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

NHL Signings & Free Agents

Utah has signed Zac Jones to a two-year, two-way contract.

Zac Jones, a third-round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has bounced around between the AHL and NHL in recent seasons. The 25-year-old defenseman spent the entire 2025-26 campaign in the AHL, recording an impressive 62 points (10G / 52A) in 60 games with the Rochester Americans.

Zac Jones
Calgary has signed Ben Jones to a one-year, two-way contract.

Jones has primarily been an AHL player, but a myriad of injuries for the Minnesota Wild helped him draw into a career-high 28 games last season. The 27-year-old forward hopes he can get another extended look at NHL action in 2026-27, joining the Calgary Flames on a one-year contract.

Ben Jones
Vegas has re-signed Dylan Coghlan to a two-year contract worth $875,000 AAV.

Coghlan spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, recording 44 points (14G / 30A) in 62 games with the Henderson Silver Knights. That said, he was called up late in the season and had a lasting impact in the postseason, earning himself a two-year contract extension.

Dylan Coghlan
Florida has signed Lars Eller to a one-year contract worth $1.1 million AAV.

Once one of the NHL's premier defensive forwards, Eller has settled into a much smaller role in recent seasons but remains an effective fourth-line option with strong penalty-kill effectiveness. The 37-year-old Danish forward scored 15 points (5G / 10A) last season in 68 games with the Ottawa Senators.

Lars Eller
Vegas has signed Victor Olofsson to a one-year, $1.638 AAV contract.

The Golden Knights will try to supplement some of the offence they lost by trading Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers and signing Victor Olofsson to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old Swedish forward scored 31 points (13G / 18A) last season in 78 games between the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames.

Victor Olofsson
Edmonton has signed Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year, $2.6 million contract extension.

Kapanen is nearly a decade removed from a promising 44-point season (20G / 24A) with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 as a 22-year-old. That production is no longer expected from the 30-year-old forward, but he settled into a solid middle-six role last season for the Oilers, earning himself a one-year contract extension. Kapanen scored 17 points (8G / 9A) in 41 games last season.

Kasperi Kapanen
Boston has signed Jiri Patera to a one-year, two-way contract.

Injuries have afforded Patera a few looks at NHL exposure over the past few seasons, but none have stuck. The 27-year-old goalie spent most of 2025-26 in the AHL, where he posted a 2.63 GAA and .910 SV% in 30 games (12-14-2) with the Abbotsford Canucks.

Jiri Patera
Boston has signed Brian Halonen to a two-year, two-way contract.

Halonen had a 15-game stint with the New Jersey Devils last season, a career-high, scoring two points (1G / 1A). That said, the undrafted 27-year-old forward spent most of 2025-26 in the AHL, where he scored 34 points (20G / 14A) in 51 games with the Utica Comets.

Brian Halonen
Boston has signed Brendan Gaunce to a two-year contract worth $875,000 AAV.

Gaunce was drafted 26th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, but never really transitioned into a regular NHLer. That said, the 32-year-old forward has 35 points (15G / 20A) in 214 career NHL games. He spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, scoring 36 points (16G / 20A) in 44 games with the Cleveland Monsters.

Brendan Gaunce
Washington has signed Josh Dunne to a one-year, $850,000 AAV contract.

Dunne played a career-high 34 games last season with the Buffalo Sabres, scoring four points (1G / 3A). That said, the undrafted 27-year-old forward has primarily been an AHL player in his career and will likely serve as a depth option for the Washington Capitals organization.

Josh Dunne
Utah has signed Anders Lee to a three-year contract worth $5.4 million AAV ($16.2M total).

Lee was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and has spent his entire career with the club, serving as their captain in recent seasons. The 35-year-old will get a change of scenery for the first time in his career, joining the Utah Mammoth on a three-year deal. He scored 42 points (19G / 23A) last season in 82 games.

Anders Lee
Anaheim has signed Corey Schueneman to a two-year, two-way contract.

Schueneman has played 35 career NHL games but has spent most of his career in the AHL, and he will add some organizational depth to the Anaheim Ducks. The 30-year-old defenseman scored 25 points (5G / 20A) last season in 62 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL).

Corey Schueneman
Tampa Bay has signed Mads Sogaard to a one-year, two-way contract.

With the departure of Brandon Halverson, Tampa Bay added some depth to its goaltending position by signing Sogaard, who could serve as a backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy. The 25-year-old Danish goalie spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, posting a 3.69 GAA and .874 SV% in 27 games (7-13-4) with the Belleville Senators.

Mads Sogaard

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.