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The NHL’s free agency period is here, and the league’s player movement has begun. It likely will move fast and furious.
On Monday, Mitch Marner was traded to Vegas, and Brad Marchand re-signed with Florida.
Tuesday, Brock Boeser re-signed with Vancouver, Carolina signed Stankoven to an eight-year deal and New Jersey re-signed Jake Allen.
More moves are certainly coming so follow along with all of our coverage from our staff of NHL experts and check out our latest NHL free agency big board from Chris Johnston here.
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Live NHL free-agent big board: Where the Top 100 targets are signing and who’s left
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Brock Boeser stays with Canucks, agrees to 7-year, $50.75 million contract
Bought out by Winnipeg a year ago, Schmidt found a home on the Panthers' third pairing and was a steady contributor during their Stanley Cup run. The affable puck-moving defenseman brings life to the dressing room and keeps the game moving in the right direction when he’s on the ice. Florida had 59 percent of the expected goals during his five-on-five minutes in the regular season. He’ll be looking for a raise after playing for $800,000 with the Panthers.
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The Senators have made it official: Nick Cousins is back on a one-year deal with a $825,000 contract. Cousins played 50 games scoring six goals and 15 points with Ottawa. He missed significant time due to a knee injury, having surgery partway through the season. With Cousins back in the lineup, that’s one-third of their fourth line coming back.
On Connor Brown: The Devils are signing Connor Brown to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $3 million. Brown was part the back-to-back Western Conference champion Oilers teams and is a steady third-line forward who can move up the lineup if needed. He had 13 goals and 30 points this past season and adds another forward to a Devils team that lacked depth these past playoffs. The Devils now have approximately $9.5 million of cap space, according to PuckPedia, though a chunk of that will have to go to RFA Luke Hughes.
Two-year deal for Michael Pezzetta with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The contract is worth $775k in year one and $800k in year two.
By Chris Johnston, Eric Stephens and Daniel Nugent-Bowman
The Dallas Stars have reached deep into their past in search of the correct voice to guide them forward, hiring Glen Gulutzan as their new head coach on Tuesday, more than a decade after his first run behind their bench.
Dallas is giving Gulutzan, 53, a second chance after he previously coached them from 2011 to 2013. The Stars promoted him from their AHL affiliate in 2011 during a time when the franchise was undergoing an ownership transition. Dallas didn’t make the playoffs in either of his seasons, going 42-35-5 in 2011-12 and 22-22-4 in the 48-game 2012-13 season before he was fired in May 2013, shortly after Jim Nill took over as general manager.
Gulutzan succeeds Pete DeBoer, who was fired on June 6 after guiding the team to Western Conference final berths in each of his three seasons. Dallas lost to the Colorado Avalanche in 2023 and Edmonton Oilers in 2024 and 2025.
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Dallas Stars hire Glen Gulutzan for second stint as head coach
This one is surprising. The Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser, at the 11th hour, settled on a seven-year extension worth over $50 million ($7.25 million AAV).
The Canucks had expected that Boeser would make it to unrestricted free agency, and had been planning for the likelihood of losing the reliable sharp shooting winger. Ultimately, Boeser did make it to July 1. He just didn't follow through on the logical next step of leaving Vancouver, instead settling for the only NHL franchise that he's ever played for.
In talks throughout this process, Boeser's strong preference was to remain in Vancouver. He's put down roots in the city.
The two sides, however, struggled to reach an accord on the term of his next contract. A five-year deal worth $40 million ahead of the trade deadline was rejected, and the club held onto Boeser beyond the deadline despite attempting to move him.
Afterward, and as this offseason unfolded, there were times that the relationship appeared to bend under some strain as the on-again, off-again contract talk drama unfolded over several months.
Then, with the market already open, two factors shaped a surprising outcome. The Canucks bent on term and total value, giving Boeser the thing his camp needed to decide to stay on a relatively team-friendly deal (relative to what Boeser could've earned if he'd simply opted to sign with the highest bidder). And Boeser decided to go with what the heart wants and remain in Vancouver.
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By Eric Stephens and Peter Baugh
Vladislav Gavrikov has signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the New York Rangers on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic’s Chris Johnston and Pierre Lebrun, cashing in on an excellent 2024-25 season.
Gavrikov opted to test free agency and maximize his value instead of re-signing with the Los Angeles Kings, with whom he spent the last two-plus seasons after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2023 trade deadline. The Kings and Gavrikov had discussions Monday but were not able to reach a deal. The 29-year-old Gavrikov made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets in the 2019 playoffs after coming over from KHL power St. Petersburg SKA.
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Rangers sign prized defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to 7-year, $49 million contract
The Flyers have added veteran goalie Dan Vladar on a two-year contract, with an average $3.35 million per season.
It was always a given that the Flyers were going to somehow address their goaltending this offseason, which finished dead last in the league in save percentage in 2024-25. Vladar will presumably pair with Samuel Ersson on opening night, while Ivan Fedotov will likely be waived and sent to AHL Lehigh Valley, assuming he clears.
Vladar, 27, has spent the past four seasons with the Calgary Flames. In 105 career games, he’s 49-34-16 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.
As Carolina and the New York Rangers finalize a K'Andre Miller trade, the Hurricanes are working on an extension with the RFA, per sources.
The Rangers are working on a deal to send K'Andre Miller to the Hurricanes, according to a league source. The Athletic's Chris Johnston is also reporting that the Hurricanes are working on an extension with Miller, who is a restricted free agent, while finalizing the trade.
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Connor Brown signs a four-year deal with the New York Devils carrying a $3M AAV.
The veteran winger plummeted back to earth after a dream season in 2023-24, when he racked up 75 points for Nashville. That total fell to 28 in a campaign split between the Predators and Wild. Nyquist is a talented playmaker who remains a strong skater and seems like a plausible bet to deliver a season that falls somewhere between the extremes of his last two.
The Los Angeles Kings are adding Joel Armia in addition to signing Corey Perry, per TSN.
Per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, it is a two-year deal.
Nice price for Gavrikov, going for considerably less than Provorov did yesterday.
Now, all eyes on what else the New York Rangers does with its blue line, and if this puts K'Andre Miller in play.
Vladislav Gavrikov almost certainly could have gotten more than this after Provorov's deal yesterday. He clearly wanted to be in New York.
The Rangers now will have around $6-7 million in cap space.
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Vladislav Gavrikov has signed a seven-year, $49 million deal with the New York Rangers.
Corey Perry, who recently turned 40 but still could be a reliable source of production and physicality on a third or fourth line, signed a one-year deal contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, league sources told Pierre LeBrun of the The Athletic. With bonuses, the deal could be worth $3.5 million.
Perry was a longtime nemesis of the Kings when he played for the rival Anaheim Ducks from 2005-19.
Perry scored 19 goals for the Edmonton Oilers in 2024-25, his 20th season in the NHL, and added 10 more in the playoffs. He also played in his fifth Stanley Cup Final in six seasons, though he was part of the losing side all six years.
Perry peaked individually with the Ducks, scoring 50 goals and winning the Hart Trophy in 2010-11. He scored 27 goals or more in eight of his 14 seasons with Anaheim before entering the journeyman phase of his career. Perry has now played for six teams since 2019.
Edmonton signed Perry in January 2024 after the Blackhawks waived him for what they called an “unacceptable” incident involving a team employee. Perry apologized for what he called “inappropriate and wrong” behavior and said he sought treatment for substance abuse.
He went on to give the Oilers quality minutes over consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Final, but their salary-cap situation complicated his return. Perry made $1.15 million in base salary last season and hit all his $250,000 in bonuses, which will go against Edmonton’s 2025-26 cap number.
Not particularly big or adept at winning puck battles, Dadonov does his damage when the puck is on his stick in the offensive zone. The veteran winger has a good shot and hit the 20-goal mark again for Dallas this season. The goals did dry up for him in the playoffs, but he’s viewed as a useful complementary piece.