The music is starting to slow down in the game of musical chairs that is NHL free agency — and there are still some good players who haven’t found their seats.
Here’s a look at the top remaining unrestricted free agents on the market.
Jack Roslovic
- Position: Center
- Shoots: Right
- Age: 28
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 198 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Carolina Hurricanes
- 2024-25 production: 22G, 17A, 39P, 81GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $2.8 million
There’s no question who the top remaining free agent is: Jack Roslovic. Roslovic is a two-time 22-goal scorer, and is consistently good for about half a point per game.
The thing Roslovic does as well as anyone is create something out of nothing. He doesn’t need power play time or odd-man rushes to score — he simply shoots off the rush and puts the puck past the goaltender. That’s an invaluable thing to have, especially if you can get him at or near his 2024-25 cap hit.
Matt Grzelcyk
- Position: Defense
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 31
- Height: 5-foot-10
- Weight: 180 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Pittsburgh Penguins
- 2024-25 production: 1G, 39A, 40P, 82GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $2.75 million
With 40 points last season, Matt Grzelcyk would have led 10 different teams in scoring by defensemen. But if that’s the case, why have none of those teams signed him?
Word is that he’s asking what some teams judge to be too much. The 2024-25 season was his best — by far — in a lot of different areas, so there’s no certainty that it wasn’t an anomaly. However, if he shows that it’s his new normal, a team could get a great player at a manageable cap hit.
Joel Kiviranta
- Position: Left wing
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 29
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 185 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Colorado Avalanche
- 2024-25 production: 16G, 7A, 23P, 79GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $775,000
It’s not often that a player doubles his career highs in goals and points and then can’t find a contract the following season, but that’s Joel Kiviranta’s situation right now.
And it’s not just the offense that has improved. Kiviranta took on a key penalty killing role for the Colorado Avalanche this season, spending about a tenth of his ice time down a man.
The problem is simply consistency. He had point streaks of two or more games just three times this season, and those streaks accounted for nearly half of his points all year. If he could find a way to do it just a little more often, he’d be an extremely valuable middle-six piece.
Another issue is likely his perceived value versus the money that’s available to him — similar to Grzelcyk. Because his production took such a big jump this year, he’s probably looking for more than the one-year, league-minimum deal he got last season, but there might not be many teams wanting to give him much more than that.
Ryan Suter
- Position: Defense
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 40
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 201 pounds
- 2024-25 team: St. Louis Blues
- 2024-25 production: 2G, 13A, 15P, 82GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $775,000 + $2.225 million in performance bonuses
No active NHLer has played more games than Ryan Suter. Yes, he has some miles on him, but it also means he’s seen it all.
The 40-year-old played all 82 games for the St. Louis Blues last season, though he was a healthy scratch during two playoff games. He’s no longer the top-pairing defenseman that he once was, but he’s still good to munch 20 minutes a game and his leadership on and off the ice is invaluable.
Jeff Skinner
- Position: Left wing
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 33
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 200 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Edmonton Oilers
- 2024-25 production: 16G, 13A, 29P, 72GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $3 million
After nearly 1,100 games of regular season experience, Jeff Skinner finally got his first taste of playoff hockey this year with the Edmonton Oilers.
The 33-year-old played limited minutes, but he still managed to score 16 goals. If he’s good enough to play for the Stanley Cup runners-up, he’s good enough to play a depth role for most teams.
Plus, he’s pretty funny.
Victor Olofsson
- Position: Left wing
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 29
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 180 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Vegas Golden Knights
- 2024-25 production: 15G, 14A, 29P, 56GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $1.075 million
Victor Olofsson can score, and he’ll do so with a cheap price tag. The risk a team would take, though, is his proneness to injury. Over the last two seasons, he’s played just 107 of a possible 164 games.
On a near-league-minimum, one-year deal, the reward could very easily outweigh the cost.
Robby Fabbri
- Position: Center
- Shoots: Left
- Age: 29
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 185 pounds
- 2024-25 team: Anaheim Ducks
- 2024-25 production: 8G, 8A, 16P, 44GP
- 2024-25 cap hit: $4 million
Injuries have been the name of the game for Robby Fabbri his entire career — and the 2024-25 season was no exception. First it was a hip surgery, then a hand injury.
Despite playing barely more than half the season, he still managed to produce at a good middle-six rate. He also spent time on both the power play and the penalty kill. With the uncertainty to which he’s prone, teams probably won’t be willing to give him term, but he could be a good, cheap depth option for anyone in the league.