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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