Though most players have to wait until after their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team in the league without compensation, there are a few other ways to get to the open market. Players that complete seven full seasons in the NHL are eligible for UFA status, as are restricted free agents that do not receive qualifying offers. There is another way, however, offered to those players who don’t get many opportunities in the NHL but have put in several years at the professional level: Group VI unrestricted free agency.
Earlier today, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents through this category. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:
- The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
- The player has completed three (3) or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19-year-old player), or one (1) or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
- The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender. This games played requirement is subject to pro-rating due to the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.
*Indicates that the player could technically still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency, though in some cases this will be impossible because of injury.
Anaheim Ducks
(none)
Arizona Coyotes
Hudson Fasching
Blake Speers
Bokondji Imama
Boston Bruins
Jakub Zboril*
Zachary Senyshyn
Cameron Hughes
Callum Booth
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Justin Kirkland
Glenn Gawdin
Luke Philp
Adam Werner*
Carolina Hurricanes
Maxim Letunov
Spencer Smallman
Sam Miletic
Joshua Jacobs
Chicago Blackhawks
(none)
Colorado Avalanche
Roland McKeown
Dennis Gilbert
Hunter Miska*
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Joel L’Esperance
Joseph Cecconi
Detroit Red Wings
Mitchell Stephens*
Taro Hirose
Edmonton Oilers
William Lagesson*
Cooper Marody
Florida Panthers
Chase Priskie
Jonas Johansson*
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Rem Pitlick*
Lukas Vejdemo
Louis Belpedio
Sami Niku
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
Chase De Leo
A.J. Greer
Colton White
New York Islanders
Sebastian Aho*
Mitch Vande Sompel
Grant Hutton
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
Jacob Middleton*
Nicholas Merkley
Jayden Halbgewachs
Seattle Kraken
(none)
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Anthony Richard
Darren Raddysh
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Sheldon Rempal
Noah Juulsen*
Devante Stephens
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Morin, Sandstrom and Friedman…back to back to back on this list.
I like that we hired Hextall for his drafting and developing acumen the day before it became apparent most of his picks busted.
Cool timing.
small sample size, but Snively should be interesting
It seems weird to me that Hirose hasn’t gotten a bigger chance in Detroit yet. He’d be an interesting pickup for a team wanting some cheap talent.