Panthers playoff hero Brad Marchand cements spot in Top 50 Free Agents
There is no litmus test quite like the Stanley Cup playoffs – a gladiator’s arena where no one can hide, every player is exposed for better or for worse. It’s the ultimate proving ground for pending free agents, offering one last word to state a case after a long season.
Nearly halfway through the slog, few have emerged in a better light than Brad Marchand, who is proving he has plenty left in the tank. Marchand turned 37 on Sunday, one of the oldest free agents on the board this season, and he’s answered just about every question. How will he fit in with a new team? Does he still have the grind and compete to be effective? Can he be a difference maker at this age? What about that regular season?
You can almost picture Marchand putting a finger to his mouth as if to say … Shhh. He’s quieted them all.
Marchand has collected eight points in nine postseason games with the Cats, tied for the team lead with seven (!) other Florida Panthers. His two goals were both scored at even-strength and, yes, one of them is of the OT GWG variety. That’s on the heels of his most quiet regular season in a decade, and a reminder that maybe that slow start was a combination of both three offseason surgeries and a Boston Bruins team that struggled to score.
Contrast Marchand’s playoff performance with much more heralded Colorado Avalanche trade deadline acquisition Brock Nelson. Both were challenging for the Top 10 in our latest rankings – but Marchand gets the edge, even as a winger, with his more impactful postseason. Nelson, who turns 34 in October, had no goals and four assists in seven games.
Our friends at AFP Analytics project Marchand to earn a new deal around two years and $5.1 million per season. Even that feels low, as reports suggested Marchand was in search of a three-year deal at a higher number.
Nonetheless, AFP Analytics have been all over it. Since our last ranking, they exactly nailed the new deals for the Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk (6 years x $7 million) and Alex Iafallo (3 years x $3.7 million), and they were very close on Nic Dowd’s extension with the Washington Capitals. Since then, AFP Analytics have updated their projections (found below) for the final time ahead of the frenzy on July 1.
Here’s our latest ranking:
Daily Faceoff’s 2025 Top 50 Free Agents
as of May 12, 2025
| Rank | Player | Pos | Age | Team | Cap Hit | GP | G | PTS | AFP Project |
| 1 | Mitch Marner | RW | 27 | TOR | $10.9M | 81 | 27 | 102 | 7 x $13M |
| 2 | Brock Boeser | RW | 28 | VAN | $6.7M | 75 | 25 | 50 | 6 x $8.5M |
| 3 | John Tavares | C | 34 | TOR | $11M | 75 | 38 | 74 | 3 x $7.9M |
| 4 | Matt Duchene | C | 34 | DAL | $3M | 82 | 30 | 82 | 3 x $7.2M |
| 5 | Aaron Ekblad | RD | 29 | FLA | $7.5M | 56 | 3 | 33 | 7 x $7.8M |
| 6 | Sam Bennett | C | 28 | FLA | $4.4M | 76 | 25 | 51 | 6 x $6.4M |
| 7 | Brad Marchand | RW | 36 | FLA | $6.1M | 71 | 23 | 51 | 2 x $5.1M |
| 8 | Nikolaj Ehlers | LW | 29 | WPG | $6M | 69 | 24 | 63 | 6 x $8.1M |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | LD | 28 | CBJ | $6.8M | 82 | 7 | 33 | 7 x $7M |
| 10 | Vladislav Gavrikov | LD | 29 | LAK | $5.9M | 82 | 5 | 30 | 7 x $7.6M |
| 11 | Brock Nelson | C | 33 | COL | $6M | 80 | 26 | 56 | 3 x $7.1M |
| 12 | Patrick Kane | RW | 36 | DET | $4 | 72 | 21 | 59 | 1 x $3.5M |
| 13 | Claude Giroux | C | 37 | OTT | $6.5M | 81 | 15 | 50 | 2 x $5.2M |
| 14 | Jamie Benn | LW | 35 | DAL | $9.5M | 80 | 16 | 49 | 2 x $4.8M |
| 15 | Mikael Granlund | C | 33 | DAL | $5M | 83 | 22 | 66 | 2 x $5M |
| 16 | Brent Burns | RD | 40 | CAR | $8M | 82 | 6 | 29 | 1 x $5.3M |
| 17 | Dmitry Orlov | LD | 33 | CAR | $7.8M | 76 | 6 | 28 | 3 x $5.8M |
| 18 | Jonathan Drouin | LW | 30 | COL | $2.5M | 43 | 11 | 37 | 4 x $5.9M |
| 19 | Pius Suter | C | 28 | VAN | $1.6M | 81 | 25 | 46 | 4 x $5M |
| 20 | Ryan Donato | RW | 28 | CHI | $2M | 80 | 31 | 62 | 3 x $4.2M |
| 21 | Jack Roslovic | RW | 28 | CAR | $2.8M | 81 | 22 | 39 | 3 x $4.1M |
| 22 | Andrei Kuzmenko | LW | 29 | LAK | $5.5M | 66 | 11 | 37 | 3 x $4.5M |
| 23 | Yanni Gourde | C | 33 | TBL | $5.2M | 57 | 7 | 31 | 2 x $3.8M |
| 24 | Trent Frederic | RW | 27 | EDM | $2.3M | 58 | 8 | 15 | 2 x $3.5M |
| 25 | Jake Allen | G | 34 | NJD | $3.9M | 31 | 2.66 | .906 | 2 x $3.5M |
| 26 | Reilly Smith | RW | 34 | VGK | $5M | 79 | 13 | 40 | 2 x $4.4M |
| 27 | Brandon Tanev | LW | 33 | WPG | $3.5M | 79 | 10 | 22 | 2 x $2.1M |
| 28 | Corey Perry | RW | 39 | EDM | $1.2M | 81 | 19 | 30 | 1 x $1M |
| 29 | Matt Grzelcyk | LD | 31 | PIT | $2.8M | 82 | 1 | 40 | 3 x $3.8M |
| 30 | Cody Ceci | RD | 31 | DAL | $3.3M | 85 | 4 | 24 | 3 x $3.5M |
| 31 | Evgenii Dadonov | RW | 36 | DAL | $2.3M | 80 | 20 | 40 | 2 x $3.3M |
| 32 | Andrew Mangiapane | LW | 28 | WSH | $5.8M | 81 | 14 | 28 | 2 x $3.9M |
| 33 | Ryan Lindgren | LD | 27 | COL | $4.5M | 72 | 4 | 22 | 3 x $4M |
| 34 | Mason Appleton | LW | 29 | WPG | $2.2M | 71 | 10 | 22 | 3 x $3.2M |
| 35 | Gustav Nyquist | RW | 35 | MIN | $3.2M | 79 | 11 | 28 | 2 x $3.3M |
| 36 | Alex Lyon | G | 32 | DET | $900K | 30 | 2.81 | .896 | 2 x $1.8M |
| 37 | Jeff Skinner | LW | 32 | EDM | $3M | 72 | 16 | 29 | 1 x $2.5M |
| 38 | Justin Brazeau | RW | 27 | MIN | $0.8M | 76 | 11 | 22 | 2 x $1.5M |
| 39 | Nick Perbix | RD | 26 | TBL | $1.1M | 74 | 6 | 19 | 2 x $2.7M |
| 40 | Dan Vladar | G | 27 | CGY | $2.2M | 30 | 2.80 | .898 | 1 x $1.5M |
| 41 | Adam Gaudette | RW | 28 | OTT | $0.8M | 81 | 19 | 26 | 1 x $1.1M |
| 42 | Joel Armia | LW | 31 | MTL | $3.4M | 81 | 11 | 29 | 2 x $2.5M |
| 43 | Nick Bjugstad | C | 32 | UTA | $2.1M | 66 | 8 | 19 | 2 x $2.3M |
| 44 | Nate Schmidt | RD | 33 | FLA | $0.8M | 80 | 5 | 19 | 2 x $3M |
| 45 | Brandon Saad | LW | 32 | VGK | $1.5M | 72 | 13 | 30 | 2 x $2.5M |
| 46 | Victor Olofsson | RW | 29 | VGK | $1.1M | 56 | 15 | 29 | 3 x $3.4M |
| 47 | Anthony Beauvillier | LW | 28 | WSH | $1.25M | 81 | 15 | 25 | 3 x $3.2M |
| 48 | Connor Brown | RW | 31 | EDM | $1M | 81 | 13 | 30 | 3 x $2.9M |
| 49 | Ilya Samsonov | G | 28 | VGK | $1.8M | 29 | 2.82 | .891 | 1 x $2M |
| 50 | Henri Jokiharju | RD | 26 | BOS | $3.1M | 60 | 3 | 10 | 3 x $3.6M |
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