The 2022-23 NHL season is over, meaning next up is the offseason.
The Stanley Cup was handed out, as the Golden Knights were crowned the champions of 2023 after defeating the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Now, teams begin the process of retooling for next year in hopes of taking the Golden Knights’ spot at the top of the NHL mountain.
While the NHL Draft is the first order of business of the offseason, free agency is just around the corner. It’s an opportunity for players to cash in after a career year, find a new contender to call home, or just simply get that next guaranteed contract.
Teams have already been busy re-signing players before they hit the market, while others are waiting around for free agency to officially begin to seek out new ones. As always, it should be a crazy few weeks in the NHL.
Here is what fans need to know for the start of free agency.
When does NHL free agency start?
- Date: Saturday, July 1
- Time: Noon ET
NHL free agency begins on Saturday, July 1, which is the first official day of the 2023-24 NHL season.
Free agency starts at 12 p.m. ET that day. Teams are allowed to talk to their own players before noon on July 1st, however, opposing teams cannot speak to the players until free agency officially begins.
2023-24 projected cap space per team
Entering the 2023 offseason, the Ducks have the most cap space for next season, with just under $40 million available. The Blackhawks, Devils and Red Wings also have more than $30 million in cap space for the 2023-24 campaign.
Here is a look at the projected cap space for each team, according to Spotrac.
| Team | Projected cap space |
| Anaheim Ducks | $39,048,333 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | $37,594,977 |
| New Jersey Devils | $34,282,500 |
| Detroit Red Wings | $30,665,278 |
| Arizona Coyotes | $27,061,794 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | $24,573,083 |
| Seattle Kraken | $20,343,424 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | $20,208,158 |
| Ottawa Senators | $17,073,096 |
| Buffalo Sabres | $16,959,763 |
| Nashville Predators | $15,544,422 |
| San Jose Sharks | $14,079,166 |
| Colorado Avalanche | $13,350,000 |
| Winnipeg Jets | $12,992,144 |
| New York Rangers | $11,762,918 |
| Florida Panthers | $10,262,499 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | $9,143,551 |
| Minnesota Wild | $9,081,412 |
| St. Louis Blues | $7,506,667 |
| Dallas Stars | $7,394,671 |
| Los Angeles Kings | $7,336,666 |
| Washington Capitals | $7,313,332 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | $6,801,476 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | $5,854,168 |
| New York Islanders | $5,336,667 |
| Edmonton Oilers | $5,070,000 |
| Boston Bruins | $4,937,500 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | $3,462,517 |
| Calgary Flames | $1,250,000 |
| Montreal Canadiens | $725,835 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | $450,000 |
| Vancouver Canucks | -$668,750 |
Who are the top 2023 free agents?
It’s no secret, this year’s crop of free agents is pretty weak.
While there are some high-profile names like Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, all are on the wrong side of 30 years old.
Here is a full list of the top 30 available unrestricted NHL free agents for the summer of 2023.
| Rank | Player | Position | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryan O’Reilly | C | 32 |
| 2. | Vladimir Tarasenko | RW | 31 |
| 3. | Dmitry Orlov | D | 31 |
| 4. | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | 28 |
| 5. | Patrick Kane | RW | 34 |
| 6. | Joe Pavelski | C | 38 |
| 7. | Max Pacioretty | LW | 34 |
| 8. | Patrice Bergeron | C | 37 |
| 9. | Frederik Andersen | G | 33 |
| 10. | Alex Killorn | LW | 33 |
| 11. | Tristan Jarry | G | 27 |
| 12. | Matt Dumba | D | 28 |
| 13. | Max Domi | LW | 28 |
| 14. | David Krejci | C | 36 |
| 15. | Michael Bunting | LW | 27 |
| 16. | Ivan Barbashev | C | 27 |
| 17. | Jason Zucker | LW | 31 |
| 18. | Shayne Gostibehere | D | 29 |
| 19. | Damon Severson | D | 28 |
| 20. | Semyon Varlamov | G | 34 |
| 21. | John Klingberg | D | 30 |
| 22. | Martin Jones | G | 33 |
| 23. | Brian Dumoulin | D | 31 |
| 24. | Adin Hill | G | 27 |
| 25. | Alexander Kerfoot | C | 28 |
| 26. | J.T. Compher | C | 28 |
| 27. | Tomas Tatar | LW | 32 |
| 28. | Jordan Staal | C | 34 |
| 29. | Gustav Nyquist | RW | 33 |
| 30. | Ryan Graves | D | 27 |