2025 Free Agency

Brad Marchand Discussed Future With Panthers

June 8, 2025 at 4:01 pm CDT | by Paul Griser 8 Comments

Just days after veteran defenseman Aaron Ekblad spoke about his future with the Florida Panthers, veteran forward and pending unrestricted free agent Brad Marchand has also addressed his future with the team.

Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Marchand will consider re-signing with the Panthers, but the veteran of 1,100 career games is currently focused solely on the Stanley Cup Final.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. But we’ll deal with that in the future,” Marchand said.

In 10 regular season games with the Panthers after being acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, Marchand put up two goals and four points. However, Marchand was also shaking off some rust after sustaining an upper-body injury just a week before the trade. Marchand has hit his stride in the playoffs, recording 17 points in 19 games, highlighted by his overtime winner in Game 2.

While Marchand has appeared to be a perfect fit in head coach Paul Maurice’s system, the team has big decisions to make with their pending free agents. With a projected $19 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), the Panthers need to be strategic with where they allocate those funds, as Marchand, Ekblad, Sam Bennett, and Tomas Nosek all set for free agency. While those four carried a combined cap hit of just under $19 million last season, each is expected to command a similar or higher salary on their next contracts. Marchand’s expiring deal came with a $6.125MM AAV.

Despite his age (37), Marchand is expected to draw significant attention on the open market, especially after proving he can still deliver under the bright lights of the playoffs. Marchand, however, did acknowledge that Florida’s chances of retaining him are helped by the fact that it’s one of six U.S.-based teams that come with no income tax.

“There are teams where that absolutely matters. It doesn’t matter for every player, but when you’re dealing with guys that have a choice between multiple teams, it absolutely plays a part. If you have two teams that are offering the same contract, you’re going to pick the team with less tax,” he said.

Although Marchand and Bruins GM Don Sweeney engaged in negotiations and were publicly optimistic about reaching an extension, the two sides ultimately failed to come to terms. That said, following the trade, Marchand noted he wouldn’t close the door on a potential reunion with the Bruins.

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

May 31, 2025 at 6:22 pm CDT | by Paul Griser 30 Comments

Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blackhawks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Philipp Kurashev – As the Blackhawks continue to navigate through a rebuild, holding onto a 25-year-old forward with a 50-plus point season on his résumé makes plenty of sense, and that’s exactly what they have in soon-to-be restricted free agent Philipp Kurashev. But after a breakout 54-point campaign in 2023–24, Kurashev took a step back this past season, managing just 14 points in 51 games. So, who is the real Kurashev? And what is his value to the Blackhawks, or potentially other teams? These are the questions the Blackhawks’ front office must answer as they weigh his next contract.

D Wyatt Kaiser – No pending free agent, restricted or unrestricted, may be more important to the Blackhawks than Wyatt Kaiser, who took a clear step forward this past season. The 2020 third-round pick appeared in a career-high 57 games, recording four goals and eight points, and finishing third on the team with 93 blocked shots. Just as notable, his even plus-minus rating was the best among all Blackhawks defensemen and second-best on the roster overall, behind only forward Ilya Mikheyev’s plus-four. At just 22 years old, Kaiser may be the kind of defenseman the Blackhawks look to sign long-term as they aim to solidify their blue line for the Connor Bedard era.

G Arvid Soderblom – Despite being buried on the depth chart heading into the last season, Soderblom ended the season with more games between the pipes than any Blackhawks goalie. With Laurent Brossoit missing the season with a meniscus tear, and veteran Petr Mrázek being traded at the deadline, Soderblom saw action in 36 contests, compiling a 10-18-7 record to go with a .898 save percentage. While those numbers are unflattering by league standards, Soderblom statistically outperformed Mrazek and Spencer Knight, who came over in a blockbuster trade that sent Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers. Knight appeared in 15 games for the Blackhawks, finishing with a 5-8-2 record and .893 save percentage. While the Blackhawks may like the idea of keeping Soderblom in the mix, they already have $7.8MM committed to Brossoit and Knight next season. If Soderblom is now viewed in the league circles as a legitimate backup, another team could step in with a solid offer.

Other RFAs: D Louis Crevier, D Victor Soderstrom, F Antti Saarela, F Aku Raty, F Jalen Luypen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Alec Martinez – On April 13, the day of the Blackhawks’ last home game of the season, Martinez announced that he would be retiring following the season. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, the 37-year-old was signed last offseason to a one-year, $4 million deal to bring leadership and experience to a young Chicago lineup. And while it’s difficult to measure the impact of his presence in the locker room, Martinez’s on-ice performance left much to be desired. He finished the year with 12 points and a minus-15 rating in 44 games. Martinez will finish his career with 862 games played, 289 points, and, of course, those three Stanley Cups.

F Pat Maroon – Similar to Martinez, veteran Pat Maroon is hanging up his skates after a 14-year career. Back in March, Maroon announced he would be retiring, citing a desire to start a new chapter with his family. He signed a one-year, $1.3MM contract with the team in free agency last summer, and like Martinez, was brought in to provide mentorship and leadership. In 68 games on the season, Marron totaled five goals and 19 points in a bottom-six role. He’ll finish his career with 323 points in 848 games. Like Martinez, he can also boast three Stanley Cups (winning in three consecutive years with the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning).

F Ryan Donato – Donato, coming off a career-best season with 31 goals and 62 points, is among the top centers headed for unrestricted free agency. If the Blackhawks hope to keep him, they’ll likely have to fend off interest from around the league. At the trade deadline, the Blackhawks held discussions with Donato about a possible contract extension and did not end up dealing him for future assets. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the deal the team put on the table was a three-year offer worth somewhere around $4MM per season, essentially doubling his expiring contract. Donato did exactly what any player on an expiring contract hopes to do — post career-best numbers and set himself up for a sizable payday. The reported $4MM per season may not be a large enough figure to keep Donato in Chicago.

Other UFAs: F Andreas Athanasiou, F Zach Sanford, F Brett Seney, F Cole Guttman

Projected Cap Space

General manager Kyle Davidson will have plenty of financial flexibility this summer, as the team has nearly $30MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. If the team is serious about keeping Donato and Kaiser in Chicago long-term, their new contracts would certainly put a dent into that space, but would still leave Davidson with ample flexibility to pursue additional free agents.

NHL Sets Offer Sheet Thresholds For 2025

May 13, 2025 at 10:49 am CDT | by Brennan McClain 2 Comments

From the beginning of the ’Salary Cap Era’ in the 2005-06 NHL season, offer sheets have been a mildly used tool by General Managers in the league, with most teams simply matching any given offer sheet. Since September 12, 2006, when Ryan Kesler signed a one-year, $1.9MM offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers to June 30, 2019, there had only been eight offer sheets signed, with Dustin Penner’s being the only one to go unmatched.

Since July 1, 2019, when the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27MM offer sheet (which was subsequently matched by the Carolina Hurricanes), there has seemingly been more appetite for them from General Managers. This culminated in the wildly successful offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues last offseason, when they poached defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2025.

Still, some risk remains when considering worthwhile offer sheets. Teams must determine if the required compensation is worth the player in question, and the NHL recently released those compensation figures via Sportsnet:

AAV	Draft picks required
$1.54MM or less	No compensation
$1.54MM to $2.34MM	Third-round pick
$2.34MM to $4.68MM	Second-round pick
$4.68MM to $7.02MM	First and third-round picks
$7.02MM to $9.36MM	First, second and third-round picks
$9.36MM to $11.7MM	Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
Over $11.7MM	Four first-round picks

The most given up in the ’Salary Cap Era’ was the 2008 first, second, and third round pick awarded to the Anaheim Ducks for Penner’s offer sheet by Edmonton. No team has ever reached into the sixth tier of compensation, and that’s unlikely to change this offseason. Teams must use their own draft compensation, meaning they’d have to re-acquire any of their old draft selections should they need them for an unmatched offer sheet, similarly to what St. Louis had to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer.

How Do Qualifying Offers Work?

April 29, 2025 at 5:02 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. To make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him — a player who doesn’t receive one becomes an unrestricted free agent instead.

The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s salary in the most recent season of their expiring contract:

$775,000 to $999,999: 105% of most recent salary up to $1,000,000.
$1MM or more: the lesser of their most recent salary or 120% of cap hit.

In the increasingly rare instance where an RFA signed their most recent contract before July 2020 and earned $1MM or more in the last year of their deal, the qualifying offer is simply equal to their most recent salary.

Let’s take the top RFA on the board, Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, as an example. While the cap hit of his expiring two-year deal is $3.9MM, he made $4.3MM in actual salary in 2024-25. However, his most recent salary is still less than 120% of his cap hit ($4.68MM), so his qualifying offer will be a one-year deal worth $4.3MM. That stipulation is why players signing an agreement with RFA expiry status will generally negotiate a base salary in the final year of the contract no higher than 120% of the cap hit, to prevent a salary reduction if they accept their qualifying offer. The two highest-salaried pending RFAs this year, defensemen Bowen Byram and K’Andre Miller, both took that route.

For players on expiring entry-level or two-way contracts, their qualifying offer is also a two-way deal. It’s important to note that “salary” as it relates to QOs is tied to a player’s base salary only, not their total guaranteed compensation, which includes salary plus signing bonuses. That’s why you’ll rarely see players opt to receive signing bonuses in the final year of a deal with RFA expiry status – while signing bonuses technically make a buyout less advantageous for the team and benefit the player, they also limit the floor of their earning potential on a qualifying offer.

They’re almost always unavoidable for players on expiring entry-level deals, though. Take Devils star Luke Hughes. He’ll make $2.775MM in total cash this season thanks to signing and performance bonuses, but his qualifying offer is just a two-way deal with a cap hit of $874,125 – 105% of his 2024-25 base salary of $832,500.

So while Noah Dobson has the highest cap hit among pending RFAs at $4MM, Miller, as mentioned earlier, actually has the highest qualifying offer this summer at his 2024-25 base salary of $4.646MM.

Qualifying offers are due by the later of June 25 or the Monday following the draft. Given how the league schedule has trended in recent years, it’s almost always the latter. That holds in 2025, when the qualifying offer deadline is again June 30, one day before free agency opens. They expire by July 15 if not extended in writing by the team; however, it’s not unusual to see players sign identical contracts to their QOs after that date. A team still holds a player’s signing rights even if the qualifying offer expires before an agreement is reached.

A player can also accept his qualifying offer if he chooses to do so. He then plays the following season on a one-year contract worth the amount of the QO, and, depending on their age or accrued NHL seasons, becomes an unrestricted free agent or repeats the process as an RFA. A player can go this route if he feels like the QO is the best offer he’ll receive, or if he’s one year away from being eligible for UFA status and wants to focus on testing that market.

Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

These NHL Free Agents Will Get Overpaid This Summer

April 27, 2025 at 1:28 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 7 Comments

July 1 is often when an NHL general manager makes moves that they will regret later, and frequently, they spend years trying to correct them. This summer is no different, as teams will overpay many unrestricted free agents. There is perhaps no better recent example of this than Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, who has done tremendous work the past two years but hasn’t been able to undo the series of poor moves he made on July 1, 2023, when he signed Tristan Jarry, Ryan Graves and Noel Acciari to long-term deals. Signings such as these can alter the direction of a franchise and hitch the team to financial commitments that haunt them long-term. Last summer’s big free-agent winner was the Nashville Predators, but they quickly discovered that winning in July doesn’t always translate to winning during the season.

This is the first year in some time that there has been a significant increase in the salary cap, with agents and UFAs salivating at the potential dollars they can rein in this summer. The days of skilled veterans settling for one-year deals just above league minimum may become a thing of the past, leading to more free agents signing contracts they could never live up to. Let’s look at the players who will likely get overpaid this summer using AFP Analytics’ projections for 2025-26 cap hits based on next year’s $95.5MM upper limit.

In combing through AFP’s work, a number that jumps out is the projection for Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser. AFP is projecting a seven-year deal worth $9.05MM per year for the 28-year-old, which looks pretty optimistic for a player who has topped 30 goals in a season just once and has only topped the 60-point plateau once. Boeser is not a player who can drive a line by himself; he is a shooter and can also go into slumps at 5-on-5. A cap hit north of $9MM for Boeser would almost certainly become a future buyout like Jeff Skinner’s contract was. Boeser may not get $9MM per, but teams are always in search of scoring, and someone will step up and overpay for his services.

No disrespect to Sam Bennett; he is a terrific player who has become an essential piece of a perennial Stanley Cup contender. But he will likely be overpaid this summer if he decides to leave the Florida Panthers. AFP’s projection is a six-year deal for $6.3MM per season, which seems a little light for Bennett unless he signs in a state with a more favorable income tax structure, such as Florida. Even at that projection, Bennett might live up to his AAV for the first two or three years of the deal. Still, beyond that, his style of play will likely catch up to him, making the final years of his deal difficult to deal with. Bennett will be 29 in June, and a six-year deal will take him until he’s 35, at which point it’s hard to know what his game will look like.

Mikael Granlund’s value is hard to gauge because fit is essential to his production. He was a terrible fit with the Penguins when he was acquired two years ago at the trade deadline and produced just five points in 21 games. That trade for a second-round pick was ultimately the final straw for the Penguins as they fired general manager Ron Hextall shortly after he made the move. Granlund was then dealt to San Jose, where he produced top-six numbers and was one of their top scorers before another trade to Dallas in February. Granlund has been a decent fit with the Stars, scoring 21 points in 31 games. The knock on Granlund is that he doesn’t do much away from the puck and can’t drive a line alone despite good playmaking abilities. He is a terrific passer, but aside from that, his game is limited. He isn’t slow, but he is an average skater at best.

Despite all of this, he puts up numbers, and he will surely find an NHL GM who will look at that and pay up. He won’t get a four-year deal, but he may secure a three-year contract around his current cap hit of $5MM. AFP’s projection for Granlund is a two-year deal at $4.6MM per season, which looks pretty realistic, if not a bit on the lighter side, given the rising salary cap. Whoever signs Granlund needs to play him on the power play and in the top six; otherwise, they will wind up like the Penguins in 2023 and searching for a salary dump.

Blue Jackets forward Luke Kunin is next on our list and is projected by AFP to wind up on a two-year deal for $2.1MM per season. Kunin can hit, and that’s about it. His game impact is minimal, and $2.1MM is a wild number for a player as limited as he is. Kunin doesn’t put up points and has played mainly on the fourth line, getting caved in on the possession front while doing so. He hasn’t been helped by his deployment, starting his shifts in the defensive zone 56.8% of the time this year at even strength, but that has a negligible impact on his overall numbers. Signing Kunin to that deal won’t break a team, but it certainly won’t help a contending team build a competent bottom six.

Jonathan Drouin has had two straight solid seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and should receive a significant raise this summer from the $2.5MM he played for this year. Since joining the Avalanche, the 30-year-old has posted 30 goals and 63 assists in 122 games while playing 15:23 a game. Drouin has been a good fit with Colorado and is projected by AFP to get a contract in the four-year range with a cap hit of $5.87MM.

Drouin had to settle for a one-year deal last summer and should have multi-year offers this year. While he has recaptured his game, he has dressed just 43 times this season and has been inconsistent throughout his career. Any team paying him nearly $6MM a season for four years would take a massive gamble that could be a contract to buy out in a few seasons. Teams were cautious with Drouin last summer, and it’s not hard to imagine teams capping their offers at two or three years, but all it takes is one team that is desperate for scoring to get to Drouin’s projected contract numbers.

Finally, on the back end, one defenseman is primed to be overpaid again on the free agent market: Cody Ceci of the Dallas Stars. Ceci is in the final year of a four-year deal he signed in 2021 with a $3.25MM cap hit. That contract was initially projected to be a problem, and it became an issue for the Oilers last summer when they dealt the 31-year-old to San Jose in a salary cap-fueled move.

Ceci’s next deal could turn out to be even more problematic. The Ottawa, Ontario, native is projected by AFP to earn $11MM on a three-year contract, which is quite the price for a depth defenseman who needs to be sheltered to be effective. Ceci was okay with the Oilers when they moved him away from Nurse, but he should not be counted on for anything more than depth minutes in a No. 5-6 role.

In the net, goaltending will be challenging in the free-agent market as the options include reclamation projects, career backups, and Jake Allen. Allen figures to get a chunk of change in free agency, but will not see starter’s money despite having a great year in New Jersey. Beyond that, it’s hard to imagine any team committing significant dollars to the available netminders.

Photo by Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

2025 NHL Free Agents

January 6, 2025 at 9:15 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

The following players are eligible for free agency after the 2024-25 season. Each player’s 2025 age is in parentheses. Generally, our cutoff for this list is 10 games played or five starts for goaltenders in the NHL in 2024-25. Players who have announced their retirement are not included.

Updated 6-4-25

Unrestricted Free Agents

Centers

Sam Bennett (29)
Nick Bjugstad (32)
Ryan Donato (29)
Justin Dowling (34)
Matt Duchene (34)
Christian Dvorak (29)
Lars Eller (36)
Radek Faksa (31)
Trent Frederic (27)
Luke Glendening (36)
Mikael Granlund (33)
Tyson Jost (27)
Justin Kirkland (28)
Luke Kunin (27)
Sean Kuraly (32)
Curtis Lazar (30)
Marc McLaughlin (25) – Group VI UFA
Tomáš Nosek (32)
Kevin Rooney (32)
Derek Ryan (38)
Nico Sturm (30)
Pius Suter (29)
John Tavares (34)

Left Wingers

Jamie Benn (35)
Michael Carcone (29)
Nick Cousins (31)
Claude Giroux (37)
Joel Kiviranta (29)
Andrei Kuzmenko (29)
Steven Lorentz (29)
Brad Marchand (37)
Matt Martin (36)
Brock McGinn (31)
Matthew Nieto (32)
Gustav Nyquist (35)
Victor Olofsson (29)
Max Pacioretty (36)
Tanner Pearson (32)
Cole Reinhardt (25) – Group VI UFA
Eric Robinson (30)
Jack Roslovic (28)
Brandon Saad (32)
Devin Shore (30)
Jeff Skinner (33)
Tomáš Tatar (34)
James van Riemsdyk (36)
Jakub Vrána (29)

Right Wingers

Mason Appleton (29)
Joel Armia (32)
Cam Atkinson (36)
Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (29)
Nathan Bastian (27)
Anthony Beauvillier (28)
Colin Blackwell (32)
Brock Boeser (28)
Justin Brazeau (27)
Connor Brown (31)
Evgenii Dadonov (36)
Justin Danforth (32)
Walker Duehr (27)
Nikolaj Ehlers (29)
Michael Eyssimont (28)
Robby Fabbri (29)
Hudson Fasching (29)
Christian Fischer (28)
Adam Gaudette (28)
Tanner Jeannot (28)
Patrick Kane (36)
Kasperi Kapanen (28)
Cole Koepke (27)
Kevin Labanc (29)
Trevor Lewis (38)
Andrew Mangiapane (29)
Anthony Mantha (30)
Mitch Marner (28)
Tyler Motte (30)
Corey Perry (40)
Jesse Puljujärvi (27)
Taylor Raddysh (27)
Craig Smith (35)
Givani Smith (27)
Reilly Smith (34)
Daniel Sprong (28)
Brandon Tanev (33)
Jimmy Vesey (32)
Chris Wagner (34)

Left Defensemen

Declan Chisholm (25) – Group VI UFA unless he registers 47 GP in 2024-25, then RFA
Dennis Cholowski (27)
Calvin de Haan (34)
Marc Del Gaizo (25) – Group VI UFA
Brian Dumoulin (33)
Haydn Fleury (28)
Derek Forbort (33)
Matt Grzelcyk (31)
Joel Hanley (34)
Jack Johnson (38)
Ryan Lindgren (27)
Jonathon Merrill (33)
Dmitry Orlov (33)
Mike Reilly (31)
Nate Schmidt (33)
Brendan Smith (36)
Ryan Suter (40)
Parker Wotherspoon (27)

Right Defensemen

Robert Bortuzzo (36)
Brent Burns (40)
Cody Ceci (31)
Travis Dermott (28)
Aaron Ekblad (29)
Dante Fabbro (27)
Vladislav Gavrikov (29)
Dennis Gilbert (28)
Travis Hamonic (34)
Grant Hutton (29)
Erik Johnson (37)
Henri Jokiharju (26)
Noah Juulsen (28)
John Klingberg (32)
Dylan McIlrath (33)
Nicklaus Perbix (27)
Jeff Petry (37)
Ivan Provorov (28)
Jan Rutta (34)

Goaltenders

Jake Allen (34)
Anton Forsberg (32)
Alexandar Georgiev (29)
Ville Husso (30)
Alex Lyon (32)
Spencer Martin (30)
James Reimer (37)
David Rittich (32)
Ilya Samsonov (28)
Vítek Vaněček (29)
Daniel Vladař (27)

Restricted Free Agents

Centers

Mavrik Bourque (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Morgan Frost (26)
Pontus Holmberg (26)
Marat Khusnutdinov (22)
Philipp Kurashev (25)
Hendrix Lapierre (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Isac Lundeström (25)
Ryan McLeod (25)
Mason McTavish (22) – not eligible for arbitration
Aatu Räty (22) – not eligible for arbitration
Marco Rossi (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Max Sasson (24)
Cole Schwindt (24)
Connor Zary (23) – not eligible for arbitration

Left Wingers

Arshdeep Bains (24)
Morgan Barron (26)
John Beecher (24)
Jonatan Berggren (24)
William Cuylle (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Adam Edstrom (24)
Daniil Gushchin (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Emil Heineman (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Tye Kartye (24)
Matthew Knies (22) – not eligible for arbitration
Klim Kostin (26)
Jakub Lauko (25)
Andre Lee (24)
Jack McBain (25)
Mikael Pyyhtia (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Jack Quinn (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Maxim Tsyplakov (26)
Dmitri Voronkov (24)
Oliver Wahlstrom (25)

Right Wingers

Connor Dewar (26)
Luke Evangelista (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Morgan Geekie (26)
Cody Glass (26)
Gage Goncalves (24)
Noah Gregor (26)
Simon Holmström (24)
Alexander Holtz (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Kaapo Kakko (24)
Nikolai Kovalenko (25)
Rasmus Kupari (25)
Alex Laferriere (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Brett Leason (26)
Jakob Pelletier (24)
JJ Peterka (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Nicholas Robertson (23)
Mackie Samoskevich (22) – not eligible for arbitration
Philip Tomasino (23)
Gabriel Vilardi (25)
Fabian Zetterlund (25)

Left Defensemen

Kevin Bahl (25)
Erik Brännström (25)
Ryker Evans (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Nicolas Hague (26)
Jordan Harris (24)
Luke Hughes (21) – not eligible for arbitration
Zachary Jones (24)
Wyatt Kaiser (22) – not eligible for arbitration
Mason Lohrei (24)
K’Andre Miller (25)
Alexander Romanov (25)
Dylan Samberg (26)
Cameron York (24)

Right Defensemen

Jacob Bernard-Docker (25)
Evan Bouchard (25)
Bowen Byram (24)
Louis Crevier (24)
Noah Dobson (25)
Drew Helleson (24)
Albert Johansson (24)
Pierre-Olivier Joseph (26)
Nils Lundkvist (24)
Sam Malinski (26)
Scott Perunovich (26)
Jayden Struble (23)
Jack Thompson (23) – not eligible for arbitration
Conor Timmins (26)

Goaltenders

Lukáš Dostál (25)
Joel Hofer (24)
Arvid Söderblom (25)
Daniil Tarasov (26)

2025 NHL Restricted Free Agents

July 21, 2024 at 7:19 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The following players are currently projected to be eligible for restricted free agency after the 2024-25 season. Each player’s 2025 signing rights holder and age is in parentheses.

* denotes player is projected to have arbitration rights

Updated 11/1/24, 10:10 a.m.

Centers

Nikita Alexandrov (Blues, 24)*
John Beecher (Bruins, 24)
Carl Berglund (Oilers, 25)
Wyatt Bongiovanni (Senators, 25)
Jesper Boqvist (Panthers, 26)*
Xavier Bourgault (Senators, 22)
Mavrik Bourque (Stars, 23)
Skyler Brind’Amour (Hurricanes, 25)
Nolan Burke (Predators, 22)
Philippe Daoust (Senators, 23)
Tanner Dickinson (Blues, 23)
John Farinacci (Bruins, 24)
Sean Farrell (Canadiens, 23)
Jack Finley (Lightning, 22)
Parker Ford (Jets, 24)
Jean-Luc Foudy (Avalanche, 23)
Jordan Frasca (Penguins, 24)
Morgan Frost (Flyers, 26)*
Marc Gatcomb (Islanders, 25)
Morgan Geekie (Bruins, 26)*
Cody Glass (Predators, 26)*
Ty Glover (Canucks, 24)
Gage Goncalves (Lightning, 24)
Ridly Greig (Senators, 22)
Cole Guttman (Blackhawks, 26)*
Pontus Holmberg (Maple Leafs, 26)*
Wyatt Johnston (Stars, 22)
Mark Kastelic (Bruins, 26)*
Rory Kerins (Flames, 23)
Marat Khusnutdinov (Wild, 23)
Ryder Korczak (Rangers, 22)
Tyson Kozak (Sabres, 22)
Trevor Kuntar (Bruins, 24)
Rasmus Kupari (Jets, 25)*
Hendrix Lapierre (Capitals, 23)
Jake Leschyshyn (Rangers, 26)*
Josh Lopina (Ducks, 24)
Isac Lundeström (Ducks, 25)*
Jalen Luypen (Blackhawks, 23)
Jack McBain (Utah, 25)*
Hunter McKown (Blue Jackets, 22)
Ryan McLeod (Sabres, 25)*
Mason McTavish (Ducks, 22)
Georgii Merkulov (Bruins, 24)
Jan Mysak (Ducks, 23)
Jaxon Nelson (Bruins, 25)
Tristen Nielsen (Canucks, 25)*
Henri Nikkanen (Jets, 24)
Ilya Nikolaev (Flames, 24)
Cédric Paré (Maple Leafs, 26)
Juuso Pärssinen (Predators, 24)
Ondrej Pavel (Avalanche, 24)
Noah Philp (Oilers, 26)*
Vasiliy Ponomarev (Penguins, 23)
Jamieson Rees (Senators, 24)
Marco Rossi (Wild, 23)
Henrik Rybinski (Capitals, 24)
Aatu Räty (Canucks, 22)
Antti Saarela (Blackhawks, 24)*
Max Sasson (Canucks, 24)
Xavier Simoneau (Canadiens, 24)*
Wilmer Skoog (Panthers, 26)
Matthew Stienburg (Avalanche, 24)
Jack Studnicka (Kings, 26)*
Ryan Suzuki (Hurricanes, 24)
Lukas Svejkovsky (Lightning, 23)
Tyler Tullio (Sabres, 23)

Left Wingers

Nicholas Abruzzese (Maple Leafs, 26)*
Arshdeep Bains (Canucks, 24)
Morgan Barron (Jets, 26)*
Adam Beckman (Devils, 24)
Matěj Blümel (Stars, 25)*
Thomas Bordeleau (Sharks, 23)
Brendan Brisson (Golden Knights, 23)
Noah Cates (Flyers, 26)*
Angus Crookshank (Senators, 25)*
William Cuylle (Rangers, 23)
Grigori Denisenko (Golden Knights, 25)*
Elliot Desnoyers (Flyers, 23)
Connor Dewar (Maple Leafs, 26)*
Jaydon Dureau (Lightning, 24)
Adam Edstrom (Rangers, 24)*
Oscar Eklind (Flyers, 26)*
Liam Foudy (Islanders, 25)
Noah Gregor (Senators, 26)*
Cross Hanas (Red Wings, 23)
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (Canadiens, 26)*
Emil Heineman (Canadiens, 23)
Roni Hirvonen (Maple Leafs, 23)
Roby Jarventie (Oilers, 22)
Tye Kartye (Kraken, 24)
Miloš Kelemen (Utah, 26)*
Alexander Kisakov (Sabres, 22)
Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs, 22)
Klim Kostin (Sharks, 26)*
Jakub Lauko (Wild, 25)*
Andre Lee (Kings, 24)*
Bennett MacArthur (Penguins, 24)
Ben McCartney (Utah, 24)
Michael Milne (Wild, 22)
Sam Morton (Flames, 25)
Navrin Mutter (Predators, 24)
Nikita Nesterenko (Ducks, 23)
Oliver Okuliar (Panthers, 25)
Jakob Pelletier (Flames, 24)*
John-Jason Peterka (Sabres, 23)
Mikael Pyyhtia (Blue Jackets, 23)
Pavol Regenda (Ducks, 25)*
Nicholas Robertson (Maple Leafs, 23)*
Jonas Røndbjerg (Golden Knights, 26)*
Mason Shaw (Jets, 26)*
Elmer Söderblom (Red Wings, 24)
Antonio Stranges (Stars, 23)
Luke Toporowski (Wild, 24)*
Daniel Torgersson (Jets, 23)
Bogdan Trineyev (Capitals, 23)
Dmitri Voronkov (Blue Jackets, 24)*
Connor Zary (Flames, 23)

Right Wingers

Corey Andonovski (Penguins, 26)*
Raivis Ansons (Penguins, 23)
Emil Bemström (Penguins, 26)*
Jonatan Berggren (Red Wings, 24)*
Judd Caulfield (Ducks, 24)
Martin Chromiak (Kings, 22)
Graeme Clarke (Wild, 24)
Brandon Coe (Sharks, 23)
Sam Colangelo (Ducks, 23)
Matthew Coronato (Flames, 22)
Pierrick Dube (Capitals, 24)*
William Dufour (Islanders, 23)
Lucas Edmonds (Lightning, 24)
MacKenzie Entwistle (Panthers, 26)*
Luke Evangelista (Predators, 23)
Trey Fix-Wolansky (Blue Jackets, 26)*
Tyson Foerster (Flyers, 23)
Noel Gunler (Hurricanes, 23)
Daniil Gushchin (Sharks, 23)
Simon Holmström (Islanders, 24)
Jan Jeník (Senators, 24)*
Reese Johnson (Wild, 26)*
Kaapo Kakko (Rangers, 24)*
Arthur Kaliyev (Kings, 24)*
Linus Karlsson (Canucks, 25)*
Nikolai Kovalenko (Avalanche, 25)*
Philipp Kurashev (Blackhawks, 25)*
Alex Laferriere (Kings, 23)
Raphael Lavoie (Oilers, 24)*
Brett Leason (Ducks, 26)*
Nathan Légaré (Devils, 24)
Olle Lycksell (Flyers, 25)*
Pavel Novák (Wild, 23)
Jacob Perreault (Canadiens, 23)
Jason Polin (Avalanche, 26)*
Jack Quinn (Sabres, 23)
Adam Raška (Wild, 23)
Aku Raty (Utah, 24)*
Matt Rempe (Rangers, 23)
Tristen Robins (Sharks, 23)
Lukáš Rousek (Sabres, 26)*
Mitchell Russell (Sharks, 24)
Mackie Samoskevich (Panthers, 22)
Cole Schwindt (Flames, 24)*
Justin Sourdif (Panthers, 23)
Marcus Sylvegård (Blues, 26)
Philip Tomasino (Predators, 23)*
Maxim Tsyplakov (Islanders, 26)*
Gabriel Vilardi (Jets, 25)*
Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders, 25)*
Samuel Walker (Wild, 26)*
Zayde Wisdom (Flyers, 23)
Kailer Yamamoto (Utah, 26)
Jesse Ylönen (Lightning, 25)*
Fabian Zetterlund (Sharks, 25)*

Left-Shot Defensemen

Alexander Alexeyev (Capitals, 25)*
Kevin Bahl (Flames, 25)*
Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm (Blue Jackets, 23)
Tobias Björnfot (Panthers, 24)*
Samuel Bolduc (Islanders, 24)*
Erik Brännström (Avalanche, 25)*
Bowen Byram (Sabres, 24)*
Michael Callahan (Bruins, 25)*
Lukas Cormier (Golden Knights, 23)
Ryker Evans (Kraken, 23)
Domenick Fensore (Hurricanes, 23)
Nicolas Hague (Golden Knights, 26)*
Hardy Haman Aktell (Capitals, 26)*
Jordan Harris (Canadiens, 25)*
Santeri Hatakka (Devils, 24)
Akito Hirose (Canucks, 26)*
Noel Hoefenmayer (Oilers, 26)*
Luke Hughes (Devils, 21)
Daemon Hunt (Wild, 23)
Albert Johansson (Red Wings, 24)
Ryan Johnson (Sabres, 23)
Zachary Jones (Rangers, 24)*
Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Blues, 26)*
Wyatt Kaiser (Blackhawks, 22)
Tyler Kleven (Senators, 23)
Samuel Knazko (Blue Jackets, 22)
Mikko Kokkonen (Maple Leafs, 24)
Filip Král (Penguins, 25)
Cole Krygier (Kings, 25)
Mason Lohrei (Bruins, 24)
John Ludvig (Penguins, 24)*
Anton Malmström (Blues, 25)
K’Andre Miller (Rangers, 25)*
Daniil Misyul (Devils, 24)*
Travis Mitchell (Islanders, 25)
Shakir Mukhamadullin (Sharks, 23)
Ryan O’Rourke (Wild, 23)
Scott Perunovich (Blues, 26)*
Isaak Phillips (Blackhawks, 23)
Jérémie Poirier (Flames, 23)
Valtteri Pulli (Sharks, 24)*
Matthew Robertson (Rangers, 24)
Alexander Romanov (Islanders, 25)*
Filip Roos (Senators, 26)*
Dylan Samberg (Jets, 26)*
Donovan Sebrango (Senators, 23)
Ronan Seeley (Hurricanes, 22)
Ty Smith (Hurricanes, 25)*
Nathan Staios (Panthers, 24)
Jayden Struble (Canadiens, 23)
William Trudeau (Canadiens, 22)
Tyler Tucker (Blues, 25)*
Zachary Uens (Panthers, 24)
Urho Vaakanainen (Ducks, 26)*
Eemil Viro (Red Wings, 23)
Adam Wilsby (Predators, 24)*
Cameron York (Flyers, 24)*

Right-Shot Defensemen

Ronald Attard (Flyers, 26)*
Tyrel Bauer (Jets, 23)
Drew Bavaro (Bruins, 25)
Michael Benning (Panthers, 23)
Jacob Bernard-Docker (Senators, 25)*
Adam Boqvist (Panthers, 24)*
Evan Bouchard (Oilers, 25)*
Cole Clayton (Blue Jackets, 25)
Louis Crevier (Blackhawks, 24)
Maxwell Crozier (Lightning, 25)
Noah Dobson (Islanders, 25)*
Christian Felton (Canucks, 25)
Cale Fleury (Kraken, 26)*
Aidan Fulp (Islanders, 25)
Helge Grans (Flyers, 23)
Max Guenette (Senators, 24)
Drew Helleson (Ducks, 24)
Anttoni Honka (Hurricanes, 24)*
Philip Kemp (Oilers, 26)*
Gustav Lindström (Canadiens, 26)*
Jake Livingstone (Predators, 26)*
Nils Lundkvist (Stars, 24)*
Simon Lundmark (Jets, 24)
Sam Malinski (Avalanche, 26)*
Nikolas Matinpalo (Senators, 26)*
Cole McWard (Canucks, 24)
Ian Mitchell (Bruins, 26)*
Topi Niemelä (Maple Leafs, 23)
Montana Onyebuchi (Utah, 25)*
Brayden Pachal (Flames, 25)*
Luke Prokop (Predators, 23)
Alec Regula (Bruins, 24)*
Hunter Skinner (Blues, 24)
Jack Thompson (Sharks, 23)
Conor Timmins (Maple Leafs, 26)*
Antti Tuomisto (Red Wings, 24)*
William Villeneuve (Maple Leafs, 23)
Jett Woo (Canucks, 24)*

Goaltenders

Gage Alexander (Red Wings, 23)
Garin Bjorklund (Capitals, 23)
Talyn Boyko (Rangers, 22)
Magnus Chrona (Sharks, 24)
Calle Clang (Ducks, 23)
Will Cranley (Blues, 23)
Jakub Dobes (Canadiens, 24)
Lukáš Dostál (Ducks, 25)*
Colten Ellis (Blues, 24)
Dylan Garand (Rangers, 23)
Taylor Gauthier (Penguins, 24)
Mitchell Gibson (Capitals, 26)*
Dennis Hildeby (Maple Leafs, 23)
Joel Hofer (Blues, 24)*
Waltteri Ignatjew (Flames, 25)
Ben Kraws (Stars, 24)
Devon Levi (Sabres, 23)
Kevin Mandolese (Avalanche, 24)*
Leevi Merilainen (Senators, 22)
Trent Miner (Avalanche, 24)
Yaniv Perets (Hurricanes, 25)
Rémi Poirier (Stars, 23)
Isaac Poulter (Devils, 23)*
Cayden Primeau (Canadiens, 25)*
Olivier Rodrigue (Oilers, 25)*
Georgii Romanov (Sharks, 25)
Isaiah Saville (Golden Knights, 24)
Jakub Skarek (Islanders, 25)*
Arvid Söderblom (Blackhawks, 25)*
Jaxson Stauber (Utah, 26)
Daniil Tarasov (Blue Jackets, 26)*
Nikita Tolopilo (Canucks, 25)
Vadim Zherenko (Blues, 24)

2025 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents

July 19, 2024 at 9:45 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

The following players are currently projected to be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2024-25 season. Each player’s 2025 age is in parentheses.

For a list of current unrestricted free agents, click here.

* denotes likely Group 6 UFA

Updated 11/15/24 (12:45pm CT)

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2025 Free Agency

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