We’re just eight days away from the opening of the National Hockey League’s free agency period, which is slated for Noon ET on Tuesday, July 1st, with TSN and Sportsnet’s broadcasts a Canada Day tradition for many households from coast-to-coast.
At the time of writing this, there are several big names that are set to hit the open market on July 1st, including Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Florida’s Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, as well as Vancouver’s Brock Boeser and Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers, among many others, but that could all change with one phone call over the next eight days.
Today, I’m going to share which teams I think 25 of the National Hockey League’s top free agents available could end up in early July, similar to my trade deadline piece from back in March, as well as predict where I believe they’ll ultimately end up on July 1st.
Top 25 NHL Free Agents
1. Mitch Marner [RW] (current team: Toronto Maple Leafs)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 27 G – 75 A – 102 PTS – 14 PIM – Plus-14.
- Potential Fits: Los Angeles Kings, Utah Mammoth, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: Utah Mammoth.
2. Sam Bennett [C] (current team: Florida Panthers)
2024-25 Stats: 76 GP – 25 G – 26 A – 51 PTS – 90 PIM – Minus-15.
- Potential Fits: Florida Panthers (re-sign), Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs
- My Prediction: Florida Panthers.
3. Brock Boeser [RW] (current team: Vancouver Canucks)
2024-25 Stats: 75 GP – 25 G – 25 A – 50 PTS – 16 PIM – Minus-25.
- Potential Fits: Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild.
- My Prediction: Minnesota Wild.
4. Brad Marchand [RW] (current team: Florida Panthers)
2024-25 Stats: BOS/FLA: 71 GP – 23 G – 28 A – 51 PTS – 64 PIM – Minus-7.
- Potential Fits: Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs.
5. Nikolaj Ehlers [LW] (current team: Winnipeg Jets)
2024-25 Stats: 69 GP – 24 G – 39 A – 63 PTS – 17 PIM – Plus-14.
- Potential Fits: Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Winnipeg Jets.
- My Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes.
6. Aaron Ekblad [D] (current team: Florida Panthers)
2024-25 Stats: 56 GP – 3 G – 30 A – 33 PTS – 53 PIM – Plus-11.
- Potential Fits: Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs.
- My Prediction: Florida Panthers.
7. John Tavares [C] (current team: Toronto Maple Leafs)
2024-25 Stats: 75 GP – 38 G – 36 A – 74 PTS – 46 PIM – Plus-10.
- Potential Fits: Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs.
- My Prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs.
8. Ivan Provorov [D] (current team: Columbus Blue Jackets)
2024-25 Stats: 82 GP – 7 G – 26 A – 33 PTS – 31 PIM – Plus-11.
- Potential Fits: Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings.
- My Prediction: Los Angeles Kings.
9. Mikael Granlund [C] (current team: Dallas Stars)
2024-25 Stats: SJS/DAL: 83 GP – 22 G – 44 A – 66 PTS – 28 PIM – Even Rating.
- Potential Fits: Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens.
- My Prediction: Columbus Blue Jackets.
10. Patrick Kane [RW] (current team: Detroit Red Wings)
2024-25 Stats: 72 GP – 21 G – 38 A – 59 PTS – 12 PIM – Minus-16.
- Potential Fits: Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche.
11. Vladislav Gavrikov [D] (current team: Los Angeles Kings)
2024-25 Stats: 82 GP – 5 G – 25 A – 30 PTS – 28 PIM – Plus-26.
- Potential Fits: Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues.
- My Prediction: Buffalo Sabres.
12. Claude Giroux [C] (current team: Ottawa Senators)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 15 G – 35 A – 50 PTS – 18 PIM – Minus-8.
- Potential Fits: Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks.
- My Prediction: Ottawa Senators.
13. Dmitry Orlov [D] (current team: Carolina Hurricanes)
2024-25 Stats: 76 GP – 6 G – 22 A – 28 PTS – 24 PIM – Plus-16.
- Potential Fits: Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators.
- My Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes.
14. Jonathan Drouin [LW] (current team: Colorado Avalanche)
2024-25 Stats: 43 GP – 11 G – 26 – 37 PTS – 6 PIM – Plus-4.
- Potential Fits: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights.
15. Pius Suter [C] (current team: Vancouver Canucks)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 25 G – 21 A – 46 PTS – 18 PIM – Plus-2.
- Potential Fits: Nashville Predators, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs.
- My Prediction: Nashville Predators.
16. Jamie Benn [LW] (current team: Dallas Stars)
2024-25 Stats: 80 GP – 16 G – 33 A – 49 PTS – 70 PIM – Plus-3.
- Potential Fits: Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils.
- My Prediction: Dallas Stars.
17. Andrei Kuzmenko [LW] (current team: Los Angeles Kings)
2024-25 Stats: CAL/PHI/LAK: 66 GP – 11 G – 26 A – 37 PTS – 14 PIM – Minus-6.
- Potential Fits: Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: New York Rangers.
18. Nate Schmidt [D] (current team: Florida Panthers)
2024-25 Stats: 80 GP – 5 G – 14 A – 19 PTS – 30 PIM – Plus-4.
- Potential Fits: Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers.
- My Prediction: Dallas Stars.
19. Corey Perry [RW] (current team: Edmonton Oilers)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 19 G – 11 A – 30 PTS – 61 PIM – Plus-12.
- Potential Fits: Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs.
- My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche.
20. Jack Roslovic [C] (current team: Carolina Hurricanes)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 22 G – 17 A – 39 PTS – 10 PIM – Minus-10.
- Potential Fits: Pittsburgh Penguins, Utah Mammoth, Vancouver Canucks.
- My Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins.
21. Jake Allen [G] (current team: New Jersey Devils)
2024-25 Stats: 31 GP – 13 W – 16 L – 1 OTL – 2.59 GAA – .908 SV% – 4 SO.
- Potential Fits: Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning.
- My Prediction: Edmonton Oilers.
22. Reilly Smith [RW] (current team: Vegas Golden Knights)
2024-25 Stats: NYR/VGK: 79 GP – 13 G – 27 A – 40 PTS – 24 PIM – Plus-10.
- Potential Fits: Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights.
- My Prediction: Vancouver Canucks.
23. Brent Burns [D] (current team: Carolina Hurricanes)
2024-25 Stats: 82 GP – 6 G – 23 A – 29 PTS – 28 PIM – Plus-7.
- Potential Fits: Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs.
- My Prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs.
24. Andrew Mangiapane [LW] (current team: Washington Capitals)
2024-25 Stats: 81 GP – 14 G – 14 A – 28 PTS – 24 PIM – Even Rating.
- Potential Fits: New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks.
- My Prediction: San Jose Sharks.
25. Evgenii Dadonov [RW] (current team: Dallas Stars)
2024-25 Stats: 80 GP – 20 G – 20 A – 40 PTS – 10 PIM – Plus-1.
- Potential Fits: Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals.
- My Prediction: Boston Bruins.
It’s going to be quite a busy 10-to-14 days ahead for teams around the National Hockey League and it’s going to be interesting to see how many of these 25 free agents I’ve mentioned actually make it to the open market on July 1st, or if they’ll agree to terms on a new team with their current club before then.
Aside from the opening of free agency next Tuesday, there’s several other notable dates this week including tomorrow’s announcement of the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class, along with the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles.
I’ll be releasing my 2025 NHL Draft rankings tomorrow evening, looking at the top-32, along with a handful of honorable mentions. Stay tuned for that around 7 pm ET on Tuesday.
Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.