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Archives for August 2025

Wild Sign Marco Rossi To Three-Year Deal

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1:36 p.m.: The Wild have made Rossi’s new deal official in a team release.

10:36 a.m.: After months of trade speculation, restricted free agent center Marco Rossi is signing a new deal in the State of Hockey. PuckPedia reports the forward will sign a three-year deal with the Wild worth around $15MM in total, working out to a cap hit around $5MM. The backloaded deal will pay Rossi $4MM in 2025-26 and increase by $1MM increments each season, giving him a $6MM qualifying offer when he can become an RFA again upon expiry in 2028, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic.

It’s a welcome increase for Rossi as he comes off his entry-level contract, but it’s still significantly less than he was hoping for. The 2020 ninth overall pick took major strides in his development last season, posting a career-high 24 goals and 60 points for Minnesota in first-line deployment despite missing star wingman Kirill Kaprizov for more than half the season. As a result, he entered talks this summer looking for a long-term deal in the $7MM range annually.

It was how Rossi ended the season that set the stage for a rather sour offseason. After cooling off down the stretch, posting nine points and a -11 rating in 20 games after the trade deadline, he was demoted to fourth-line deployment in their first-round loss to the Golden Knights. He still managed two goals and 11 shot attempts in the six-game battle, but averaged only 11:08 of ice time per game.

In most cases, that would be seen as only a minor roadblock for a high-potential pick. But Rossi, who was Bill Guerin’s first draft pick as the Wild’s general manager, had been the subject of trade speculation for some time – to the point where Guerin said outright last December that he was highly impressed with Rossi’s forward progress and wasn’t looking to move him. The Wild’s hesitancy to offer a long-term deal remained, though, leaving the two sides at an impasse for most of the offseason and forcing Guerin to explore trade packages, none of which were appealing enough to get a deal done despite wide-ranging interest.

The contract itself is likely bang-on for his market value. AFP Analytics projected a long-term pact for Rossi to come in at seven years at $7.4MM per season and a short-term one to be two years at $4.5MM annually. With an extra year thrown in on top of that shorter projection, it makes sense that the AAV comes up a notch as well.

After trade interest quieted in July, the Canucks and Kraken had reportedly resurfaced in talks in recent days, with Rossi’s contract situation still unresolved. Whether that was a significant impetus for Rossi’s camp to agree to a bridge remains to be seen – either to solidify his future in Minnesota or to make himself a more palatable trade asset with cost certainty.

Rossi’s long-term projection as a legitimate top-six center remains optimistic. After losing a good chunk of his development due to a serious bout with COVID, he’s steadily upped his offensive production each year since turning pro. He’s improved on draws as well, going from a 44.7% win rate in his rookie season to 46.8% last year. He was significantly more involved in the forecheck in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24, nearly doubling the amount of hits he laid, and he has had strong relative possession impacts in each of his two full NHL seasons.

The Wild now end up with a full roster and north of $4.4MM in cap space to open the season, per PuckPedia. The club projects to have much more financial flexibility to make in-season adds than they have in the last couple of years as a result. He’ll enter camp as the odds-on favorite to start next season alongside Kaprizov again despite how his minutes were cut in last year’s playoffs, firming up a familiar center corps of himself, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, and Nico Sturm.

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.

Panthers Sign Luke Kunin

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The Panthers have signed versatile forward Luke Kunin to a one-year deal, the team announced. It’s a one-way, league minimum contract, according to PuckPedia.

This will be the fifth NHL stop for Kunin, who began his career as the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Wild. He turned pro the next year after two collegiate seasons at Wisconsin and got his first taste of NHL action after making Minnesota’s opening night roster in 2017-18. Over his first three years in the NHL with the Wild, he developed rather quickly and recorded a 23-29–52 scoring line in 131 games – including an optimistic 31-point showing in 63 games in 2019-20.

Minnesota traded Kunin to Nashville in the 2020 offseason in exchange for Nick Bonino. The move brought both an ice time reduction and injury troubles. He recorded a career-high 0.50 points per game in his first year with the Preds, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, but was limited to 38 games with a lower-body injury. His production pace dropped to 22 points over a full 82-game schedule the following year before he was traded during the offseason again, this time to San Jose for John Leonard.

Kunin returned to a regular top-nine role with increased penalty-killing responsibility for the rebuilding Sharks, but ACL surgery ended his first season in the Bay Area after recording 13 points in 31 games.

Since returning for 2023-24, Kunin has taken on more of a pure checking role with significantly decreased offensive success. He posted identical 11-7–18 scoring lines in each of the last two seasons, along with an eye-popping cumulative -58 rating, although playing mostly on the league’s worst team during that time will obviously exaggerate poor defensive impacts. San Jose understandably wasn’t keen on re-signing him this summer and instead flipped him to the Blue Jackets at the trade deadline for a fourth-round pick. He went pointless with a -5 rating in 12 games for Columbus before reaching the open market for the first time this year.

As such, a spot in Florida’s opening night lineup is far from guaranteed. He was receiving NHL interest, but he enters the Panthers organization after a tough stretch and now must compete with names like Jonah Gadjovich, A.J. Greer, and Tomas Nosek – each of whom has proven effective fourth-line pieces on a Stanley Cup champion – for ice time.

The Panthers already have a projected cap exceedance of $3.725MM, but with star winger Matthew Tkachuk likely headed for adductor surgery soon, he’ll be LTIR-eligible and allow the Cats to be compliant to begin the season.

Projecting Evgeni Malkin’s Future

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Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin is entering the final season of a four-year contract, and it could be his final season as a Penguin. Not only that, the 38-year-old could be closing in on the end of his NHL career, which will no doubt see him enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in due time.

Malkin is no longer the superstar center he once was and has seen his game decline since inking his extension in the summer of 2022. That being said, he is still a capable top-six contributor for the time being and produced 50 points in 68 games last season (16 goals and 34 assists).

Malkin’s underlying numbers have also dipped in recent seasons, but he is still a positive contributor on the possession front with a 50.1 CF%. If Malkin can produce results that are similar to the last couple of seasons, he could still be an NHLer beyond this season, but it might not be with the Penguins.

Malkin has previously stated that he only wants to play for the Penguins (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic), and if that remains true, Pittsburgh would likely need to offer him an extension to keep him in the NHL. Recent reports suggest that the Penguins don’t plan to provide Malkin an extension beyond this year.

While that seems possible if Malkin’s performance continues to decline, it might not be the case if he has a strong offensive season. Josh Yohe has mentioned multiple times that he sees the summer of 2026 as the period when Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas will become more proactive in rebuilding the team, and securing a top-six forward at a reasonable cost would be a significant step toward those efforts – if Malkin is still a top-six forward at that time.

Malkin could opt to go year to year and will likely need to consider his age, but if he’s still around, he would make an excellent mentor for some of the Penguins’ prospects expected to make the jump to the NHL in the coming seasons.

Malkin’s body might struggle with the demands of an 82-game season, but if the Penguins acquire more depth through trades and free agency, they could better protect Geno and improve his chances to produce with less physical stress. Malkin could move to the wing, as he did last season, playing alongside Sidney Crosby.

He might also drop lower in the lineup, potentially taking on a third-line centre role or playing on the wing of the third line with Thomas Novak. There would be plenty of options available, but they depend on Malkin’s ability to keep producing; otherwise, it would just be a nostalgia trip, and that’s something Dubas and Penguins management want to avoid.

The flip side of that coin is that Malkin is struggling, and his play continues to decline. He has never been the most responsible defensively, and his play away from the puck leaves much to be desired.

Malkin also has a history of taking less-than-ideal penalties, which would all become glaring issues if he doesn’t offset those shortcomings with strong point production. If that happens, it’s hard to see them extending Malkin.

Dubas has made it clear he wants the team to get younger, and holding onto a 40-year-old in decline would go against everything he has been working towards. Sure, veterans are necessary to guide rebuilds and retools, but they need to be productive as well; if not, they just take up space and block a more promising option.

If the Penguins chose not to extend Malkin, he would have options. There would probably be a team willing to take a chance on him, even if his performance were declining.

It would most likely be on a one-year deal for league minimum plus bonuses, but that would give him the chance to stay in the NHL. The more likely option for Malkin would be to retire and go back to Russia for a final farewell game in the KHL. Many Russian players have jumped over to the KHL to finish out their careers, but Malkin has previously stated that he wants to wrap up his playing days in Pittsburgh and maybe play a single game in his hometown in Russia.

No matter where Malkin goes or how the rest of his time in the NHL unfolds, he will be cherished in Pittsburgh for winning three Stanley Cups and giving Penguins fans countless highlights and memorable moments. There was a time when he was the best player in the world, and although that was a brief window, Malkin stayed among the league’s top players for more than a decade.

This upcoming season in Pittsburgh might be tough for Malkin and his teammates. Still, if the Penguins don’t trade Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson, they might surprise some people by getting a meaningful boost from younger players for the first time since early 2016.

Back then, the Penguins had an 18-month run that rivals some of the greatest ever, but with an aging core, that won’t happen again this time. Still, it could be exciting if Malkin can dial it back and produce a few more memorable moments before riding off into the sunset.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Emil Bemstrom Signs In Swiss National League

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Aug. 22: Bemstrom has officially made the jump to Bern, confirming a one-year deal today.

Aug. 12: Pittsburgh Penguins unrestricted free agent Emil Bemstrom will continue his career overseas. He has signed with SC Bern of Switzerland’s National League, per Henrik Sjöberg of Switzerland’s HockeyNews and Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. This will mark a return to Europe for Bemstrom, who grew up through the Swedish junior hockey pipeline and has experience in Sweden’s SHL and Finland’s Liiga.

Bemstrom played through his first full season in the minor leagues last season, to great effect. He cemented a spot on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ top line, and worked his way to 23 goals and 48 points across 48 games. Despite that, he was only able to manage one assist in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The performance continued a wave of star scoring in the AHL, followed by underwhelming play in the NHL, which Bemstrom has been riding for much of the last four seasons.

The nifty forward made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019-20 season, after posting 35 points in 47 SHL games in the 2018-19 campaign. His career started off great, with 20 points, split evenly, in his first 56 NHL games. But Bemstrom opted to move to the Liiga for the first half of the shortened 2020-21 season, and while he scored 17 points in 16 games, his NHL scoring fell to a measly five points in 20 games following a return to Columbus. He’d continue on in a depth role for the Blue Jackets through the next two seasons – and even one-upped his rookie performance with 22 points in 55 games of the 2022-23 season. His NHL performances were coupled with tremendous efforts in the AHL, marked by 47 points in just 33 games between 2021 and 2024.

Hot scoring in the minor leagues and a clear ability to outplay his opponents continued to earn Bemstrom routine NHL minutes through the 2023-24 season. But he was never able to find a true groove and found himself relegated to the minor leagues for the majority of last season. He’ll now search for a bigger opportunity on the other side of the world. He brings a resume featuring 75 points in 242 NHL games, and 95 points in 81 AHL games, with him to Switzerland.

Bemstrom will join multiple NHL features on SC Bern’s lineup, including Swedish compatriots Hardy Häman Aktell and Anton Lindholm. Bern has lost in the quarterfinals of the NL’s postseason in each of their last four playoff appearances. They’ll hope the addition of a high-scoring veteran of North American pros will be enough to boost them over tough competition, like the ZSC Lions and HC Lausanne.

Morning Notes: Ekblad, Verhoeff, Wood

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Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad wasn’t particularly personally involved in the last-minute contract talks that led to him signing an eight-year, $48.8MM contract extension instead of testing free agency this summer, he told RG’s DJ Siddiqi.

Ekblad spoke on how his situation intertwined with other potential Florida UFAs, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, both of whom also signed long-term deals to stay with the back-to-back champions. “Obviously we had conversations about what could or may happen, but at the end of the day, I think a lot of us just left it up to our agents to figure it out. We give them instructions, and they kind of handle the gist of it at least. That’s how I felt, personally. I didn’t want to get too involved with the negotiation.”

That’s a formula that’s worked well for the Panthers in the last two seasons, only jotting down defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour as their only notable free agent departures in 2024. Along with being able to keep Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe off the open market in that time, general manager Bill Zito may be in for some short-term pain in terms of cap management, but has certainly sold his group on long-term stability.

When Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand signed their deals, they gave Florida 10 players locked in through the remainder of the decade. That number is proportional to their talent, including their top seven forwards and top three defensemen. That’s some invaluable cost certainty that, despite being rather limited in external additions this offseason, will open up more space for the Cats to be aggressive over the summer as soon as next year.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • While he still enters the season as the consensus No. 2 option in the 2026 draft class, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff still has some work to do to maintain that title, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines. “I did want to see Keaton Verhoeff dominate more than he did,” Wheeler wrote, referencing this month’s Hlinka Gretzky tournament for the under-18 age group. “At the present moment, I don’t view Verhoeff as a [Matthew Schaefer]-level D prospect. Now, it’s early, and if Verhoeff has a huge year playing big minutes at North Dakota and takes some steps in his development as a 6-foot-4 summer birthday, maybe that changes… I’ve also felt, dating back to U17s last fall, that Verhoeff’s feet are just average whereas Schaefer’s are world class. Verhoeff is bigger and shoots it harder, but that skating gap is pronounced and gives Schaefer the higher ceiling.“
  • Veteran defenseman Kyle Wood is on his way to Germany on a one-year deal with the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters, the team announced. The 6’7″ righty was a third-round pick by the Avalanche back in 2014 but was sent to the Coyotes as part of a package for winger Mikkel Bødker at the 2016 trade deadline. He was an AHL All-Rookie Team member with Arizona’s affiliate in Tucson, recording 43 points in 68 games in his first professional season, but never sniffed that level of offensive production again and never reached the NHL. He’s been overseas since 2020, spending the last three years with Kunlun Red Star (now the Shanghai Dragons) in the KHL. He previously had 21 points in 32 DEL2 games for Löwen Frankfurt in the 2020-21 season, so this isn’t his first rodeo in German hockey.

NHL Expecting More Slow-Moving Offseasons

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For better or worse, the salary cap’s upper limit increase has not led to much movement this summer. In a recent interview with RG Media, an NHL executive, who has chosen to remain anonymous, believes offseasons like these will become the modus operandi for the foreseeable future.

The anonymous executive bluntly said, “Teams will do a good job of locking up their own players. Everybody in the league, except for a few teams, had a lot of cap space, and I think going forward, if you like a player, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t try to keep them yourself.”

Similarly, the executive furthered their original point, saying, “Sometimes teams look to make these changes, but sometimes it’s better not to make many changes and keep the guys you believe in because they know their character, work ethic, and how they get along with their team. It makes more sense than going out and getting something that you’re not sure about.”

It doesn’t take long to prove their point, either. Taking a look back at our Top 50 Projections from 2023, eight players out of the top 10 (nine if you’re including Patrice Bergeron choosing to retire) left their respective clubs that offseason. Similarly, in 2024, seven out of our top 10 projected unrestricted free agents headed for greener pastures. This year? Only two.

Given that the salary cap will rise by the same percentage year on year for the next few seasons, there’s no reason to believe anything will change moving forward. Hypothetically speaking, the only way it may change is if the trio of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov heads to the open market next summer. If their respective clubs aren’t interested in a sign-and-trade, as the Vegas Golden Knights did with the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason for Mitch Marner’s services, then teams may be inclined to keep their pocketbooks full to take a run at a game-changing talent.

Still, there’s no expectation that either of the three will become unrestricted free agents in less than a year, with most reporting suggesting that each will sign long-term extensions with their respective clubs. Should that be the case, next year’s free agent class will look similarly to this year’s, forecasting another eerily slow summer.

Snapshots: Penguins Ownership, Canucks, Pradel

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A few days ago, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that a new prospective owner for the Pittsburgh Penguins had emerged in the Hoffmann Family of Companies. In a subsequent report from Jason Mackey and Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the two allege that there’s much more smoke than previously believed.

According to the article and the multiple sources listed, the Hoffmann Family has a decisive lead on the other interested group led by Mario Lemieux, and may have already encouraged the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to sell their entire stake in the Penguins since the Hoffmann Family is willing to pay the $1.75BB, on line with Forbes’ valuation of the franchise. There has been considerable secrecy throughout the sale process. Still, the sources listed by Mackey and Vensel believe that the Hoffmann Family has already signed a letter of intent with FSG.

It’s important to note that a letter of intent doesn’t necessarily confirm a sale. It simply allows the interested party an exclusive negotiating window and allows them a deeper look into the organization’s financials in good faith. Still, if the Hoffmann Family is seriously considering the full $1.75BB price for the Penguins, it’ll be hard for another buyer to come forward with a better offer.

Additional snapshots:

  • Drawing nearer to the start of training camp and preseason, the Vancouver Canucks announced a few changes to their Hockey Operations department. In a public announcement, General Manager Patrik Allvin revealed three significant staff changes: Brian Hamilton has been promoted to Head Equipment Manager, Ian Beckenstein has been appointed as the Video Coach, and Taylor Phillips has taken on the role of Executive Assistant of Hockey Operations. In terms of outside hires, the team brought in Evan Mathias as the Assistant Video Coach.
  • Recent draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, Michal Pradel, will remain with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm for another year rather than join the WHL’s Regina Pats. According to a report from Kevin Allen of DET Hockey Now, Pradel will stay with the Storm so that he can play under the tutelage of former Red Wings Assistant Coach John Torchetti, who was named Tri-City’s new head coach this offseason. Although he spent much of the year in his native Slovakia, Pradel appeared in 14 games for the Storm last season, securing a 9-4-0 record with a .899 SV% and 2.41 GAA.

Mason Morelli Signs With KHL’s Barys Astana

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Forward Mason Morelli has signed with Barys Astana, Kazakhstan’s representative in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, according to a KHL press release. It’s a one-year deal.

Morelli, 29, got into NHL games with the Golden Knights each of the past two seasons. He made 10 appearances over the pair of campaigns, scoring four points and a -3 rating. Only one of those appearances came last year; the other nine were in 2023-24. He averaged 10:26 of ice time per game and controlled just 42.2% of shot attempts at even strength.

The 6’1″, 201-lb lefty was never drafted and only landed his first NHL contract, a two-year, two-way deal with Vegas, after four years on AHL deals with the Stockton Heat and Hershey Bears. The North Dakota native played primarily for the Henderson Silver Knights during his time in the Vegas organization, scoring 48 points in 104 games for them while primarily serving in a checking role. He served as an alternate captain for the minor-league club last year.

While a fine call-up option for fourth-line minutes, Morelli is likely looking for more stability and a potentially larger paycheck at this stage of his career than a two-way NHL contract provides. He’ll look to achieve both those objectives with Barys, which has been busy scooping up North American talent in the past few weeks as KHL training camps get underway. He was an unrestricted free agent after that two-way deal with the Knights expired.

Morelli becomes the sixth player on Astana’s roster with NHL experience, joining Ian McCoshen, Olivier Rodrigue, Tyce Thompson, Mike Vecchione, and Reilly Walsh.

Blackhawks Sign Frank Nazar To Seven-Year Extension

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The Blackhawks have officially announced a seven-year extension for pending RFA forward Frank Nazar. The deal will pay him an AAV and cap hit of $6.59MM for a total value of $46.13MM. The deal is paid entirely in base salary and is as follows, per PuckPedia:

2026-27: $9.1MM
2027-28: $8.66MM
2028-29: $6.6MM
2029-30: $5.46MM
2030-31: $5.46MM
2031-32: $5.46MM + 20-team no-trade clause
2032-33: $5.46MM + 20-team no-trade clause

It’s a gargantuan commitment to the 21-year-old Nazar considering his lack of NHL experience. The 2022 No. 13 overall pick lands the richest total-value contract in league history for someone with 56 or fewer career appearances, which is Nazar’s tally entering the 2025-26 campaign.

Nazar, who still has one year left on his entry-level contract before his extension will kick in for 2026-27, has yet to spend an entire season on the NHL roster. Last year was his first full run in the pros after two years at the University of Michigan, although he made his NHL debut in the final three games of 2023-24 after signing his ELC. He did not make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster but, after recording 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games for AHL Rockford, was recalled in mid-December shortly after Chicago’s coaching change and never looked back.

He faltered out of the gate, recording only one assist and a -5 rating through his first 10 appearances while averaging 14:44 of ice time per game. But under interim head coach Anders Sörenson, who had overseen his early-season success in Rockford, he was extended some patience. That paid off in the long run as Nazar built confidence, including a four-game point streak in January and a run of nine points in eight games in April to end the season.

All told, Nazar finished the season with a 12-14–26 scoring line 53 games – ninth on the team – and averaged nearly 16 minutes per game. While size concerns (5’10”, 190 lbs) created some detractors about his ability to hold down his natural center position in the NHL, he saw a fair amount of time as Chicago’s second-line middleman behind Connor Bedard. His most common deployment (107 minutes) amid an astronomical 91 different line combinations used by the Hawks last year was at 2C between Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen, although he did also see some time up on Bedard’s wing.

Nazar was seen as a top-10 threat in the 2022 class, but after slipping to Chicago and missing most of his freshman year at Michigan due to injury, there were warranted doubts about his development path. He silenced them quickly with a point-per-game sophomore showing for the Wolverines and has made about as good an adjustment to pro hockey as can be expected, given the lack of quality veteran support on the Hawks’ NHL roster.

A long-term bet at what’s even now a conservative second-line price point in 2025 could pay incredible dividends for the Blackhawks if he remains a long-term top-six piece, even if it’s on the wing, as the cap increases and they reward the other pieces of their young core with long-term deals. There’s also an incredible risk factor for someone still relatively early on their development track with less than a full season’s worth of NHL experience.

The only recent comparable for someone with his experience is Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year, $45MM contract after his rookie season (55 GP). Kaprizov, however, had far more professional experience after coming up through Russia’s KHL and was two years older than Nazar is now, making him a more projectable player. Kaprizov also took home the Calder Trophy that year and had twice the offensive output Nazar did.

As such, the Blackhawks are betting hard on Nazar being a long-term solution, either as a wingman for Bedard or as a second-line center behind him. There’s certainly reason for optimism – he’s developed well and is coming off a spectacular World Championship showing with the United States that earned him a spot at their Olympic orientation camp. He’ll be under contract through the 2032-33 season and can walk to unrestricted free agency upon expiry.

Getting Nazar’s extension out of the way now isn’t just about him, though. Chicago has two other big-ticket RFAs next summer – Bedard and new No. 1 goalie Spencer Knight – who will take serious resources to extend. They still have barely over $40MM in allocated cap hits for 2026-27, though, leaving them with virtually unlimited spending power under a projected $104MM cap.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the Blackhawks were signing Nazar to a seven-year extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli reported a more accurate cap hit in the $6.6MM range.

List Of 2025 Signing Rights Expiring August 15

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Aug. 21: As PuckPedia notes, there’s a technicality in college free agency – the player does not become a UFA automatically; they have to submit paperwork declaring their free agency before their respective team actually loses their signing rights. Only 12 of the players below have actually completed that process. Those are Schmaltz (BOS), Hreschuk (CBJ), Bar (DAL), Campbell (NSH), Reid (NSH), Berg (NYI), Karpa (NYR), Spitserov (SJS), Gagne (TBL), Aucoin (TBL), Fusco (TOR), Kunz (VAN) AND Johnson (WSH). The remainder of the players listed below remain property of their draft teams for now, but are eligible to declare free agency at any time. Of the 12 players who have declared UFA status, only Gagne has signed an NHL contract with a different club.

July 9: Every year on August 15, NHL-drafted prospects coming out of the NCAA with at least four years of experience become free agents if they don’t sign entry-level contracts. That’s the easiest way to distill the lengthy fine print around expiring draft rights regarding collegiate players, which will be phased out in favor of uniform signing windows across leagues in the newly ratified Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Regardless, many players from the early 2020s draft classes who chose the college route and have yet to sign ELCs are slated to become UFAs in a few weeks’ time. Here’s the list of this year’s relevant players, courtesy of PuckPedia. An asterisk denotes the player is remaining in the organization for 2025-26 or beyond on an AHL contract. Each player’s initial draft position is noted in parentheses.

Anaheim Ducks: D Will Francis* (2019, 6-163)

Boston Bruins: F Jake Schmaltz* (2019, 7-192), D Ty Gallagher* (2021, 7-217)

Buffalo Sabres: F Matteo Costantini* (2020, 5-131)

Calgary Flames: D Jake Boltmann (2020, 3-80)

Carolina Hurricanes: none

Chicago Blackhawks: F Dominic James (2022, 6-173)

Colorado Avalanche: D Hank Kempf* (2021, 7-208 by NYR)

Columbus Blue Jackets: D Aidan Hreschuk (2021, 3-94 by CAR)

Dallas Stars: D Jack Bar (2021, 5-138)

Detroit Red Wings: F Red Savage (2021, 4-114)

Edmonton Oilers: F Matt Copponi* (2023, 7-216), F Joel Maatta (2022, 7-222), F Tomas Mazura (2019, 6-162), D Luca Munzenberger (2021, 3-90)

Florida Panthers: none

Los Angeles Kings: F Jack Hughes* (2022, 2-51), D Braden Doyle (2019, 6-157)

Minnesota Wild: none

Montreal Canadiens: none

Nashville Predators: F Chase McLane (2020, 7-209), F Isak Walther (2019, 6-179), D Luke Reid (2020, 6-166)

New Jersey Devils: none

New York Islanders: F Cameron Berg* (2021, 4-125)

New York Rangers: F Zakary Karpa* (2022, 6-191)

Ottawa Senators: none

Philadelphia Flyers: none

Pittsburgh Penguins: none

San Jose Sharks: F Timofey Spitserov (2020, 7-210)

Seattle Kraken: F Justin Janicke* (2021, 7-195)

St. Louis Blues: none

Tampa Bay Lightning: D Kyle Aucoin (2020, 6-156 by DET), D Alex Gagne (2021, 6-192)

Toronto Maple Leafs: F Wyatt Schingoethe (2020, 7-195), D John Fusco (2020, 7-189), D Mike Koster (2019, 5-146)

Utah Mammoth: none

Vancouver Canucks: F Jackson Kunz* (2020, 4-113)

Vegas Golden Knights: F Ryder Donovan (2019, 4-110)

Washington Capitals: D Brent Johnson (2021, 3-80)

Winnipeg Jets: none

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