When the NHL’s free agency opened on July 1, the league’s general managers committed a whopping $688 million to 128 players within the first 24 hours.
With the salary cap on the rise, 28 teams were still under the 2025-26 ceiling after the madness of opening day, so there is still budget to spend and flyers to take.
Here’s the best of 2025 UFA crop still hunting for jobs.
Age: 29
Position: Right wing / Left wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $6 million
While the Winnipeg Jets are maintaining communication with the dynamic winger, Ehlers is exploring multiple options.
(The last-ditch pitch out of Manitoba: does the idea of playing with centre Jonathan Toews change his thinking? “Hopefully it moved the needle,” GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said.)
Carolina — which swung and missed on both Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner, original projected members of this UFA class — is the consensus front-runner and has already shown its aggressiveness in the K’Andre Miller trade-and-sign.
Washington, Anaheim and Tampa Bay are among others with reported interest.
The trouble with Winnipeg matching hefty outside offers is that Cheveldayoff must accommodate raises for Gabriel Vilardi (RFA), Dylan Samberg (RFA), Kyle Connor (UFA 2026) and captain Adam Lowry (UFA 2026).
Age: 28
Position: Centre
2024-25 salary cap hit: $1.6 million
Suter’s situation is an interesting one.
Now that the Canucks have dealt away J.T. Miller and Filip Chytil’s durability is of concern, the roster needs a centre who can find the net.
Are they able to re-sign Suter? They’re still taking a stab at it, even though he’s free to speak with opponents.
This is the undrafted, underpaid Swiss player’s best shot to cash in, especially with the cap spiking and so few centres available via trade or free agency.
With RFA pivot Morgan Geekie re-upping in Boston for six years at a $5.5 million AAV — a reasonable comparable here — Suter’s paycheques could well triple.
“I respect all players that earn their way into free agency. And if they want to take a look what’s out there and see if they’re getting more money in a fit somewhere else, good for them,” GM Patrik Allvin told reporters on July 1.
“Pius knows what we think about him and how he would fit in here.”
Our interpretation: if Suter wants 2C money, he can try to find that elsewhere. If he’s content with 3C dough, he’ll be welcome to stay put in Vancouver.
Hey, most of us assumed Brock Boeser was packing his bags. We’re saying there’s a chance.
Age: 33
Position: Defence
2024-25 salary cap hit: $7.75 million
The latest: The Carolina Hurricanes took a giant swing with Orlov two years ago and weren’t thrilled with how things ended in the post-season, so he’s likely to find work elsewhere — at a reduced salary.
Canes GM Eric Tulsky said he doesn’t anticipate Orlov returning, although “that could change with one phone call.”
Top-four, two-way defencemen with 13 years of experience are hard to find. Now that Gavrikov and Provorov are spoken for, interest in this veteran Russian will rise.
Orlov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, is on record saying his client has no intention of departing for the KHL. Babaev told Match TV’s Vladimir Pushkarev that Orlov will be hunting another NHL contract.
Potential landing spots include Winnipeg, San Jose, and Washington — where Orlov played his best hockey.
One more year with Alex Ovechkin?
Age: 28
Position: Centre
2024-25 salary cap hit: $2.8 million
The right shot enjoyed a productive regular season in Carolina, posting 22 goals and 39 points in 81 games, but he fell out of the lineup when it mattered and got scratched for some playoff games.
The speedy, versatile Roslovic (he plays wing too) battles inconsistency but can make an impact when on his game.
Without many forwards under age 30 on the market, he could represent the best backup option for teams interested in Suter.
Age: 29
Position: Left wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $1.075 million
A smart value buy, Olofsson finds himself one of the odd men out in cap-crunched Vegas after scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games.
Olofsson is a power-play weapon who can fire the puck (career shooting percentage: 13.5) and has three 20-goal campaigns on his resume.
Don’t bet on him to play physically or rely on him for too many D-zone starts.
Age: 31
Position: Defence
2024-25 salary cap hit: $2.75 million
Originally a Bruin, Grzelcyk played all 82 games for the Penguins this past season and told reporters that he was hoping to ink an extension in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins, however, signed defencemen Parker Wotherspoon and Caleb Jones to two-year deals on July 1 and are going in a different direction.
The left-shot, undersized Grzelcyk (five-foot-10, 180 pounds) notched a career-best 40 points in 2024-25 and boasts 527 games of experience, plus another 66 in the playoffs.
Age: 40
Position: Defence
2024-25 salary cap hit: $8 million
The affable, endurable Burns hasn’t missed a hockey game in 11 consecutive seasons, and his 925-consecutive-games streak stands as the fourth-longest in NHL history.
The puck-moving, whip-it-from-the-point right shot is certainly fighting Father Time. His six goals (and 29 points) for Carolina last season marked his least-productive campaign in a dozen years.
But the ironman keeps himself in fantastic shape and could improve several teams’ bottom pair.
Age: 28
Position: Goaltender
2024-25 salary cap hit: $1.8 million
No goaltender who turned UFA on July 1 had a better record last season than the Russian’s 16-9-4 mark in Vegas.
The Golden Knights feel set with No. 1 Adin Hill, 29, and Akira Schmid, 25, under contract at a combined $7.125 million, and Samsonov wants a change of scenery.
Samsonov posted a 2.82 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage in the regular season, but he did not see action during the Knights’ post-season run.
With the goalie market particularly thin this summer, and John Gibson finally traded, Samsonov is the most intriguing option.
Landing spots are limited, though, and he may need to lower his asking price.
Age: 36
Position: Left wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $873,770
Author of the Maple Leafs’ series-clinching goal over the Senators, the veteran winger elevated his performance at the most critical time (eight points in 11 playoff games) and turned his Toronto tryout into a what may be a noble final act.
Pacioretty’s arduous battles with injury are well-documented, and the father of five is still weighing all options — including retirement.
The former sniper has wisely adopted a more physical style.
If he wishes to keep playing, he can contribute on a one-year deal. Just don’t bet on Pacioretty being available for all 82 games.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving says the door is still open in Toronto.
Age: 33
Position: Left wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $3 million
While GM Stan Bowman overpaid for Skinner, an occasional scratch, in Edmonton, the 1,078-game winger still has some goals in his stick.
He’d certainly need to accept a pay cut to remain an Oiler, but lesser teams in search of a power-play threat or secondary scoring could take a look on a short-term commitment.
More UFAs still on the market: Gustav Nyquist, Alexander Georgiev, Ryan Suter, Anthony Beauvillier, Joel Kiviranta, Luke Kunin, Robby Fabbri, Jon Merrill, Oliver Kylington, James Reimer, Chris Driedger
Source link
