NHL Free Agency Live Blog

It wasn’t that long ago that the potential 2025 free agency class was going to be one for the ages. This summer started to lose its luster when Leon Draisaitl signed an extension with the Edmonton Oilers last summer. Then Mikko Rantanen signed with the Dallas Stars last month. Mitch Marner was taken off the market after he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. Other top targets like Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Ivan Provorov are all re-signed.

Even without all the marquee names, free agency opens up at 11 a.m. CT, and the Chicago Blackhawks are not expected to land any of the big names left. While Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser would get fans excited, they won’t be signing here. General manager Kyle Davidson will likely make inquiries on both of them, but they will want to sign with teams that are closer to winning than the Blackhawks are. Davidson will be looking to make a couple of minor moves as he continues to let his young core develop. If there is going to be a significant acquisition before training camp, it will come via a trade.

I’ll be updating this blog all day, keeping you up to date on all the reports and eventual signings across the NHL.

Top 10 Free Agents

F – Nikolaj Ehlers
F – Brock Boeser (re-signed with Canucks)
D – Vladislav Gavrikov (signed with Rangers)
F – Mikael Granlund (signed with Ducks)
G – Jake Allen (re-signed with Devils)
F – Pius Suter
D – Dmitry Orlov
D – Brent Burns
F – Jonathan Drouin (signed with Islanders)
F – Jack Roslovic

Top 10 Potential Blackhawks Targets

F- Jonathan Drouin (signed with Islanders)
F- Jack Roslovic
F – Victor Olofsson
F – Connor Brown (signed with Devils)
F – Justin Brazeau (signed with Penguins)
F – Tanner Jeannot (signed with Bruins)
F – Jakub Lauko
D – Jon Merrill
D – Joel Hanley (re-signed with Calgary)
D – Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Live Updates

7:00 a.m. – The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun reports Mikael Granlund will become a free agent after not being able to reach an agreement to stay with the Dallas Stars.

7:36 a.m. – TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that former Blackhawks forward Pius Suter is “drawing a crowd,” but a return to the Vancouver Canucks is not out of the question.

8:00 a.m. – The Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs make the Mitch Marner trade official.

8:23 a.m. – Lebrun reports the Florida Panthers aren’t done as they signed Tomas Nosek to a one-year, $775,000 contract extension.

8:43 a.m. – Frank Seravalli reports that the “door isn’t closed” on Corey Perry returning to the Edmonton Oilers.

8:45 a.m. – All is quiet on the Blackhawks front. There is no chatter about potential targets out there as of yet.

9:00 a.m. – The Canucks annouce a pair of extenstions. Forward Connor Garland gets six years, $36 million, while goaltender Thatcher Demko gets three years, $25.5 million. Per Puckpedia, the Canucks have just over $7 million left in salary cap space.

9:13 a.m. – Corey Lavalette of The Athletic reports that the Carolina Hurricanes will be aggressive in their pursuit of Ehlers.

9:29 a.m. – Seravalli reports a one-year, $1.75 million deal for defenseman Tony DeAngelo to remain with the New York Islanders.

9:31 a.m. – Defenseman Thomas Harley re-signed with the Calgary Flames, a two-year deal worth $3.5 million.

10:00 a.m. – Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Hurricanes signed Logan Stankoven to an eight-year, $48 million contract extension.

10:15 a.m. – Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that the New Jersey Devils signed goaltender Jake Allen to a five-year, $9 million contract extension.

10:37 a.m. – Per Seravalli, the Edmonton Oilers have traded Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. No salary is retained in the deal, so the Oilers clear $4 million in cap space.

10:40 a.m. – Per Johnston, the St. Louis Blues traded forward Zack Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Logan Mailloux.

10:46 a.m. – The Blackhawks acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick.

11:08 a.m. – Colin Blackwell re-signed with the Dallas Stars, two years, $1.55 million.

11:11 a.m. – The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4 million contract.

11:17 a.m. – The Colorado Avalanche signed Parker Kelly to a four-year, $6.8 million contract extension.

11:25 a.m. – The San Jose Sharks signed forward William Eklund to a three-year, $16.8 million contract extension.

11:28 a.m. – Dan Murphy of Sportsnet was the first to report that Brock Boeser is returning to the Canucks on a seven-year, $50.75 million contract.

11:36 a.m. – TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the Los Angeles Kings are signing Corey Perry. Lebrun later reported that Perry receives a $1 million base salary, plus up to $3 million in performance bonuses.

11:42 a.m. – Goaltender Dan Vladar has signed a two-year, $6.7 million deal with the Flyers.

11:42 a.m. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Martin Fehervary to a seven-year, $42 million contract.

11:49 a.m. – Lebrun reports the New York Rangers are signing defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million deal.

11:53 a.m. – The Devils sign Connor Brown to a four-year, $12 million contract.

12:00 p.m. – The Bruins are signing forward Tanner Jeannot to a five-year, $17 million contract.

12:01 p.m. – Michael Pezetta has signed a two-year, $1.57 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

12:05 p.m. – Lebrun reports the Kings have signed forward Joel Armia to a two-year, $5 million contract.

12:23 p.m. – Friedman reports that the Seattle Kraken have signed defenseman Ryan Lindgren to a four-year, $18 million contract.

12:24 p.m. – Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports that the Flyers are signing defenseman Dennis Gilbert to a one-year, $875,000 deal.

12:29 p.m. – The Islanders signed goaltender David Rittich to a one-year deal.

12:30 p.m. – Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that the Blues have signed Nick Bjugstad to a two-year, $3 million contract.

12:47 p.m. – Servalli reports the Canadiens have signed goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year, $1.15 million deal.

12:54 p.m. – Freidman reports that Brandon Tanev has signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with the Utah Mammoth.

1:16 p.m. – The Detroit Red Wings signed Jacob Bernard-Docker, Ian Mitchell, and James van Riemsdyk.

1:24 p.m. – Defenseman Nate Schmidt gets a three-year, $10.5 million deal with Utah.

1:35 p.m. – The Kings signed defensemen Codi Ceci (four years, $18 million) and Brian Dumoulin (three years, $12 million).

1:43 p.m. – Jonathan Drouin signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Islanders.

2:07 p.m. – Dreger reports the Winnipeg Jets signed Tanner Pearson to a one-year deal worth $1 million.

2:15 p.m. – The Stars re-signed Radek Faksa to a three-year, $6 million contract.

2:53 p.m. – The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year, $3 million contract.

2:59 p.m. – Philipp Kurashev signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks worth $1.2 million.

3:10 p.m. – The Minnesota Wild signed Nico Sturm to a two-year, $4 million deal.

3:17 p.m. – The Ottawa Senators signed Lars Eller to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.

3:17 p.m. – The Pittsburgh Penguins gave out one-year agreements to Philip Tomasino ($1.75 million) and Connor Dewar ($1.1 million)

3:20 p.m. – Friedman reports Pontus Holmberg signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning, two years, $3.1 million.

3:27 p.m. – Johnston reports the Anaheim Ducks signed Mikael Granlund to a three-year, $21 million contract.

3:33 p.m. – The Sharks inked defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year, $4 million deal.

3:37 p.m. – San Jose adds Adam Gaudette, two years, $4 million.

3:42 p.m. – Goaltender Vitek Vanecek signs a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Mammoth.

4:04 p.m. – The Rangers agreed to a two-year, $7.8 million contract with RFA Will Cuylle.

4:04 p.m. – The Devils signed Evgenii Dadonov to a one-year deal worth $1 million.

4:12 p.m. – Ryan McLeod signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Sabres.

4:27 p.m. – The Penguins agreed to a two-deal, $3 million deal with Justin Brazeau.

5:22 p.m. – Servalli reports that the Rangers traded defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Hurricanes for blueliner Scott Morrow, a first, and a second-round pick.