The 2025 NHL unrestricted free agent class is headlined by a handful of star players but is considered thinner than recent years, with a noticeable drop-off in talent after the top names. Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the marquee UFA, expected to command one of the league’s highest salaries if he reaches the open market.
John Tavares, also from Toronto, is another big name, but he will likely need to take a pay cut from his $11 million cap hit. Sam Bennett is our top center available and there is talk of bidding potentially getting to $10 million.
Other top forwards available include Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Duchene, Brock Boeser, Patrick Kane, and Brad Marchand, all of whom should draw significant interest as scoring and leadership options.
NHL Rumors: All About The Mitch Marner Front
On defense, Aaron Ekblad is the most notable UFA, joined by Vladislav Gavrikov and Ivan Provorov. The blue line class lacks a true franchise-altering presence. The goaltending market is weak, with Jake Allen standing out as the best available option after several top goalies signed extensions. Dan Vladar and Alex Lyon would be your next best options in net.
Rank
Player
Team
24-25 Cap
Pos
Age
GP
G/GAA
A
PTS/SV%
1
Mitch Marner
TOR
$10.9 mill
RW
28
81
27
75
102
2
Sam Bennett
FLA
$4.4 mill
C
29
76
25
26
51
3
Nikolaj Ehlers
WPG
$6 mill
LW
29
69
24
39
63
4
John Tavares
TOR
$11 mill
C
34
75
38
36
74
5
Brock Boeser
VAN
$6.7 mill
RW
28
75
25
25
50
6
Aaron Ekblad
FLA
$7.5 mill
RD
29
56
3
30
33
7
Ivan Provorov
CBJ
$6.8 mill
LD
28
82
7
26
33
8
Matt Duchene
DAL
$3 mill
C
34
82
30
52
82
9
Vladislav Gavrikov
LAK
$5.9 mill
LD
29
82
5
25
30
10
Brad Marchand
FLA
$6.1 mill
LW
37
71
23
28
51
11
Mikael Granlund
DAL
$5 mill
C/LW
33
83
22
44
66
12
Jake Allen
NJD
$3.9 mill
G
34
31
2.59
–
0.908
13
Dante Fabbro
CBJ
$2.5 mill
RD
27
68
9
17
26
14
Patrick Kane
DET
$4 mill
RW
36
72
21
38
59
15
Pius Suter
VAN
$1.6 mill
C
29
81
25
21
46
16
Ryan Donato
CHI
$2 mill
C/LW
29
80
31
31
62
17
Dmitry Orlov
CAR
$7.8 mill
LD
33
76
6
22
28
18
Jonathan Drouin
COL
$2.5 mill
LW
30
43
11
26
37
19
Jack Roslovic
CAR
$2.8 mill
C/RW
28
81
22
17
39
20
Andrei Kuzmenko
LAK
$5.5 mill
RW
31
66
11
26
37
21
Trent Frederic
EDM
$2.3 mill
C/LW
27
58
8
7
15
22
Ryan Lindgren
COL
$4.5 mill
LD
27
72
4
18
22
23
Jamie Benn
DAL
$9.5 mill
LW
35
80
16
33
49
24
Claude Giroux
OTT
$6.5 mill
C
37
81
15
35
50
25
Jonathan Toews
UFA
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
26
Dan Vladar
CGY
$2.2 mill
G
27
30
2.8
0.898
27
Henri Jokiharju
BOS
$3.1 mill
RD
26
60
3
7
10
28
Reilly Smith
VGK
$5 mill
RW
34
79
13
27
40
29
Victor Olofsson
VGK
$1.1 mill
LW
29
56
15
14
29
30
Brent Burns
CAR
$8 mill
RD
40
82
6
23
29
31
Matt Grzelcyk
PIT
$2.8 mill
LD
31
82
1
39
40
32
Cody Ceci
DAL
$3.3 mill
RD
31
85
4
20
24
33
Andrew Mangipane
WSH
$5.8 mill
LW
29
81
14
14
28
34
Connor Brown
EDM
$1 mill
RW
31
82
13
17
30
35
Anthony Beauvillier
WSH
$1.25 mill
LW
28
81
15
10
25
36
John Klingberg
EDM
$1.76 mill
RD
32
11
1
3
4
37
Brian Dumoulin
NJD
$3.15 mill
LD
33
80
3
19
22
38
Brandon Tanev
WPG
$3.5 mill
LW
33
79
10
12
22
39
Mason Appleton
WPG
$2.2 mill
C/RW
29
71
10
12
22
40
Justin Brazeau
MIN
$775,000
RW/LW
27
78
11
11
22
41
Joel Armia
MTL
$3.4 mill
RW
32
81
11
18
29
42
Nick Perbix
TBL
$1.1 mill
RD
27
74
6
13
19
43
Nick Bjugstad
UTA
$2.1 mill
C/RW
32
66
8
11
19
44
Alex Lyon
DET
$900,000
G
32
30
2.81
–
0.896
45
Christian Dvorak
MTL
$4.45 mill
C/LW
29
82
12
21
33
46
Corey Perry
EDM
$1.2 mill
RW
40
81
19
11
30
47
Nate Schmidt
FLA
$800,000
LD
33
80
5
14
19
48
Adam Gaudette
OTT
$775,000
RW
28
81
19
7
26
49
Evgenii Dadonov
DAL
$2.3 mill
RW
36
80
20
20
40
50
Gustav Nyquist
MIN
$3.2 mill
LW
35
79
11
17
28
Age, position, and likelihood of signing elsewhere were all taken into consideration in coming up with this ranking.
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