NHL free agency officially opens at noon ET on Wednesday, July 1, but there is plenty of action on June 30 as teams get in shape for the annual signing period.
Already, the Florida Panthers changed up their goaltending with two trades and the St. Louis Blues took a step to buy out Jonathan Drouin’s contract.
The Panthers announced that they acquired goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils, a day after they got Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Panthers’ 2025-26 goalies, two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky plus Daniil Tarasov, are pending unrestricted free agents.
Here are live updates on NHL transactions from Tuesday, June 30:
Greer will average $4.25 million over four years, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Greer’s rights were acquired from the Panthers in exchange for fellow pending unrestricted free agent Radko Gudas. Greer had a career-best 17 goals last season but is best known for his gritty play, totaling 243 penalty minutes and 425 hits in his two seasons in Florida.
Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness says he was “shocked” when he heard that Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko don’t want to extend their contracts.
“At the end-of-year meetings, we looked each other in the eye and had great meetings, and we gave each other hugs when we were leaving and all that, so everything was good,” Bowness said. “So, when this all broke, I was as shocked and caught off guard by it as everyone else.” – Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch
Brink gets a one-year, $2.75 million contract. He scored 30 points last season between the Flyers and Wild. Minnesota initially didn’t give a qualifying offer, but brought him back for another season.
The defenseman and team couldn’t reach a deal so he’ll head to the free agent market. according to sjhockeynow.com.
The Rangers announced they have agreed to terms on a seven-year deal, who was acquired from the Golden Knights at the draft. Terms were disclosed, but reports from the draft said the contract would average $11 million a year.
The 25-year-old Russian forward will get $9.75 million over three years. He’ll make $4.75 million in the third season. He scored 31 points in 66 games last season after coming over from the Kontinental Hockey League.
Parker Wotherspoon is heading to Vegas, with 50% of his salary retained, for Kaedan Korczak. Wotherspoon had a career-best 30 points last season. The move saves the Golden Knights $2.75 million in cap space.
The Panthers give up Evan Rodigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves in the Markstrom deal and also get back minor league forward Angus Crookshank. They give up a 2028 third-round pick in the Schmid deal.
Bobrovsky, 37, won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Panthers and two Vezina trophies earlier in his career. But he was coming off the worst save percentage of his career and was reportedly seeking a long-term deal. The Panthers then changed plans.
Markstrom, 36, is also coming off a subpar season, but he’s signed for two years at $6 million a year. He began his NHL career with the Panthers.
The Devils land versatile forwards who can play up and down the lineup in Rodrigues and Boqvist. New Jersey has Jake Allen in net, but will need to find a goalie in free agency or via trade.
Schmid was available because the Golden Knights have Carter Hart and Adin Hill in net.
The goaltender will get two years at a $2 million average. He was acquired on Friday, June 26, for a first-round pick and will get a shot in the NHL as a backup to Utah’s Karel Vejmelka. The Red Wings’ 2021 first-round pick played in only one NHL game with Detroit.
The team placed Drouin on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract. He had been acquired from the Islanders in the Brayden Schenn trade.
Drouin, 31, had three points in nine games after the trade and 24 points overall. He has had three 50-point seasons, the latest in 2023-24 with the Avalanche.
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