Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA

NHL Signings & Free Agents

Toronto has signed Teddy Blueger to a two-year contract worth $2.5 million AAV ($5M total).

Blueger has been an effective, defensively sound, bottom-six forward over the past several seasons and should help the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2026-27, especially with the penalty kill. The 31-year-old Latvian forward scored 17 points (9G / 8A) last season in 35 games with the Vancouver Canucks.

Teddy Blueger
Anaheim has signed Judd Caulfield to a two-year, two-way contract.

Caulfied, a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has yet to play an NHL game, but has been a reliable presence at the AHL level. The 25-year-old forward spent the 2025-26 season with the San Diego Gulls (AHL), scoring 38 points (17G / 21A) in 71 games.

Judd Caulfield
Boston has signed Jordan Harris to a one-year, $850,000 AAV contract.

Harris' 2025-26 season was hampered by injuries, as he played just eight games with Boston and four with Providence (AHL), but he impressed the organization enough to earn a one-year contract extension. The 25-year-old defenseman, a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, has 40 points (10G / 30A) in 172 career NHL games.

Jordan Harris
Toronto has signed Colton Sissons to a two-year, $4.25 million AAV contract ($8.5M total).

After spending the first decade of his career with the Nashville Predators, Sissons joined the Vegas Golden Knights last season and helped them in their run to the Stanley Cup finals as an effective bottom-six forward. The 32-year-old Sissons scored 11 points (6G / 5A) last season in 66 games with Vegas.

Colton Sissons
Nashville has signed Alex Kerfoot to a two-year, $3.5 million AAV contract ($7.0M total).

After spending the past three seasons with the Utah Mammoth organization, Kerfoot will have a change of scenery in 2026-27 after signing a two-year contract worth $7 million ($3.5M AAV) with the Nashville Predators. The 31-year-old scored 13 points (7G / 6A) last season in 34 games with the Mammoth.

Alex Kerfoot
Vancouver has signed Akil Thomas to a one-year, two-way contract.

Thomas, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, has shown promise at the AHL level but has never been able to sustain a prolonged NHL stint. The 26-year-old forward scored 22 points (9G / 13A) last season in 39 AHL games. He will hope to get a longer look at the NHL level in 2025-26, joining a struggling Vancouver Canucks team.

Akil Thomas
Vegas has signed Tanner Laczynski to a three-year contract worth $900,000 AAV ($2.7M total).

Laczynski has never made his presence felt at the NHL level, but he has provided solid organizational depth for the Vegas Golden Knights over the past two seasons, earning him a three-year contract extension. The 29-year-old scored 64 points (22G / 42A) last season in 62 games with the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL).

Tanner Laczynski
Toronto has signed Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year, $7 million AAV contract ($21M total).

After acquiring Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid earlier this week, the Florida Panthers made it clear they would be moving on from Sergei Bobrovsky, who spent the past seven seasons with them, including leading them to two Stanley Cups. The 37-year-old Bobrovsky is a Vezina Trophy winner, but is coming off arguably the worst season of his career, posting a 3.07 GAA and .877 SV% in 52 games (27-23-1). He hopes a change of scenery with the Toronto Maple Leafs can motivate him to return to the form he showed in previous seasons.

Sergei Bobrovsky
Boston has signed Connor Clifton to a two-year, $2.25 million AAV contract ($4.5M total).

Clifton made his NHL debut in the 2018-19 season with the Boston Bruins, playing five seasons with the team, and will rejoin them after three seasons away. The 30-year-old defenseman spent the 2025-26 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, recording six points (2G / 4A) and 180 hits in 50 games.

Connor Clifton
Dallas has signed Brandon Halverson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Halverson hasn't seen much NHL action in his career, appearing in just four total games, but he provides some solid organizational depth in the crease for the Dallas Stars. The 30-year-old goalie posted a 2.42 GAA and .905 SV% last season in 43 games (24-11-6) with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL).

Brandon Halverson
Dallas has signed Artem Shlaine to a one-year, two-way contract.

Shlaine, a product of Arizona State University, was a fifth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils who has yet to play an NHL game. The 24-year-old forward spent the 2025-26 season with the Texas Stars (AHL), scoring 38 points (19G / 19A) in 67 games.

Artem Shlaine
Dallas has resigned Arttu Hyry to a two-year, $900,000 AAV contract (1.8M total).

Hyry is an undrafted Finnish forward who has likely lucked himself into a spot on Dallas' opening-night roster after the team traded away Mavrik Bourque to address salary cap concerns. The 25-year-old Hyry scored five points (3G / 2A) last season in 20 games with Dallas.

Arttu Hyry
San Jose has signed Mason Marchment to a five-year contract worth $6.75 million AAV ($33.75M total).

The Seattle Kraken acquired Mason Marchment last offseason in a trade with the Dallas Stars, but he struggled adapting to his new team, scoring just 13 points (4G / 9A) in 29 games, ultimately resulting in a mid-season trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets, The 30-year-old Marchment excellent aftering joining the Blue Jackets, scoring 32 points (15G / 17A) in 39 games, ultimately leading to a five-year contract with the San Jose Sharks.

Mason Marchment
Los Angeles has signed Lane Pederson to a two-year, two-way contract.

Pederson is an undrafted forward who has never made his presence felt at the NHL level, playing just 76 career games, but has become a reliable depth piece who performs well in the AHL. The 28-year-old Pederson scored 48 points (23G / 25A) last season in 63 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL).

Lane Pederson
San Jose has signed Jacob Trouba to a four-year, $8.25 million AAV contract ($33M total).

Trouba has earned a reputation as one of the NHL's most intimidating and hard-hitting defensemen, securing a lucrative four-year contract worth $33 million ($8.25M AAV) with the San Jose Sharks. The 32-year-old Trouba remains in the Pacific Division after spending the 2025-26 season with the Anaheim Ducks, recording 35 points (10G / 25A) and 143 hits in 81 games.

Jacob Trouba
Philadelphia has signed Danila Klimovich to a one-year, two-way contract.

Klimovich was a second-round pick, 41st overall, of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old Belarusian forward has yet to play an NHL game, but has been reliable at the AHL level. In 2025-26, Klimovich scored 34 points (18G / 16A) in 63 games with the Abbotsford Canucks (AHL).

Danila Klimovich

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.