Top-pair defencemen, productive centres, and dynamic wingers. Bridge candidates and future superstars that must be locked up before the big breakout.
The 2025 class of restricted free agents offers a little bit of everything enticing.
And while most big-name RFAs avoided drama and uncertainty by signing before or on July 1 (Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, Toronto’s Matthew Knies, the Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere, Dallas's Jake Oettinger and Wyatt Johnston, Minnesota's Brock Faber chief among them), plenty of intriguing young names remain unsigned for 2025-26.
As these RFAs look to bank off their platform campaigns and managers wonder how to spend their dollars against a spiking salary cap, plenty of tense negotiations (or a couple trades?) are still on deck.
Here is the updated compensation chart for RFAs who chose to sign an offer sheet.
And here is where things stand with this summer’s top 10 RFAs still standing.
Both player-elected and club-elected arbitration cases were filed last weekend.
Salary arbitration hearings will be held from July 20 through Aug. 4.
1. Luke Hughes
Age: 21
Position: Defence
2024-25 salary cap hit: $925,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Fourth-overall draft pick. Legit hockey family. World junior medallist. Already repped Team USA twice at world championships. Calder finalist. Named to 2024 NHL All-Rookie Team. EA Sports coverboy. Impressive 47-point rookie campaign and instant top-four D-man in the pros.
The latest: After hiring a new coach and making a ton of UFA noise in the summer of '24, New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald's top priority is now clear: Get Hughes locked up for a team-friendly rate.
The Devils did just that with Hughes' older brother, Jack, and a great long-term comparable for Luke emerged when fellow 2024 Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber re-upped in Minnesota for eight years at $8.5 million per season.
Such a deal would elevate Luke's salary over Jack's $8 million, which is excellent value.
Luke missed the first few weeks of his platform campaign rehabbing his shoulder, but rebounded strongly and stepped up down the stretch with injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler.
Bridging the young defenceman at, say, $5.1 million per season, could save money now but set the Devils up for a monster bill when Hughes approaches UFA status and the salary cap has gone through the roof.
The smart money says buy big now, and the vibes are positive.
“I talked to his agent (on July 1). We said, ‘Let’s enjoy the holiday weekend, and we’ll start talking after,’” GM Tom Fitzgerald told reporters. “He’s excited. He wants to be a Devil long term — just like his brother. We’re excited about that.
“Players want to stay here. They want to be in New Jersey. They want to be part of something we’re creating. The standards are getting higher with each year, which is exciting. I don’t sense anything other than Luke wants to be a Devil for a long time.”
2. Marco Rossi
Age: 23
Position: Centre
2024-25 salary cap hit: $883,334
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Top-10 pick. Ontario Hockey League MVP. Austrian national team captain. Put up 21 goals and 40 points in first full NHL season, then followed with a 60-pointer. 2024 NHL All-Rookie Team. Can never have enough skilled centres.
The latest: Sure, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin is squirming out from the weight of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyout payments, but only to face requests for significant pay bumps from integral forwards.
While Rossi’s raise is a priority, Guerin’s cap planning must begin with locking in team MVP, Kirill Kaprizov, to an eight-figure deal. Kaprizov is now eligible to re-sign, and locking in his number will help inform how Minnesota allots the rest of its dollars.
Considering Minnesota’s tight budget and other centre prospects coming (Danila Yurov, Riely Heidt), things will get tricky here.
The best route is likely a short-term, kick-the-issue-down-the-road solution. Think something along the lines of Cole Perfetti’s two-year, $6.5-million extension in Winnipeg.
Rossi says he “100 per cent” wishes to stay in Minnesota.
Guerin denied any thoughts of trading Rossi to The Athletic in late December. He also said there is “no rush at all” to re-sign the improving asset.
“I’m very happy with Marco. Oh, my God, yeah,” Guerin said. “Just his pace of play, his engagement every night, he has been one of our best players. I think the biggest thing, too — and I know this is the hardest thing for young players — is his consistency.
“He’s one of our better net-front presence guys. And he’s not the biggest guy, but he stands in there and that’s why he’s getting rewarded. All his goals are from 10 feet and less. He’s doing all the right stuff.”
And yet, Rossi’s ice time plummeted in playoffs (11:18), and trade rumours swirled in mid-June. Guerin’s high price was not met, though.
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported on June 30 that Rossi is now more likely re-sign in Minnesota. Centres are too hard to come by.
Age: 22
Position: Centre
2024-25 salary cap hit: $894,167
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Third-overall draft pick. Olympian. 2022 world junior gold medallist, MVP, and author of the “McTavish Miracle.” Three straight 40-plus-point seasons in the NHL. Key piece of Anaheim Ducks future.
The latest: The seven-year, $49-million contract Verbeek issued young RFA centre Troy Terry in 2023 might tell us something about the type of deal the Ducks GM may wish to strike with McTavish, the next young stud centre on his to-do list.
The Terry deal took time to come together, however.
The executive has cap space to play with but is mindful of the number of players he’ll have knocking at his door for raises. He has a track record of patience, playing out situations where he holds the hammer.
That McTavish hasn’t earned arb rights hurts. That he has improved defensively while remaining an offensive threat and reaching a career-high 52 points helps.
So, how are talks going?
“Nothing yet. I'm sure it’ll kind of happen as the summer goes on. Obviously, I love it here, and hopefully I can stay here,” McTavish said in mid-April. “They believe in me. (No numbers, but) I think that's more between my agent, me, and Pat.”
A comparable for McTavish’s next contract could be Quinton Byfield’s recent five-year extension in Los Angeles, which carries a $6.25-million AAV.
Here’s Verbeek on Apil 19 talking about McTavish and Dostal: “They’re very important players to our organization, and the hardest thing is going to be to figure out what the contracts look like.
“I've actually had conversations with both agents before the season had ended, so we're just going to kind of pick up where we had left off. I spoke to two young players as well, and they’re excited. They're excited to get going and so hopefully we can work through this expeditiously.”
By mid-June, however, no numbers had been exchanged.
The new contracts for pending RFAs J.J. Peterka in Utah and Matthew Knies in Toronto serve as recent comparables for negotiating a mid-term deal here.
Another comparable for McTavish’s next contract could be Quinton Byfield’s recent five-year extension in Los Angeles, which carries a $6.25-million AAV.
“We’re still starting to work on that a little harder now, kind of wanting to get through free agency,” Verbeek told reporters on July 1.
“We’ve got some time now to really get after it and get both (Dostal and McTavish) under contract.”
4. Kaapo Kakko
Age: 24
Position: Right wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $2.4 million
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Second-overall draft pick. Gold medallist at world juniors and world championships, where he led Team Finland in goals. Posted career-high 44 points in 2024-25. Front-line winger in Seattle.
The latest: The Kraken didn’t give up two draft picks and useful defenceman Will Borgen to acquire Kakko just to let him go.
The high-pedigreed forward — so frustrated/frustrating as a New York Ranger — began to find his groove as a top-six contributor in Seattle, where his production jumped and his ice time reached a career high of 17:03.
Kakko’s file has been pushed to the back burner slightly as the Kraken underwent off-season changes to its front office and coaching staff while pursuing trades and unrestricted free agents.
“Eventually, we’ll certainly get something done,” new GM Jason Botterill assured.
Kaako filed for salary arbitration.
Age: 26
Position: Defence
2024-25 salary cap hit: $1.4 million
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Born and raised in nearby Minnesota. Two-time world junior medallist. Set career highs in points (20), plus/minus (+34), blocks (120), takeaways (33), and ice time (21:08) for Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2024-25.
The latest: An unsung contributor to the Winnipeg Jets’ incredible regular season who elevated his game in the postseason, Samberg is a must-keep.
The left-shot blueliner continues to take steps in his effectiveness and dependability, and now that Ehlers’ money is off the books, there is no reason for Cheveldayoff not to lock up an integral piece of an excellent D corps.
Samberg’s plus-34 rating this past season led all Jets, despite his taking on tougher forward assignments.
“The exciting thing for us is that we have some of those players that are on this side of the 30-plus years,” Cheveldayoff told reporters. “Those are some of the guys that have capacity to grow. We’ll work on that. We’ll find a way to find common ground.”
Samberg filed for arbitration.
Age: 23
Position: Right wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $875,000
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: Harvard lad. Recorded career highs in goals (19), assists (23), and plus/minus (+22) in 2024-25. Projected second-liner for a team that wants to contend. Important piece of Kings’ youth.
The latest: Laferriere does not yet wield the arbitration hammer, so he may need to exercise some patience this summer.
A short-term bridge contract appears to be the best solution for both sides, as the Kings splurged in free agency and the player would be wise to bet on himself for a breakout.
“We have had communication,” new GM Ken Holland told reporters of Laferriere.
“There’s a number of players that are kind of in a similar experience, trying to find a fair deal, a short-term deal for both sides [that they] think is fair. We’re going to find a solution. I can’t tell you exactly when. But he wants to be here. He likes it here.”
7. Connor Zary
Age: 23
Position: Centre
2024-25 salary cap hit: $863,334
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: First-round pick. World junior silver medallist. Age aligns with Calgary rebuild. Promising stats through first 117 NHL games (27 goals, 61 points). Everyone is looking for young centremen.
The latest: General manager Craig Conroy is working his way down his to-do list, already extending more senior RFAs Morgan Frost and Kevin Bahl before drilling down on Zary’s file.
The fit is a nice one, but with Zary taking a step back production-wise from his rookie campaign, short-term might be the wise play this summer.
No huge rush at this point, considering Zary lacks arbitration rights.
“We've been in contact,” Conroy told reporters on draft weekend. “We’re just working away at it. But with all the draft stuff, it's been a busy week. But hopefully we can get it done sooner than later.”
Age: 23
Position: Left wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $875,000
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Posted career-high 15 goals in 2025-26. Improving two-way play. One of Toronto’s few NHL talents under age 25. Works his butt off. Two points in three 2025 playoff games. Scores after every healthy scratch.
The latest: For the first time in his choppy Toronto Maple Leafs career, Robertson has a shred of leverage — and he’s using it.
Frustrated by his limited usage and Game 7 healthy scratch in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the still-developing sniper requested a trade out of Toronto last off-season. But clearer heads prevailed and Robertson re-upped for a cheap, one-year deal.
Earning more trust from new coach Craig Berube than he had under Sheldon Keefe, a maturing Robertson served as a useful third-liner in the regular season but once again got stuck in the press box come crunch time.
Unlike fellow RFA Pontus Holmberg (now in Tampa Bay), Robertson was given a qualifying offer of $918,750 and could well remain a Maple Leaf — despite the persistent trade rumours.
Now the player is taking the team to arbitration, where he’ll be certain to hit seven figures.
That said, GM Brad Treliving is trying to swing a trade for a top-six forward, and there’s no guarantee Robertson won’t be part of a potential deal.
"He’s still a young player. He’s still an evolving player,” Treliving says. “He shoots it in the net, and that’s a good skill-set to have. We’ll see how it all plays out. We’re early days here.”
Age: 26
Position: Right wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $950,000
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: High pedigree (Maxim is the grandson of Russian Hall of Famer Victor Tsyplakov). Arrived in U.S. after seven years of pro seasoning in KHL. Big frame (six-foot-three, 201 pounds). Scored respectable 35 points as rookie in 2024-25.
The latest: Recruited as an international free agent out of Russia, Tsyplakov made an impressive cross-Atlantic transition, picking up points and English as a middle-six forward for the New York Islanders.
The winger is confident he can take a significant step as a sophomore on the Island.
“I know I can score more and be better next season,” Tsyplakov, who scored 31 goals in 65 games with the KHL’s Spartak Moskva in 2023-24, told reporters.
“For me it doesn’t matter who I play with. I can play with anybody and give smart plays, speed and backcheck, anything.”
The Islanders offered Tsyplakov an extension worth around $3 million per season, agent Alexander Chernykh told Sport-Express in February.
But that was prior to the changeover in New York’s front office.
Tsyplakov exercised his right to file for arbitration, so he’ll be back.
“I would like to stay here, everything is good,” Tsyplakov said. “It’s a good team, good personnel and good fans.”
10. Luke Evangelista
Age: 23
Position: Right wing
2024-25 salary cap hit: $797,500
Arbitration rights: No
Bargaining chips: 2023 AHL All-Star selection. Scored 33 goals and 86 points in first 172 NHL games. Predators trying to get younger.
The latest: The promising scorer put up 10 goals and 32 points over a 68-game platform campaign in Nashville but let his modest qualifying offer expire.
Preds GM Barry Trotz refers to Evangelista as part of the club’s future, and the organization must get younger and faster.
“My agent (Judd Moldaver) and Trotzy have a good relationship. Obviously, something’s gotta get done. I kinda just wanted to focus on my play,” Evangelista told reporters at season’s end. “I’m confident something will get done.”
The sides are in negotiations, but with no arbitration coming, the next real pressure point will be training camp.
A bridge deal appears to be the path to solution.
"We’re just trying to find a term that fits," Trotz said. “I would like to go longer. The agents are hesitant to go longer on term.”
More notable RFAs: Devon Levi, Alexander Holtz, Conor Timmins*, Ryker Evans, Jayden Struble*, Arvid Soderblom*
All salary info via the excellent PuckPedia.com.
*Filed for arbitration
