Los Angeles has signed Aatu Jamsen to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
St. Louis has signed George Romanov to a two-year, two-way contract extension.
Philadelphia has signed Jacob Gaucher to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
New York has signed Marshall Warren to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
The Blues have signed Dylan Peterson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Peterson was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2020 and has yet to appear in an NHL game. After four years at Boston University, Petersson has spent the last two seasons in the AHL, where he has scored 25 goals and 21 assists (46 points) in 109 games.
The Blues have signed Zach Dean to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Dean was originally selected with the No.30 overall pick in 2021 and was traded to the Blues for Ivan Barbashev in 2023. Since then, he's appeared in just nine NHL games and has spent the last two full seasons in Springfield (AHL). In 2025-26, he had just four goals and 10 assists (14 points) in 36 AHL games.
The Bruins have signed Navrin Mutter to a one-year, two-way contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
Mutter started the 2025-26 season in the Nashville organization, but was traded to Boston on March 12th. He spent the entire year in the AHL, where he had one goal and one assist in 39 games, including one goal in 12 games after joining Providence.
Vancouver has signed Ilya Safonov to a one-year, two-way contract.
St. Louis has signed Will Cranley to a one-year contract extension.
Florida has signed Matvei Shuravin to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Colorado has signed Nikita Novosyolov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Novosyolov is an undrafted goalie that has yet to play professional hockey in North America. The 21-year-old spent most of the 2025-26 season in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), where he posted a 2.10 GAA and .932 SV% in 40 games (22-10-8) with Verkhnyaya Psyhma Gornyak.
Philadelphia has signed Ilya Pautov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Pautov was a sixth-round pick, 173rd overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old Russian forward has spent the past several seasons playing in Russia in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). He had five points (1G / 4A) in 25 games with Moscow Zvedza (VHL) in 2025-26.
New Jersey has signed Anton Silayev to a thre-year, entry-level contract.
Silayev was drafted 10th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old Russian defenseman has yet to play professionally in North America. He spent the 2025-26 season in the KHL, where he tallied three points (1G / 2A) in 61 games with the Nyzhny Novgorod Torpedo.
Tampa Bay has signed Benjamin Rautianen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Tampa Bay announced Friday that they have signed their 2025 4th round pick (108th overall) to a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday. The 20-year-old Finnish forward enjoyed an impressive third season with Tappara of Liiga in 2025-26, picking up 25 goals, 77 points and a +24 plus/minus in 59 games played.
Nashville has signed Felix Nilsson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Nilsson was Nashville's 2023 2nd round pick (43rd overall) and has earned himself a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday. The 20-year-old Swedish forward spent 2025-26 with Rogle BK (SHL) and had 14 goals, 40 points and a +18 plus/minus in 52 games played.
Buffalo has signed Jake Richard to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Richard was a sixth-round pick, 170th overall, of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old American forward recently finished his third season with the University of Connecticut, scoring 27 points (10G / 17A) in 38 games.
Utah has signed Gregor Biber to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Biber was Utah's 2024 4th round pick (98th overall) and has earned himself a three-year entry-level contract on Thursday. The 19-year-old Austrian defensemen spent 2025-26 with Rogle BK (SHL), and had a goal, two points and 12 PIMs in 38 games played in Sweden's top league.
San Jose has signed Phillip Sinn to a two-year, entry-level contract.
After a successful first season in Germany's top leageu with EHC Munchen, Phillip Sinn has earned himself a two-year, entry-level contract with San Jose on Thursday. The 22-year-old undrafted defensemen turned heads after representing Germany at both the Olympics and World Championships. He had a goal and three points in 35 games with EHC Munchen (DEL) in 2025-26.
San Jose has signed Jimmy Huntington to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Pittsburgh has signed Evgeni Malkin to a one-year, $5.5 million contract extension.
Malkin, a future Hall-of-Fame player, was drafted 2nd-overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and has been with the team for his entire career, which will continue for at least one more season after signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract extension. The 39-year-old Malkin had an excellent 2025-26 season, despite battling injuries, scoring 61 points (19G / 42A) in 56 games. It marked his best offensive production (1.09 PTS / GP) since the 2019-20 season (1.35 PTS / GP).
NHL Free Agents: Best Available Players in 2025
Once the dust settles on the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL offseason officially commences as the latest wave of free agents hit the market as teams and players alike reevaluate their current situation and plot their next steps toward success.
With a plethora of talent up for grabs every summer, Stanley Cup contenders can be formed as well as broken up through free agency. With NHL signings going down at a breakneck pace throughout the opening days of free agency, we’ll keep you in the loop with our 2025 NHL free agency tracker. You can find all of the latest NHL signings of the free agency period as players switch teams, sign extensions, and change the outlook of the league with a single decision.
Whether you’re a diehard fan of your favourite team and are looking to stay up to date with every move made by the front office, or are an avid daily fantasy sports bettor that wants to prep for their wagers, our NHL free agency tracker is the best destination for all your free agent market news.
Types of Free Agent Markets
Each NHL free agent holds their own unique distinction when signing with a team. These distinctions are made based on a number of factors including age, NHL experience, as well as their current contract situation. NHL free agents are divided by restricted and unrestricted free agents, with each classification of player holding varying rights, including how teams are able to offer them contracts, and the results of receiving an offer.
Below, we take a deep dive into each type of NHL free agent so you can get a thorough understanding of each free agent market type, how they are able to sign with teams, and the possible outcomes from each offseason acquisition.
Restricted Free Agents
A restricted NHL free agent (RFA) is a player that is either under the age of 27 or has been in the NHL for less than seven seasons. Teams hold a form of protection over their restricted free agents, providing them with a sort of insurance if their RFA decides to sign with a new team.
While restricted free agents are technically eligible to sign a new contract with different teams, the process can become messy if a team other than their original squad makes them an offer and they accept. Restricted free agents are only able to sign a standard NHL contract with the team that currently owns the players rights, all other squads must submit an offer sheet if they want to lure away a player from their team. If an offer sheet is made to an RFA, the team who holds the players rights will be left with the option to either match the offer made to their player, or allow the player to sign with the team that made the offer sheet, in return receiving draft compensation depending on the value of the contract offered.
Qualifying Offers
In order for a team to retain a player’s rights heading into the free agency period, they must make a qualifying offer to the player. These offers are in the form of a one-year contract, with the amount offered being formulated depending on the value of their previous contract.
For any player who was on a deal worth $660,000 or less, the qualifying offer they receive must be worth 110% the amount of their previous season’s salary. For a player making between $660,000 and $1,000,000, they must be offered 105% their previous seasons salary. Finally, if a player was making more than $1 million in their previous year of duty, their team must offer them 100% of their previous season’s salary.
These offers are not final and players are eligible to receive greater or lesser valued contracts from the team that holds their rights once free agency begins. Players who reject qualifying offers remain restricted free agents.
Non-Qualified RFAs
If a team decides to not submit a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent on their roster, all non-qualified RFAs instantly become free agents and are welcome to sign contracts with any team come July 1st.
Unrestricted Free Agents
The other form of NHL free agent is the unrestricted free agent (UFA). UFAs have the right to sign their next deal with any team without restriction, as long as the offer they sign complies with league salary cap mandates and rules. Unrestricted free agents are truly what can shake up the free agent market, with many of the leagues top stars entering into the offseason as UFAs.
There are multiple forms of unrestricted free agents, each with their own unique classifications, but don’t necessarily affect the potential value of the contracts offered to them in the offseason. Below are two of the most common UFAs.
Group 3 UFAs
Common among NHL veterans, Group 3 comprises players entering free agency that are 27 or older, or have played in the NHL for more than seven accrued seasons. An accrued season is defined as a season in which a player has suited up for action on an NHL roster in at least 40 games (30 for goalies). Any player that fits this criteria will become an unrestricted free agent once their contract expires in the following offseason.
Group 6 UFAs
Another way that players can become an unrestricted free agent is by being 25 years of age or older and to have played three or more professional hockey seasons under an NHL contract (AHL, ECHL, Europe), but played in less than 80 NHL games (28 for goalies) in their career. Often, Group 6 unrestricted free agents are developing players that, for one reason or another, have not had the chance to crack into an NHL lineup, but still possess experience as a high-level player. There is no difference in the rights of Group 3 and Group 6 unrestricted free agents, but typically the latter will receive smaller contracts, both in terms of value as well as in duration.
Undrafted UFAs
The final way that a player may enter into free agency as an unrestricted free agent is by going undrafted in their three years of draft eligibility. If a player is not selected by an NHL franchise through the draft they are still eligible to crack into a final roster as a free agent.
NHL Free Agency FAQs
Who are the top NHL free agents in 2025?
Some of the top NHL free agents available this summer are Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Aaron Ekblad, Nikolaj Ehlers, John Tavares, Brock Boeser, Brad Marchand and Linus Ullmark.
This offseason will bring a stacked crop of free agents to the market that will shape the landscape of the 2025-26 NHL season. Not only will the final landing spots for each of the top 2025 NHL free agents shake up the framework of the league, but will also have major implications on the upcoming fantasy hockey season. Be sure to stay in the know in regard to the latest free agency updates with our NHL player news.
What time does free agency start?
On July 1st, 2025, at 12 PM EST, the 2025 NHL free agency period officially opens. While some players will have all but signed the dotted line up to this point, nothing can become official until noon on Canada Day.