points per 82 games, and he could post career-best totals if he joins a team willing to play him more than 16 minutes a night as the Jets did.

8. Ivan Provorov, D: Los Angeles Kings

Ideally, L.A. retains defensive stalwart Vladislav Gavrikov and maintains a strong left side featuring him and Mikey Anderson. But if Gavrikov walks, the Kings won’t want to elevate Joel Edmundson into their top four. Provorov has become somewhat of an overrated name-band minute muncher, but he could find another level as a cog in L.A.’s elite defensive system. Maybe the Kings would unlock the best in a player who was projected to be a perennial Norris Trophy candidate when the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him in 2015.

9. Vladislav Gavrikov, D: New York Rangers

Ekblad might feel like the bigger star and thus the top UFA defenseman available, but Gavrikov is probably the best. While he’ll never be much of an offensive threat, he has emerged as one of the game’s elite shutdown stoppers at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. Particularly because Ryan Lindgren’s game eroded leading up to trading him, the Blueshirts badly need a long-term replacement to play on Adam Fox’s left side.

10. Patrick Kane, RW: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets appear to be entering a contention window as the likes of Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko come into their own while blueliner Zach Werenski dominates in his peak years. They have more than $40 million in cap space to splash around this summer. Surely, GM Don Waddell will spend a lot of it on defensemen, a goalie upgrade and perhaps a marquee top-six forward, but if there’s enough money left over, Kane on a one- or two-year deal would make sense. He could augment the power play and provide a Hall of Fame on-ice mentor for nifty-mitted up-and-comers such as Kent Johnson. Kane shouldn’t be Columbus’ priority target, but he’d be a handy complementary addition.

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Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you’re tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.

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