The biggest question as the NHL heads to free agency on July 1 is who will be left.
Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, was re-signed by the Florida Panthers before the NHL draft on an eight-year, $64 million deal. Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares also left money on the table with a four-year deal averaging $4.38 million per year. Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux and Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn each signed bonus-laden one-year deals to stay with their teams.
Matt Duchene is also back with the Stars, trade deadline acquisition Trent Frederic re-signed with the Edmonton Oilers for eight years, and Chicago Blackhawks leading goal scorer Ryan Donato is sticking around. Jonathan Toews already decided on the Winnipeg Jets for his NHL comeback.
And now reports out of Canada say the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights are discussing the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal involving Toronto’s Mitch Marner. If that happens, it would take the top free agent off the market.
Panthers general manager Bill Zito is still hoping he can bring back Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad.
Here are the NHL’s top pending unrestricted free agents with the salary cap going up:
1. Forward Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
The team that signs him will get a prolific scorer. He had a career-best 102 points last season and three other 90-point seasons, all with Toronto. The postseason is another story. The Maple Leafs have been to the second round only twice during his nine years with the team. The Leafs aren’t likely to want to lose him for nothing so look for them to trade his rights.
2. Forward Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers
He was shockingly traded to the Panthers in March, then put together a playoff to remember with 10 goals. Six of those were in the Stanley Cup Final as he made some spectacular moves.
3. Forward Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets
The speedster is a consistent 20-goal scorer and could get more in a place that plays him more than 16 minutes a game.
4. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Ekblad is the franchise’s top-scoring defenseman after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2014. He led Panthers defensemen in playoff scoring despite missing four games with suspensions, including two at the tail end of a 20-game PED ban. He has expressed an interest in returning.
5. Forward Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
He was a 40-goal scorer in 2023-24. He, like the team, dropped off last season, but he still scored 25 goals, his sixth season of 20 or more.
6. Forward Mikael Granlund, Dallas Stars
Granlund played well on Dallas’ all-Finland line after arriving in a trade from the Sharks. He plays on the power play and penalty kill and had a hat trick in the second round.
7. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles Kings
The shutdown defenseman averaged more than 23 minutes a game, had a career-best plus-26 rating and scored 30 points (second best in career).
8. Forward Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings
He’s no longer the prolific scorer he was earlier in his career, but he has topped 20 goals in the two seasons since he returned from hip surgery.
9. Forward Pius Suter, Vancouver Canucks
He’ll draw interest after a 25-goal season, 10 more than his prior career best.
10. Defenseman Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets
He averages 23 minutes a game, kills penalties and gets power play time. Fellow Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro signed a four-year, $16.5 million deal on June 29.
11. Goaltender Jake Allen, New Jersey Devils
There aren’t a lot of free agent goalies out there. Allen had a steady 2.66 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 29 starts while serving as Jacob Markstrom’s backup.
12. Defenseman Nate Schmidt, Florida Panthers
He had been bought out by the Winnipeg Jets and rejoined former coach Paul Maurice in Florida. He was a key contributor in the Panthers’ run with three goals in their first two playoff games.
13. Forward Connor Brown, Edmonton Oilers
He showed in Edmonton that he can move up and down the lineup. Teams will appreciate that type of versatility.
14. Forward Andrei Kuzmenko, Los Angeles Kings
Kuzmenko bounced around a lot after scoring 39 goals in his first NHL season in 2022-23. He played for three teams this past season and finished strong with the Kings.
15. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Pittsburgh Penguins
He’s coming off a career-best 39 assists and 40 points.
16. Forward Jonathan Drouin, Colorado Avalanche
He had 93 points in his two seasons with Colorado, but missed nearly half the season in 2024-25 with injuries.
17. Defenseman Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes
He’s 40 and his scoring numbers have dropped, but he still can play a lot of minutes. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2013-14 season.
18. Forward Corey Perry, Edmonton Oilers
He’s also 40 but still had 10 playoff goals this season. Even though he has come up short in five recent trips to the Stanley Cup Final, he does get to the championship round. He won in 2007.
19. Forward Evgenii Dadonov, Dallas Stars
He scored 20 goals but had diminished ice time in the playoffs, including some scratches.
20. Forward Christian Dvorak, Montreal Canadiens
He kills penalties, wins faceoffs and is usually good for double digits in goals.
(This story has been updated with new information.)