The Senators signed Olle Alsing to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Alsing, 23, was an undrafted free agent, who had four goals and 11 assists (15 points) in 49 games with Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Elite League.
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NHL Signings & Free Agents
The Flames signed Alexander Yelesin to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Yelesin, 23, was an undrafted free agent defenseman, who had four goals and six assists (10 points) in 55 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL).
The Wild signed Gerry Mayhew to a two-year, two-way contract.
Mayhew has become one of Iowa's (AHL) top offensive players this season, setting a club record with 27 goals during the regular season. He's kept that pace going in the postseason as well; his nine goals leads all players in the Calder Cup Playoffs. His 60 points during the regular season nearly doubled his total from last year, his first full season as a professional.
The Sharks signed Tony Sund to a one-year contract.
Sund, 23, was an undrafted free agent defenseman from Finland, who had eight goals and 27 assists (35 points) in 60 games with Sport Vaasa of the Finnish Liiga. "Tony is a big, smooth-skating defenseman who uses a strong stick to take away passing lanes and to close plays quickly,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. “He has tremendous vision that made him one of the top passers and playmakers from the back-end we saw this season.”
The Penguins signed Niclas Almari to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Almari, 21, was a fifth-round pick (No.151 overall) in 2016, and registered one goal and four assists (five points) in 42 games with HPK Hameenlinna of the Finnish Ligga. Almari is expected to begin his first full season in North America with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
The Red Wings signed Dylan McIlrath to a two-year contract extension.
McIlrath has spent the last two and a half years in the Red Wings organization, playing just seven NHL games and 149 AHL games. The physical defenseman had one goal, nine assists (10 points) and 98 PIMS in 52 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) this season.
The Sabres have signed Arttu Ruotsalainen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Ruotsalainen, 21 is a Finnish Forward who has played the last four years in the Finnish Ligga, the last two with Ilves Tampere. Ruotsalainen led the team in goals (21) and points (42) in 59 games.
The Maple Leafs have signed Teemu Kivihalme to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Kivihalme, 23, was originally a fifth-round pick (No.140 overall) in 2013 but played three years at Colorado College (2015 to 2017) before playing two years with Karpat (Finnish Liiga), where he was tied for fifth on the team in assists (21) and seventh in points (30).
The Flames have signed Carl-Johan Lerby to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Lerby, 21, is a Swedish defenseman who has spent the last three seasons with Malmo Redhawks in the Swedish Elite League. Lerby, who had five gaols and 16 assists (21 points) in 47 games this year, will stay in Malmo next season before joining the Flames for the 2020-21 season.
The Canadiens have signed Otto Leskinen to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Leskinen, 22, is a Finnish defenseman who has spent the last three years with KalPa Kuopio (Finnish Liiga). Leskinen was tied for second on the team in assists (23) and fourth in points (31) in 57 games this season.
The Blackhawks have signed Tim Soderlund to a three-year contract worth $1.85M ($925K AAV).
Soderlund, 21, was a fourth-round pick (No.112 overall) in 2017, who had three goals and six assists (nine points) in 22 games with Skelleftea AIK of the Swedish Elite League.
The Blackhawks have signed Mikael Hakkarainen to a three-year contract worth $1.85M ($925K AAV).
Hakkarainen, 21, was a fifth-round pick (No.139 overall) in 2018 and just finished up his third season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL), where he had 19 goals and 28 assists (47 points) in 42 games.
The Maple Leafs have signed Ilya Mikheyev to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Mikheyev was a highly coveted forward, who had 23 goals and 22 assists (45 points) in 62 games with Omsk Avangard of the KHL. The 24-year-old is 6-foot-2 and 190 lbs and will bring a little size to the Maple Leafs forward group in 2019-20.
The Blue Jackets have signed Daniil Tarasov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Tarasov was a third-round pick (No.86 overall) in 2017 and played in the VHL and KHL last year. Tarasov was 17-6 with a 1.71 GAA, .928 SV% and two shutouts in 25 VHL games before making his KHL debut, where he had a 2.86 GAA and .917 SV% in two games.
The Lightning have signed Jan Rutta to a one-year contract worth $1.3 million.
Rutta split his campaign between the Blackhawks and Lightning and spent half the year in the AHL. Rutta had four goals and eight assists (12 points) in 26 AHL games and eight points (2G / 6A) in 37 NHL games. With the Lightning’s blueline banged up at the end of the season, Rutta appeared in all four playoff games, where he had two helpers. He will likely serve as a sixth/seventh defenseman with Tampa Bay next year.
The Rangers have signed Igor Shesterkin to an entry-level contract.
Shesterkin, 23, was a fourth-round pick (No.118 overall) in 2014 and enjoyed an outstanding season as with St. Petersburg SKA (KHL). Shesterkin went 24-4-0 with a 1.11 GAA, .953 SV% in 10 shutouts in 28 games this season.
The Rangers have signed Vitali Kravtsov to an entry-level contract.
Kravtsov, 19, was the No.9 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and one of the Rangers top prospects. The Russian right winger had eight goals and 13 assists (21 points0 in 50 games with Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL this season.
The Bruins have signed Oskar Steen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Steen, 21, was a sixth-round pick (No.165 overall) in 2016 and recorded 17 goals and 20 assists (37 points) in 46 games with Farjestads BK Karlstad (Sweden). The 21-year-old represented Sweden at the 2018 World Juniors, where he had two goals and two assists in seven games.
The Rangers have signed Adam Fox to an entry-level contract.
Shortly after being acquired from the Hurricanes, Fox has agreed to an entry-level contract with the Rangers. The Hobey Baker Award finalist had nine goals and 39 assists (48 points) in 33 games at Harvard University.
The Predators signed Mathieu Olivier to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Olivier is an undrafted centre who played five years in the QMJHL, where he had 27 goals and 22 assists (49 points) with Sherbrooke in his final season. Olivier turned pro this year, collecting four goals and eight assists (12 points) in 54 games with Milwaukee (AHL).
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.