NHL Offseason '24-'25 Summary

With the NHL preseason starting and the regular season on the horizon, hockey fans rejoice, as the long offseason is coming to an end. After such a chaotic season, this offseason has felt dry and uneventful, though the NHL is going to look quite different at the start of the season.

Possibly the biggest offseason news happened at the beginning of free agency. Throughout the '24-'25 season, fans were worried that Marner wouldn’t re-sign with Toronto. Lo and behold, forward Mitch Marner was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade-and-sign deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. After yet another playoff loss in the second round, NHL fans speculated over where Marner would sign his next contract. On July 1st, 2025, Marner was traded to the Knights in exchange for forward Nicolas Roy. Marner then signed an 8-year $96 million contract extension with Vegas, garnering an annual average of $12 million. This makes Marner the 5th highest-paid player in NHL history (tied with Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars). Last season, Marner had a career high of 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 81 games with the Leafs. In the playoffs, Marner had 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists) in 13 games. Leafs fans have heavily criticized and blamed Marner for the Leafs’ poor playoff performance in recent years, despite Marner having a decent scoring form. Nonetheless, I wish Marner the best of luck in Vegas and believe that with the help of center Jack Eichel, he will become a key player for the Knights.

Days earlier, on June 27th, the NHL entry draft was held at the Peacock Theater in L.A. With the first round pick, the New York Islanders selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters. Fans of teams that would draft shortly after would tell you that the Islanders never should have gotten that pick. In 1995, the NHL instituted the Draft Lottery. The Draft Lottery determines in which order the bottom 16 teams will pick in the draft, and was made to prevent teams from tanking in order to obtain a higher pick. This year, the Islanders, who finished 10th in the league, jumped to the 1st overall pick. No matter how many people hate the Draft Lottery, it’s there for a very important reason and makes the NHL a much more enjoyable league. When he took the stage, Schaefer was given an Islanders jersey with a purple ribbon, in honor of his mother, who tragically passed away in 2024 due to breast cancer. Schaefer was overcome with emotion, reflecting on all that he’s overcome at the age of 17. The next pick belonged to the San Jose Sharks, who picked Michael Misa from the Saginaw Spirit. Misa will be joining a very talented young group in San Jose, including Macklin Celebrini, who was drafted 1st overall the year before. Michael Misa is also the cousin of a former teammate of mine. Next, Anton Frondell was selected 3rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. Frondell had previously played in the Swedish Hockey League and will be joining the 2023 1st overall pick, Connor Bedard, who was said to be the next big star of the League. At the 7th overall pick, the Boston Bruins selected Boston College center James Hagens. Hagens and the BC Eagles ranked 1st in US college hockey, though they didn’t make it to the Frozen Four, and lost to Boston University in the Beanpot Tournament. Hagens also represented the U.S. at the World Juniors, playing center on the first line. Hagens will most likely spend the next season with BC, as the Bruins don’t have many other prospects and aren’t predicted to go far at all this year.

The Bruins also signed Tanner Jannot, Michael Eyssimont, and Sean Kuraly, in addition to more minor players. These additions seem strange for the Bruins, especially since the team is expected to start rebuilding and tank to have a better chance of drafting Gavin McKenna, the so-called next “generational talent” in the NHL. Maybe the Bruins will try to sneak into a wild-card spot, though it’s very unlikely considering the team finished at the bottom of their division and 5th to last in the whole league. Hopefully, these signings are enough to make a playoff push, or the Bruins might miss out on the chance to get a generational franchise player

Towards the end of the offseason, there was a lot of drama over re-signing star players. The Minnesota Wild attempted to negotiate a new contract starting in the 2026-2027 season with forward Kirill Kaprizov. According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Kaprizov rejected an 8-year, $128 million contract, valued at $16 million a year. Fans have speculated that Kaprizov doesn’t want to stay in Minnesota, and others suggest that he just doesn’t want a long-term deal. Luckily for Minnesota, Kaprizov just signed an 8-year, $136 million contract, with an AAV of $17 million. This makes Kaprizov the highest-paid player in NHL history, and now the Wild can calm down and get to fighting for the Stanley Cup. The more devastating re-signing news regards the world’s current best player, Connor McDavid, of the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton General Manager (GM) Stan Bowman has been trying to get McDavid to re-sign for the 2026-2027 season, but so far, we haven’t heard anything. It’s not yet time to imagine McDavid leaving Edmonton, as we still have a whole season and another offseason for Connor to sign his new contract. “All options are on the table,” McDavid said after a practice. “Short term, long term, no term.” McDavid considering signing elsewhere has left Oilers fans petrified. As far as the monetary details of the contract, it’s pretty much whatever he wants. He could start making $20 million, or take a team-friendly deal and go for $12 or $14 million. McDavid still hasn’t re-signed for the 2026-2027 season. Though this is a very serious matter for the Oilers' management, the fans should only start worrying about it in 2026. 

NHL fans will always hate the offseason, but it sets up better seasons each year. With Marner leaving Toronto, new stars entering the league, and potential trade drama, the 2025 offseason has us all excited for a new season.