Top NHL Free Agents Set to Hit the Market on July 1

Who’s cashing in after the Stanley Cup?

The Florida Panthers’ emotional Stanley Cup celebration was barely over before general manager Bill Zito turned his attention to what is set to be a busy couple of weeks. His job now is to try to keep the championship core together and deal with three very big-name UFAs.

Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand will all have the right to test the market on July 1. All will get solid offers from other teams. “I think we can bring them all back,” Zito said Tuesday night.

The Panthers aren’t the only team with unanswered questions. The Edmonton Oilers also ended their season on Tuesday night, with players like Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen, Jeff Skinner, and John Klingberg, among others, uncertain about their futures.

Sam Bennett

Whether he stays in Florida or leaves, it seems clear that Bennett is going to hit a free agency home run. An eight-year deal at $7.5 million per season is probably the starting point in discussions. But could Bennett get more than $70 million elsewhere? He’ll be tempted to find out.

If we take a look at some of the biggest names set to hit the market in two weeks, we’ll see NHL franchises are about to spend big.

Mitch Marner

Marner headlines the 2025 class. He has told the Toronto Maple Leafs that he’ll talk to them on July 1, but no differently than he’ll talk to other teams. The 27-year-old is going to play the market and secure at least a seven-year contract worth $13 million per season. He’s a franchise-altering piece with the potential to be one of the biggest mistakes an organization will make if they get caught up in the bidding war that is likely to commence.