Jonathan Toews is coming home. The Winnipeg Jets announced that Toews has agreed to sign with the Jets, although the signing cannot be formally announced until July 1. Toews has not played for the past two seasons for health reasons, and he also missed the entire 2020-21 "bubble" season due to COVID-19. In other words, Toews has played only two seasons (124 games total) since the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a great story if Toews can make it work, but expectations should not be super high for a major splash fantasy-wise. Toews is now 37 years of age, and he scored 31 points in 53 games in his last season (a 48-point pace over 82 games). That being said, Adam Lowry is expected to miss the first month or two of the season following offseason hip surgery, so Toews should have an opportunity to contribute right away. Depending on how much he has left in the tank, Toews could also grab the second-line role over Vladislav Namestnikov. Toews should also be an asset in the faceoff circle.  

Here are some details of Toews' contract, which is heavily bonus-laden:

Jonathan Toews' contract includes $2M in base salary and up to $5M in bonuses:

* $550k each for 20/30/40/50/60 games played
* $500k if Jets make playoffs and Toews plays 50 games
* $250k each for Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 wins (with Toews playing 50% of games)
* $1M for…

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 20, 2025

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Take this news for what it is: an announcement at a nightclub while celebrating a Stanley Cup, very likely after a few beverages. Sam Bennett told a crowd at E11even in Miami that he "ain't f-ing leaving" the Panthers. You weren't expecting Bennett to provide the finer details of the contract such as term, cap hit, no-trade protection, and performance bonuses, were you? Maybe the Panthers organization will wait before the partying settles down before formally announcing the signing. Now we wait and see whether the contract reaches 7-8 years and close to $10 million per season as rumored. Later in the day, Elliotte Friedman confirmed that the deal hasn't been done yet.

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On Thursday, the Dallas Stars re-signed Matt Duchene to a four-year extension and traded Mason Marchment to Seattle for two draft picks. On Friday, the Stars continued to make quick work of their offseason business, signing two more players.

Mavrik Bourque was signed to a one-year contract worth $950,000. In his rookie season of 2024-25, the 23-year-old Bourque played 73 games while contributing 25 points and averaging 12:41 per game on a deep Dallas squad. Despite playing in only three playoff games, the former first-round pick (30^th overall, 2020) Bourque has tremendous upside and should transition into a greater role in the coming seasons.

Nils Lundkvist was also signed to a one-year contract, this one worth $1.25 million. Mainly due to shoulder surgery, Lundkvist played just 39 games in 2024-25, registering five assists. A former late first-round pick of the Rangers, Lundkvist showed some promise when he was drafted for his offensive upside. Now 24 years of age, it appears that Lundkvist is simply trying to hang on with the Stars at this point.

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The Hurricanes have signed Eric Robinson to a four-year extension with a cap hit of $1.7 million. The 30-year-old Robinson finished with career highs of 14 goals and 30 points last season, so this signing means little for fantasy purposes. That being said, Robinson was sometimes used on a line with Martin Necas last season, so the Canes might plug him into an offensive role as needed. Robinson has also averaged over 100 hits over the past three seasons, so he might have a bit of value in deep bangers leagues.

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I'm not overly concerned about what Connor McDavid said in this clip regarding his future in Edmonton. I can see why Oilers fans would be worried until the deal is signed, given his importance to the franchise.

More on his future, question from ⁦@JasonGregor⁩ pic.twitter.com/4HZR0v99cB

— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 19, 2025

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With the free agent signing period set to begin in less than two weeks, now seems like a good time to determine what the fantasy value of top free agents could look like after they make their decisions. I don't have any insider information on where they could sign, but I'll mention teams that could be in the mix for these players if they don't re-sign with their current clubs. 

Mitch Marner

It seems like Marner has a 99% chance of leaving Toronto, but nothing is ever 100%. That being said, we can treat this as though Marner will be playing for a new team, perhaps in the Western Conference and/or for a team in a non-traditional hockey market.

Even though Auston Matthews missed 15 games last season, Matthews was still easily Marner's best even-strength linemate according to Frozen Tools. That has pretty well been the case since the 2019-20 season, so we need to account for the separation of the two affecting both – quite possibly negatively. That being said, Marner had his best season in assists (75) and points (102) in spite of Matthews missing those 15 games and scoring a career-low 33 goals. Therefore, it's not as though Marner's production will plummet.

However, Matthews has been at a different level when it comes to goal-scoring compared to the likes of Jack Eichel or Sebastian Aho, to use examples of players on teams that are rumored to be in the Marner sweepstakes. A dropoff could be even more significant if Marner signs with a team like Utah, Anaheim, or Chicago. Vegas seems like one of the best options fantasy-wise, but they will need to do some work to clear cap space. Carolina is an ideal option because they have the space and play a style that fits Marner's game, but Marner reportedly turned down a trade there at the deadline. The other teams I listed (and there could be more that I didn't list) probably won't be beneficial to Marner's value initially, but they could be in a much better position five years from now.

Brad Marchand

Marchand scored at a sub-60-point pace during the entire 2024-25 regular season, but he added to his stock by scoring at a near point-per-game pace (20 PTS in 23 GP) during the playoffs. A team will look beyond Marchand's age and declining point totals and see the intangibles he could bring in guiding a team to a Stanley Cup. I know of at least one team that has fallen short in recent years with a very long drought of not even appearing in a Stanley Cup Final. Of course, we'll discuss that team.  

BRAD MARCHAND IS FKN TEASING US 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/J0a2zUSU0i

— Leafs Papi (@LeafsPapi_) June 20, 2025

With Marner gone, Marchand would have an opportunity to slide into Toronto's top 6. Depending on what happens with John Tavares, the Leafs have a scoring group that is better than Boston's and compares similarly to Florida's. Marchand provided the Panthers with depth, playing on their so-called third line, but there's no reason he would slide down to the third line for the Leafs – at least not for an extended period. This may not be enough to prevent a further decline over the length of the contract, which I assume would be multiple seasons.

A better team will provide more linemate options and more scoring opportunities for Marchand at even-strength. However, we've seen a player's value decline when he is moved to a contender at the deadline. The flipside is that a rebuilding team could provide Marchand with more icetime and power-play time. To compare, Marchand had 47 points in 61 games for a declining Bruins squad but scored just four points in 10 regular-season games for the Panthers. However, we then saw how he performed in the playoffs. The determining factor from all this might be how much Marchand has left in the tank.

FanDuel has the betting odds for where Marner and Marchand will end up in free agency. Check it out here.

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Dobber has a new video! This one is on Jack Quinn.

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