The Wild West – Top Unrestricted Free Agents

Grant Campbell

2025-06-23

We reviewed the top free agents available at a similar time last year, as listed here and here. I broke them down by forwards and defenders, by the type of contract each player might receive and the value each player had.

As is the case with most free agents signed on July 1st, teams overpaid. Teams will overpay once again in 2025.

Here were some of the overpayments from July 2024:

Steven Stamkos – Nashville – four years at $8 million AAV (24-25 valuation $5.5 million)

Elias Lindholm – Boston – six years at $7.75 million AAV ($6.67 million)

Vladimir Tarasenko – Detroit – two years at $4.75 million AAV ($2.5 million)

Jake DeBrusk – Vancouver – seven years at $5.5 million AAV ($5.1 million)

Dakota Joshua – Vancouver – four years at $3.25 million AAV ($1.1 million)

Tyler Bertuzzi – Chicago – four years at $5.5 million AAV ($3.0 million)

Chandler Stephenson – Seattle – seven years at $6.25 million AAV ($4.3 million)

Anthony Duclair – NY Islanders – four years at $3.5 million AAV ($775k)

Brady Skjei – Carolina – seven years at $7 million AAV ($4.5 million)

Matt Roy – Washington – seven years at $5.75 million AAV ($4.2 million)

Dylan DeMelo – Winnipeg – four years at $4.9 million AAV ($3.4 million)

T.J. Brodie – Chicago – two years at $3.75 million AAV ($775k)

Brett Pesce – New Jersey – six years at $5.5 million AAV ($3.2 million)

Nikita Zadorov – Boston – six years at $5 million AAV ($4.75 million)

Matt Dumba – Dallas – two years at $3.75 million AAV ($950k)

I don't think any of these contracts above will age well.

T.J. Brodie is being bought out by Chicago after year one, with one year remaining at $3.75 million.

Here are the top free agents heading into July 1st, 2025. I'm going to present each player with a baseline range of future value with their ages and expiring cap hit below.

The range of values is based on the 2024-25 season and the projected increase in salary cap over the next few seasons. The average salary cap hit is likely to go from $3.75 million in 2025-26 to $4.44 million in 2027-28.

This crop of free agents is rich in forwards, but weak at the top on defense, while almost empty of goaltenders.

Mitch Marner (28 years old) – (Expiring average cap hit – $10.93 million) (future value range $10.2 to $13.1 million)

Marner had 102 points in 81 games, and even though there are some question marks about his playoff production over the years, he is still a top-line player in the NHL.

There will be some teams who offer him a seven-year deal for $11 to 12 million AAV. The likely culprits are Chicago, Anaheim or San Jose, who want to jump their timelines ahead by a year or two.

John Tavares (34 years old) – (Expiring – $11 million) ($10.1 to $13.0 million value)

Tavares had a very solid campaign with 38 goals and 36 assists in 75 games, to go along with 762 faceoff wins with a winning percentage of 58.3.

He's not the play driver that Marner is and would need to play with one to produce at the same level. The issue with Tavares is that he probably has two, maybe three years of 30-goal production in the tank, and he will be looking at a three or four-year contract north of $9 or $10 million AAV.

Teams that will be looking to add him are probably on the cusp of getting into the playoffs like Utah or Columbus and think Tavares might be that veteran presence that gets them over the hump. Deals for players like Tavares rarely work out for the team unless they get him for two or three years.

Mikael Granlund (33 years old) – (Expiring – $5 million) ($8.0 to $10.2 million value)

Granlund turned out to be a bit of a bargain on his last deal for four years at $5 million AAV. He had 66 points in 83 games split between Dallas and San Jose. He contributes on the power play, takes faceoffs and is an ideal second-line center for a lot of teams.

📢 advertisement:

I think he is going to be looking for a raise from his previous contract and still want three or four years of term. I could see him signing for $7 to 7.5 million AAV for three years.

Nikolaj Ehlers (29 years old) – (Expiring – $6 million) ($8.6 to $11.1 million value)

I believe that Ehlers will be one of the most attractive free agents on the market as he has the impression of untapped production while still being fairly young. His issues are a history of injuries combined with inconsistent production.

He did manage 63 points in 69 games for Winnipeg in 2024-25, but was injured for some of the playoffs. He's a great skater who can drive play, and that alone might make some teams overpay in both term and money as the temptation is too great to pass on him.

I could see a team giving him seven years at $8 to $9 million or more AAV.

Sam Bennett (29 years old) – (Expiring – $4.425 million) ($8.0 to $10.3 million value)

The Conn Smythe trophy winner in 2025 is going to get paid. His regular season production of 25 goals and 26 assists in 76 games doesn't show his true value, which is clearly evident in the playoffs.

Teams that are having trouble taking the next step in the playoffs or who think that they are on the cusp of competing will be first in line for Bennett. The issue is that he will want six or seven years at $8.5 to $9.5 million AAV. Not many contenders can afford to do that. Don't be surprised by a team making a major roster move to make room for Bennett.

Brock Boeser (28 years old) – (Expiring – $6.65 million) ($5.3 to $6.8 million)

Boeser had a poor campaign in 2024-25 with just 25 goals and 25 assists in 75 games. Rumor has it that he wanted $8 million AAV on his next contract, but the Canucks weren't willing to go that high.

I'm not sure a team will give him that type of money for six or seven years, but I could see him getting four or five years. He's a great shooter who has scored 40 goals before, but he's a little one-dimensional as a player. I think he'll get a five or six-year deal at around $7.0 to 8.0 million AAV.

Aaron Ekblad (29 years old) – (Expiring – $7 million) ($5.9 and $7.5 million)

Ekblad just won the Stanley Cup with Florida for the second year in a row, and it's unlikely that they will be able to bring him back in 2025-26. He played just 56 games in the regular season and put up 33 points.

He's likely to get a six or seven-year offer at around $7 to 8 million AAV.

Dmitry Orlov (33 years old) – (Expiring – $7.75 million) ($4.6 to $5.8 million)

Orlov is at the end of a two-year deal with Carolina, where he had 28 points in 76 games in 2024-25. He's probably going to need to settle for a two or three-year deal between $6 and 6.5 million AAV or a longer-term contract between $5 and 6 million AAV.

Ivan Provorov (28 years old) – (Expiring – $6.75 million) ($3.6 to $4.6 million)

Provorov is at the end of a six-year deal at $6.75 million AAV. He had 33 points in 82 games in 2024-25 with Columbus.

I think he'll be in tough to get anywhere near the money he received in that previous contract, but might need a one or two-year deal to show he can get back to that level. Otherwise, he might need to settle between $5 and $5.5 million AAV to get five or six years.

Vladislav Gavrikov (29 years old) – (Expiring – $5.875 million) ($4.5 to $5.7 million)

His two-year deal with the Kings at $5.875 million AAV has expired, and he might want a longer-term deal now that he is unrestricted. He had 30 points in 82 games in 2024-25.

I think he'll sign between $5 and $5.5 million AAV for four or five years.

Matt Grzelcyk (31 years old) – (Expiring – $2.75 million) ($3.9 and $5.0 million)

Grzelcyk bet on himself a little in 2024-25, signing just a one-year deal at $2.75 million. He had 40 points in 82 games and is in line to sign a three or four-year deal for between $4 and $5 million.

Jake Allen (34 years old) – (Expiring – $3.4 million) ($3 to $4 million)

Allen is perhaps the best goaltender available as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He played 31 games as a backup in New Jersey and had a save percentage of 90.8. He will likely sign as a backup or as a 1B with another team if not New Jersey. I'm going to guess he gets a three-year term at similar money ($3 to $3.5 million).

Thank you very much for reading, and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

No data found.

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
ERIK NYSTROM MTL
NIKOLAI KOVALENKO
EVGENI MALKIN PIT
AARON EKBLAD FLA
JEFF SKINNER S.J

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
DEVIN COOLEY CGY
DUSTIN WOLF CGY
JESPER WALLSTEDT MIN
YAROSLAV ASKAROV S.J
JOEL BLOMQVIST PIT

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency STL Players
22.7 ROBERT THOMAS JORDAN KYROU PAVEL BUCHNEVICH
17.2 NATHAN WALKER ALEXEY TOROPCHENKO RADEK FAKSA
16.3 JIMMY SNUGGERUD BRAYDEN SCHENN JAKE NEIGHBOURS

DobberHockey Podcasts

Fantasy Hockey Life: Draftastic 2 – Q&A on the NHL Draft

Victor and Jesse are back in studio as Victor reports on his time at the NHL Draft and his outlook on fantasy rookie drafts. We discuss Michael Misa, Matthew Schaefer, Cole McKinney, Mason West, Milton Gastrin and Jacob Ihs-Wozniak with player audio. Victor also answers patron questions on which players you’ll want to target for […]

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: