The four biggest lessons of the 2025 NHL free agency first wave

For NHL general manager of the year Jim Nill, the free agent frenzy didn’t feel all that frenetic this year.

“We knew going in that there wasn’t a lot of depth in this free agent group,” said Nill, of the Dallas Stars. “The cap has increased a lot, so teams are able to sign their own guys. That’s a major part it.”

For NHL teams, that was one lesson learned. Here are four things we gleaned as free agency opened this week.

Higher salary cap, more reasons to stay home

NHL teams are usually bumping their heads up against the salary cap ceiling. This offseason, by comparison, was like walking into a cathedral.

The NHL and NHLPA announced in January that the upper limit of the 2025-26 salary cap was going to be $95.5 million, a jump of $7.5 million over last season’s cap ($88 million). But the financial comfort didn’t stop there. The NHL also announced cap estimates for 2026-27 ($104 million) and 2027-28 ($113.5 million) that could grow higher depending on revenues.

It was a genius labor negotiating tactic for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who quieted any rage against the machine by the players by showing them their potential salary growth if the current system was kept in place. It also gave their teams a chance to aggressively spend to improve their rosters under a rising cap.

But instead of feeding a free agent frenzy, the increased financial flexibility created an opportunity for more players to stay home:

• The Florida Panthers kept their trio of star free agents in Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets signed Ivan Provorov for seven years and an $8.5 million annual cap hit.

• Brock Boeser, one of the most coveted scoring wingers on the market, signed a seven-year deal to remain with Vancouver even after saying he believed his time there was done.

• Veteran scorers like Claude Giroux (Ottawa Senators), John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs), Matt Duchene (Dallas Stars), and Brock Nelson (Colorado Avalanche) all stayed with their teams.

• Key defensemen like Jakob Chychrun (Washington Capitals) and Neal Pionk (Winnipeg Jets) avoided free agency months ago on new deals.

• While K’Andre Miller and Noah Dobson were both traded, many more restricted free agents who could have been offer sheet targets re-signed with their teams, like Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers), Matthew Knies (Toronto), Logan Stankoven (Carolina Hurricanes), Morgan Geekie (Boston Bruins), Martin Fehervary (Washington) and Alexander Romanov (New York Islanders).

“What we’ve noticed in the last 48 hours is how many guys re-signed with their own teams and didn’t even hit the free agent market,” Columbus GM Don Waddell said.

The free agent market was already going to be sparse this summer. The rush of talented players who decided to remain with their clubs made it barren for some positions of need.

“I know everybody wants to talk about second-line centers. There’s probably, by my count, 27 teams that are looking for them,” Toronto GM Brad Treliving said. “The ones that have them aren’t giving them out too quickly.”

One of the reasons teams get active in free agency is to change the makeup of their roster. But San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier noted that with the extra salary cap room, more teams were opting for players they were already familiar with rather than dabbling in the unknown.

“I don’t know if it’s right to say that teams went out of their way to sign their own guys, but with everyone having a little bit more money, what the market might show is that instead of teams overspending on someone you don’t know, it’s better to lock up the player you know,” he said.

There were still players who embraced the chance to leave for new teams: Mikael Granlund, getting $21 million over three years with the Anaheim Ducks; Vladislav Gavrikov, getting $49 million over seven years from the New York Rangers; and, of course, Mitch Marner, getting $96 million to leave Toronto for the Vegas Golden Knights. But many more big names stayed put.

Every offseason, teams are battling against one of the truisms of NHL free agency: That players won’t leave their current teams because “their stuff is there.” Now, thanks to the NHL’s skyrocketing salary cap, the challenge is greater: Their stuff is there, and teams now have the financial flexibility to retain them.

“Talking to other managers, there wasn’t as much pressure financially in terms of space that teams have,” Treliving said. “With the cap rising, it gave everybody more salary cap space to retain their own players.”

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NHL’s tampering problem? Not enough teams use it for leverage

Trying to crack down on tampering before NHL free agency is a preposterous task. It’s not just that everyone talks to everyone else everywhere there’s hockey people in the offseason — from the scouting combine, to the pubs, to the pubs near the combine — but that the concept itself is hard to define within the context of what the NHL cares about enforcing. It’s a bit like cap circumvention: They know what goes too far when they see it.

Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer accusing the Rangers of “soft tampering” last season because the New York Post speculated they would take a run at acquiring Brady Tkachuk? The NHL didn’t care.

Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning openly discussed acquiring players under contract such as Steven Stamkos in 2016? NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly fined him $50,000.

Daly has been the NHL’s enforcer on potential tampering. At a 2024 NHL general managers meeting, Daly gave a presentation reminding them what was or was not allowed regarding communication with pending free agents and other players under contract. Sportsnet reported that part of that refresher were potential penalties for tampering, ranging from a $5 million fine for a team and $1 million for an executive, with potential forfeiture of draft picks and suspensions on the table as well.

The reason for the tampering lesson: Daly wasn’t happy with “some commentary in the media around July 1 that indicated that there may have been contact and negotiation before July 1,” he told The Athletic.

In the summer of 2024, we had situations such as Tyler Bertuzzi telling the media that Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno called him the day before free agency to inform him that his team was interested in signing him. Said Chicago GM Kyle Davidson: “We don’t ask them to do these things, but Nick cares. He knows a lot of people, he loves the team and he wants to push this thing forward.”

So, tampering then …

The T-word came up again this week in relation to Maple Leafs star Marner’s pending free agency. Marner, 28, came to Vegas in a sign-and-trade with the Maple Leafs before free agency officially started Tuesday. The Golden Knights sent center Nicolas Roy to the Leafs, who signed Marner to an eight-year, $96 million contract that carried a $12 million annual cap hit before trading him to Vegas.

There was speculation for weeks that Marner was going to be playing for the Golden Knights. To hear him tell it, the idea first took hold at the NHL trade deadline, when Vegas attempted to acquire Marner in a three-way deal that fell apart. Marner said that was the first time he considered Vegas a long-term home for him and his young family. When he got word that Vegas and Toronto were talking trade Friday, Marner said he decided to forgo any free agent bidding war to commit to Vegas, so as not to “lose that opportunity.”

But Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on his podcast last week that there was talk around the NHL that “the Maple Leafs will go after Vegas for tampering” with Marner. Teams had been on high alert since Daly’s comments. The thought was, according to Friedman, that the league might want to make an example of a team accused of tampering.

“If they make a deal with Toronto and send a good player to Toronto, I’m betting that any chance the Maple Leafs file for tampering goes away,” Friedman said.

Roy is a good player, filling a need at center for Toronto.

Treliving declined to address the tampering speculation. Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon wasn’t asked directly about it during his news conference, but made several statements that seemingly addressed the accusation, including:

• Trade discussions at the deadline “were initiated by Toronto.”

• The sign-and-trade was made to get an eighth year on Marner’s contract, or else his AAV on a $96 million seven-year deal would have been $13.7 million. “That really impacts our ability to take the player onto our team,” he said.

• The trade allowed them to open communications with Marner’s camp. “We wanted to be able to create a one-on-one relationship with his representatives in terms of trying to do a contract,” he said.

• Misinformation about his team around free agency has been rampant, saying there’s “a long list of things that have gone on the last month that had absolutely [no] credibility. It’s shameful, to be honest.”

Assuming there are no other steps taken here, the “tampering” around Marner will just be a part of NHL lore, mentioned in passing whenever Roy does something for Toronto — or Vegas laments his absence.

But it does bring up, hypothetically, a way for the NHL to tamp down on tampering: Have the teams police themselves. Using the pressure points of punishment to force a sign-and-trade or other transactions to “make this go away.” It’s probably a cleaner way to go about this than to have the NHL define how much tampering is too much tampering. Until, of course, Daly has to address the general managers about extortion and blackmail.

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The Panthers have maintained their dynasty — and played defense

Next season, the Panthers will attempt to do something that no club since the Islanders in the early 1980s was able to do: Make a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final and a win a third straight Stanley Cup.

That they’ll do so with the services of center Sam Bennett, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Brad Marchand — despite all three of them having a chance to test unrestricted free agency for the first time — is nothing short of extraordinary from a managerial standpoint and infuriating from a competitive standpoint.

GM Bill Zito vowed that he would be able to sign Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP; Ekblad, a top-pairing right-shot defenseman, a coveted position on the open market; and Marchand, the veteran star who had the best series of his career in the Stanley Cup Final.

But there were theories as to why all three might leave. Bennett could have gotten a huge contract as a second-line center, an area of need for many contenders. Ekblad would enter a free agent market that lacked anyone with his skill set or pedigree. There was talk Marchand could get $10 million annually from teams like Toronto or the Utah Mammoth in exchange for his scoring, leadership and renowned intangibles.

But in the end, Zito was right: All three are still part of the Panthers’ formidable core.

Bennett was the first to sign at eight years and $64 million. Ekblad followed at eight years and $48.8 million. Marchand then signed for six years — making him a Panther until he’s 43 years old — and $31.5 million.

“I didn’t do anything. It was those guys. There’s no gray area whatsoever. This was 100 percent those guys wanting to be part of something that they created,” Zito said. “We’ve waxed poetic about the team and the community they’ve become, and this is a great example of what it means to them.”

Bennett said he was comfortable with the money, but that money can’t buy happiness. “There’s been times earlier in my career where I didn’t enjoy it as much, and I certainly don’t take it for granted now,” he said. “Being in South Florida has just completely changed my life, and I love playing hockey there. I love living there. It’s really the dream situation. So I couldn’t pass up the chance to be back here for another eight years.”

Ekblad was drafted first overall by the Panthers in 2014 and never wanted to leave. His negotiation was a bit more tenuous with Zito. “Both sides are playing hardball at different times and sometimes you feel like you’re getting further apart or closer together,” he said, “but it ultimately came to the right deal and a good deal for both sides.”

Zito played a little defense here, too. Signing Bennett means no one else gets a win-at-all-costs playoff MVP in his prime. Ekblad won’t be patrolling the blue line for Carolina, Dallas or another contender. The Leafs seemed like they were keeping their powder dry to make a run at Marchand, who was a Toronto fan growing up. The Panthers themselves said that last year’s Toronto team was the toughest they had seen in the playoffs in years. What could the infusion of Marchand’s savvy — and the removal of the Leafs’ greatest postseason adversary from an opponent — do to one of Florida’s chief divisional rivals?

But Treliving didn’t get his hopes up about stealing any of them from Florida.

“We’re not in their meetings, but when we looked from afar, the anticipation was that those guys would be back,” he said.

And they are back, for several more runs at the Stanley Cup, on a roster packed with high-end talent who fit snugly under the salary cap. Inevitably, the conversation about the Panthers gets back to one of the most ubiquitous debates in the NHL: the advantages that teams with no state income tax have over the rest of the league.

Zito has addressed this before, calling the advantage “marginal at best” for the Panthers, saying it’s more about the team’s ownership and the way players are treated.

“They know that if the chicken isn’t right, that we’re going to get new chicken. It sort of transcends all that we do,” he said to laughter. “It sounds silly, but it’s true and it’s real. The sun doesn’t kill us. It’s a nice environment to live in. It’s a good place for families. It’s a good place for singles. It’s got a little something for everybody. But so many of the players who have come to us have had career years and it’s a function of the coaches and players in the room.”

Dallas GM Jim Nill also has a state with no income tax.

“Are there some advantages? Yes, but every city has certain advantages. In the end, it’s ‘are you successful?’ Because that’s going to open the door first when you’re talking to players,” he said. “When the money’s the same, players want to win. That’s the important thing.

“Nobody wanted to go to Florida for 10-12 years. Dallas, 15 years ago, was in bankruptcy. No one was coming here. So do the right things, be competitive, have a good team, that means you’ll usually have a good fans base. Great weather, great city … those are kind of the cherries on top. But the core of it was the hockey operations.”

Ekblad echoed that in discussing why him, Bennett and Marchand all decided to stay. And why players like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Gustav Forsling are all signed through 2030. From the quality of their practice rink to the hotels in which they stay to the food they devour, he said the organization does it all for them to a high level of satisfaction.

“So it’s easy to want to stay here. And then the culture of winning is just a huge draw to guys. It’s the most important thing. It’s why we play the game. We’ve all been taken care of extremely well,” Ekblad said. “I don’t know how many teams in the league have 10 guys locked up for five years, but it’s really cool. There’s a pride factor involved.”

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There are always (perceptional) winners and losers

In 2019, the Florida Panthers signed Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $10 million. It was called the “biggest overpayment of free agency” at the time; as recently as two years ago, it was deemed one of the worst contracts in the NHL.

Two Stanley Cups, three trips to the Final and a rising salary cap later, the investment in Playoff Bob is a bit more justifiable.

That’s just a reminder that this week’s great signings or terrible decisions are inherently just a first impression. It could take years before their impact can be properly measured beyond what are calculated risks at best or leaps of faith at worst right now.

All that established: There are clearly teams that have come out of the first days of the frenzy with better optics than others. After speaking with a few NHL sources this week, one team that has gotten good marks is the New York Rangers.

One current NHL player told us he loved the signing of defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (seven years, $7 million AAV) as the best defensive defenseman available, and a new partner for Adam Fox. Multiple sources were fans of the bridge deal for forward Will Cuylle (two years, $3.9 million) as a reasonable cap hit for a burgeoning player, while keeping him away from offer sheets. One NHL capologist also admired the K’Andre Miller trade to Carolina, turning a potential offer sheet target into a first-rounder, a second-rounder and a young puck-moving defenseman in Scott Morrow, while clearing cap space that Gavrikov quickly filled.

As expected, there was a lot of love for what Florida did in retaining its three unrestricted free agents. One current NHL coach said it was a “master class” by Zito, taking full advantage of a rising salary cap to retain Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand. But another source wondered about how the Panthers will ultimately begin the season under the salary cap, as they’re around $2.95 million over it at the moment. Options range from trading a player such as Evan Rodrigues to potentially starting the season with Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve. Zito didn’t offer an update on Tkachuk’s status during his Tuesday news conference.

But while some teams thrived, others made a different first impression. The three teams that sparked the most skepticism from our sources:

Boston Bruins: While the Bruins did some good business in securing RFA Morgan Geekie with a six-year deal with a $5.5 million annual cap hit, that good will was squandered with their signing of forward Tanner Jeannot to a five-year deal with a $3.4 million AAV. Since scoring 24 goals in 2021-22 for Nashville, Jeannot has scored a combined 20 goals over the last three seasons with the Predators, Lightning and Kings. One source likened the signing to Bruins GM Don Sweeney signing forward Matt Beleskey to a five-year deal with a $3.8 million AAV in 2015. He had 18 goals in 143 games for the Bruins. By year three of the deal, he was in the AHL.

Los Angeles Kings: New GM Ken Holland went on a shopping spree Tuesday, signing forward Joel Armia (two years, $2.5 million AAV) and Corey Perry (one year, $2 million); defensemen Brian Dumoulin (three years, $4 million AAV) and Cody Ceci (four years, $4.5 million AAV); and goalie Anton Forsberg (two years, $2.25 million AAV). The moves weren’t met with universal praise from Kings fans. One NHL player we spoke with said his peers have offered a similar reaction. “Every guy I’ve talked to couldn’t believe what they did,” he said.

Vegas Golden Knights: While the signing of Marner was praised, there was some concern from our sources about the team’s overall depth. That included moving bottom-six center Roy to Toronto in order to facilitate the sign-and-trade with the Leafs for Marner. One NHL coach was also curious about the defense corps next season, given that the team announced that Alex Pietrangelo will no longer be an active NHL player due to injuries, and that it traded RFA defenseman Nicolas Hague to the Predators, a player the coach felt is “very underrated.”

Of course, the thing with first impressions is that they can always get a second glance down the line. Today’s risky play could be tomorrow’s Stanley Cup champion.