Free agency is always a fan-favorite frenzy when the new league year rolls around. In the NHL, signing the top available talents can mean the difference between returning to contention or remaining in the basement.
In 2025, a big chunk of the top names that were supposed to hit the market on Tuesday were either retained by their original squads or came to agreements ahead of the official start date. Still, dozens of players signed new deals and provided valuable depth for teams looking to shake things up or find the missing piece to their hopeful title runs.
Four winners of 2025 NHL Free Agency
Florida Panthers
The back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions did what seemed impossible: They somehow retained the biggest core pieces from their title runs and now look even stronger than they did last year.
Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad all signed lucrative extensions after putting up insane numbers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They all looked primed to command larger paychecks elsewhere but took team-friendly deals while still getting what they felt like they deserved.
Tomas Nosek, Jeff Petry, Daniil Tarasov, Jack Studnicka and Brandon Bussi were additional depth signings that could come in handy for the Panthers if injuries plague their roster during the 2025-26 campaign.
Utah Mammoth
They may not look like Stanley Cup contenders just yet, but don't be surprised if the Mammoth are surprising folks next season and find themselves in the playoffs.
The additions of skaters Kailer Yamamoto, Scott Perunovich, Brandon Tanev, Nate Schmidt and goalie Vitek Vanecek are exactly the kind of re-tooling general manager Bill Armstrong needed to inject a fresh dose of speed and veteran rear-guarding into his roster.
Schmidt, in particular, is coming off his first Stanley Cup victory with Florida. His 12 points (3g, 9a) were impressive and led all Panthers defensemen until Ekblad exploded in the final against the Edmonton Oilers. Keep an eye out for a Mammoth stampede next year.
Montreal Canadiens
While Montreal's free-agent signings weren't entirely flashy, they did make the team much better overall.
Goalie Kappo Kahkonen and skaters Sammy Blais, Alex Belzile and Nate Clurman are clearly just depth pieces in the grand scheme of things, but the addition of defenseman Noah Dobson via trade from the New York Islanders immediately puts the Habs back in the playoff conversation.
At 25 years old, he provides a youthful injection of offense (10g, 29a) and a veteran sense on defense that Montreal needs. Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson and veterans Artem Xhekaj and Alexandre Carrier were good last season, but they got stretched thin against top teams.
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver was another team that retained several key players that could get them back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2011. That being said, there's a significant amount of improvement that needs to be seen. But without keeping the core intact, the Canucks would've been dead in the water before the 2025-26 season even got started.
General manager Patrik Allvin secured the signatures of goalie Thatcher Demko and skaters Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Joe Labate, Jimmy Schuldt and MacKenzie MacEachern. The former three are key stars that contributed to the majority of Vancouver's offense and primarily backstopped them in net last year.
Allvin may not have made any big splashes, but just returning his key components was enough to keep Vancouver in the hunt for playoff glory once again.