NHL free agency frenzy: Salary cap
jump fuels an unpredictable market
[June 30, 2025]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
NHL teams have a whole lot of money to spend in free agency with the
salary cap getting the biggest increase in its existence, and a
bunch of players will cash in when the clock strikes noon on
Tuesday.
The cap is jumping $7.5 million from $88 million to $95.5 million,
with that number set to exceed $100 million a year from now. Already
back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Florida re-signed playoff MVP Sam
Bennett, and 100-point scorer Mitch Marner also could be locked up
long term before hitting the market.
That sets the stage for an unpredictable free agent period, with a
lack of franchise-changing talent available but plenty of
competition around the league, from rivals challenging the Panthers'
crown and teams trying to just make the playoffs to those looking to
make the leap sometime in the coming years.
“I think it’ll be busy,” San Jose general manager Mike Grier said.
“You have some teams that are coming out of their rebuild. You got
some teams that want to take the next step as far as playoffs-wise,
stuff like that. And you have maybe a situation where it’s not the
strongest free agent class. So, I think you have to kind of combine
all these things with the cap going up.”
Who's available?
Marner would be the headliner, leaving Toronto for a change of
scenery after nearly a decade of regular season success mixed with
playoff futility. He's coming off setting career highs with 75
assists and 102 points but also has just 13 goals to show for 70
career postseason games, and the Vegas Golden Knights could acquire
the 28-year-old's rights from the Maple Leafs and sign him before
anyone else gets the chance.
Beyond him, Mikael Granlund was the highest-producing player in
2024-25 with 66 points, and Nikolaj Ehlers averaged 0.91 game.
Florida could re-sign Brad Marchand and/or Aaron Ekblad to aid in
the three-peat bid, with one of them possibly departing, and Detroit
GM Steve Yzerman still hopes to bring back Patrick Kane.
Ehlers, fellow winger Brock Boeser and defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov
and Ivan Provorov could be among the highest earners in a free agent
class that was weakened by so many stars re-upping ahead of time.
“Anybody can go look at the list of potential free agents and see
there aren’t that many and players that you would think will have an
impact,” Yzerman said Saturday. “There are very few this year, for
whatever reason.”
Who's paying?
Do not figure Tampa Bay, with all its core players under contract,
will be involved.
“I do expect us to be quiet,” two-time Cup-winning Lightning GM
Julien BriseBois said. “I want to manage expectations. I don’t
expect anything from us — certainly nothing major.”
Same for the Panthers, who have to fill out some spots but have
already built a consistent winner around Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander
Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Tons of teams in the Eastern Conference are
trying to chase them down, while the West is wide open from Dallas
and Colorado to two-time defending conference champion Edmonton
looking to improve.
Grier's Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets have the
most cap space available. Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said he and
his counterparts are well aware of the cap going up, joking that
just about every agent he talks to brings it up.
[to top of second column] |
Florida Panthers Brad Marchand celebrates with fans during the NHL
hockey team's Stanley Cup championship celebration, Sunday, June 22,
2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
“There’s more money in the market, obviously, this
year with the cap going up like it is, and it’s going to continue
over the next multiple years the way the cap is structured right
now,” Waddell said.
It looked like Utah would be a major factor, and then the Mammoth
made their big splash trading for and signing young, high-scoring
winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo. They're trying to make the playoffs
in their second season in Salt Lake City without hurting the
long-term future prospects of competing for a championship.
“We do have to be smart about it," GM Bill Armstrong said. “You see
those teams last year that they won the summer. They crushed it.
They didn’t win the winter.”
What's the landscape?
Connor McDavid, the undisputed best hockey player on the planet, is
eligible to sign an extension with the Oilers this summer. What he
makes could set the bar for the rest of the league.
Until that happens, it's anyone's guess what the prices will be at
various roles and ages.
“It feels like you call an agent, he tells you, ‘This is where we’re
at,’ and so, OK. That’s the number," Washington GM Chris Patrick
said with a chuckle. “I think we all have to maybe change our gauge
on what a second-liner used to make in the old cap. Now it’s going
to be a different number.”
Revenues rising and pushing the cap to new heights is a brave, new
world for the NHL after only marginal increases since the pandemic.
The league and union agreed to extend the collective bargaining
agreement, international play is back on a regular basis and labor
peace expected through 2030 has everyone around the sport feeling
good.
Those in charge of spending to build rosters are trying hard to be
careful and not get caught up in the free agent frenzy.
"Every time the cap goes up, sometimes you get antsy because I
really want the players, but you have to stay true to your process
and knowing what value you attribute to and what cap number you
attribute every player and stick to your way because a decision that
was good today could hurt you down the road,” New York Islanders GM
Mathieu Darche said.
“You have to be smart and diligent in the signings. But of course it
will be exciting. Players are excited the cap is going up. Trust me,
agents are excited right now. But you still have to be disciplined
in what you do.”
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.
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