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.
2023 NHL Free Agents Ranked
	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
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