Schmidt reportedly left money on the table to join the Panthers, who lost Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in free agency Monday. Schmidt is Florida's first notable reinforcement on the back end.
The 32-year-old veteran spent the last three campaigns with the Winnipeg Jets, who bought him out Sunday. He played under Panthers head coach Paul Maurice in 2021-22.
Schmidt was relegated to the third pairing with the Jets in 2023-24 and posted strong defensive underlying numbers. However, he played a top-four role in the previous two seasons and struggled to win his minutes.
The 6-foot, 194-pound defender is a strong skater capable of playing on both sides. He could potentially link up with Dmitry Kulikov on Florida's third pair.
Schmidt has recorded 220 points in 661 career games across 11 NHL campaigns between the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, and Jets.
The Panthers have about $6.5 million left in cap space, though some of that will be allocated to restricted free agent Anton Lundell.
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed seven-time 20-goal-scorer Cam Atkinson to a one-year, $900,000 deal Tuesday, the team announced.
Atkinson, 35, recorded 13 goals and 15 assists in 70 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season. He missed the prior campaign after undergoing neck surgery.
The Flyers bought out the final two years of his contract Friday.
Atkinson will aim to provide the Bolts with some depth scoring. The 5-foot-8 winger enjoyed seasons of 35 and 41 goals two years apart during his heyday with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Lightning still have $5.75 million in projected cap space with J.J. Moser their only remaining restricted free agent.
Day 1 of free agency, after the salary cap made its first significant jump since the pandemic, didn't disappoint. A staggering 185 signings were made for a grand total of more than $1.2 billion as of Monday night, per CapFriendly.
While there's still a lot of runway left in the offseason for teams to change their fortune - positively or negatively - we're crowning winners and losers from the first day of the frenzy.
Winners
Nashville Predators
Len Redkoles / National Hockey League / Getty
In case you missed it, Nashville owned Day 1 of free agency. The Predators reeled in three of the biggest unrestricted free agents available in Steven Stamkos (four years, $8 million average annual value), Jonathan Marchessault (five years, $5.5M AAV), and Brady Skjei (seven years, $7M AAV).
Will all the contracts handed out by general manager Barry Trotz age gracefully? Probably not. But Nashville is built to win now. The core of Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros are all in their primes and locked up long term.
Trotz could've tried to keep getting younger, but the core might be too old to win by the time those young players develop. If he made modest moves, the Predators would've remained stuck in NHL purgatory - not good enough to win, but not bad enough to bottom out.
We commend Trotz for being bold. Nashville was a one-line team a year ago, but Stamkos and Marchessault could form a dangerous second line with center Tommy Novak (arguably Monday's greatest individual winner). Stamkos (34 years old) and Marchessault (33 years old) may not be able to replicate their 40-goal seasons from last year, but 30 goals should still be well within reach for the next couple of seasons. Both bring great leadership and credibility, too.
Skjei's price tag may seem steep, but he was the most complete defenseman on the market. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is strong defensively and can handle difficult matchups to free up Josi for a more offensive role. Skjei has scored 31 goals over the last two years as well - the fifth most among NHL blue-liners.
Before Monday, the Predators didn't stand much chance of winning the 2025 Stanley Cup. Now, they have a roster that's more than capable of a deep playoff run - on paper, at least.
Edmonton Oilers
Codie McLachlan / Getty Images Sport / Getty
In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Leon Draisaitl found himself centering the second line between Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele - far from ideal top-six winger options (Evander Kane was notably out of the lineup due to injury).
The Oilers now have an embarrassment of riches in forward depth after signing Viktor Arvidsson (two years, $4M AAV) and Jeff Skinner (one year, $3M AAV) to ultra-team-friendly, low-risk deals.
Skinner, 32, has six 30-goal seasons under his belt. He's still a legitimate top-six winger, even if he comes with some defensive deficiencies.
Arvidsson, 31, missed most of 2023-24 while recovering from offseason back surgery but didn't miss a beat upon his return, tallying 15 points in 18 games. He's a speedy, pesky winger with a pair of 30-goal seasons on his resume. He's a close friend of Mattias Ekholm, too.
The Oilers didn't have much to spend this offseason, but they undoubtedly got substantially better and didn't mortgage the future to do so.
Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini
Candice Ward / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The last two No. 1 picks both received some much-needed help.
Let's start with Bedard, whose most common linemates last season were 36-year-old Nick Foligno and the previously unproven Philipp Kurashev. Now, after the acquisitions of Tyler Bertuzzi (four years, $5.5M AAV) and Teuvo Teravainen (three years, $5.4M AAV), the Blackhawks have far superior options to support their franchise player.
Bertuzzi got off to a rough start last year but showed down the stretch he still has a nose for the net, scoring 15 goals in his final 29 games. Much like Foligno, he'll be willing to stand up for Bedard but is a far more effective player.
Teravainen is a highly responsible two-way player and a slick playmaker. He could be a stabilizing defensive presence alongside Bedard but also has the ability to get him the puck.
Celebrini, meanwhile, likely won't have to play with such poor linemates in his rookie year the way Bedard did after the Sharks lured Tyler Toffoli to the Bay Area (four years, $6M AAV).
Toffoli is coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons and is, by all accounts, a great teammate. A 2014 Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings, Toffoli will serve as a veteran mentor for San Jose's young core.
The Sharks also added Alex Wennberg up front on a risk-free deal (two years, $5M AAV). While Wennberg won't play alongside Celebrini, he'll serve as the team's third-line center and soak up difficult, defensive matchups, allowing Celebrini - and fellow young center Will Smith - to play in more offensive situations.
Washington Capitals
John McCreary / National Hockey League / Getty
It's been shrewd move after shrewd move for Capitals GM Brian MacLellan so far this offseason. Even before Monday, he took a worthwhile gamble on Pierre-Luc Dubois (while ditching Darcy Kuemper's poor contract in the process), essentially flipped Beck Malenstyn for Andrew Mangiapane, and added the cost-efficient Logan Thompson to upgrade the crease.
Fast forward to Monday, and MacLellan made two key moves to bolster his team's defense corps.
First, the Capitals traded Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick to Ottawa for Jakob Chychrun. Sure, Jensen has two more years left on his deal and Chychrun only has one, but Chychrun is the far superior player. And at 26, he's firmly in his prime, while Jensen, who turns 34 in September, is leaving his. As long as the Capitals don't let Chychrun walk as a UFA for nothing, this is a home run.
Then, the Capitals went out and signed Matt Roy (seven years, $5.75M AAV). Roy, 29, isn't a household name and isn't flashy offensively, so this may seem steep, but he's proven to be one of the NHL's best shutdown blue-liners over the last few years. He's a major upgrade over Jensen on the right side of the second pair.
Are the Capitals legitimate contenders? No, but MacLellan has vastly improved all facets of the roster without mortgaging the long-term future. Even if Washington falls out of contention in 2024-25, MacLellan should be able to recoup value for pending UFAs Mangiapane, Chychrun, and Thompson at the deadline.
Losers
Ottawa Senators
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Steve Staios' inexperience was on full display Monday. The Senators' rookie GM made a pair of questionable moves that left his club older but not any better.
We already outlined why the Chychrun-Jensen swap was a home run for the Capitals. It makes very little sense for the Senators. Ottawa traded away a far better, far younger, slightly more expensive ($550K, to be precise) defenseman because ... Jensen shoots right and has an extra year of term?
Chychrun, a lefty, played on his off side on the second pair with Thomas Chabot last season, and the duo owned a stellar 54% expected goals share. They were simply undone by poor goaltending (.851 save percentage).
It's hard to imagine that Jensen will make the second pair more effective considering the steep decline he showed in that role last season.
Staios also signed David Perron (two years, $4M AAV) and Michael Amadio (three years, $2.6M AAV). The Amadio contract is fine for a third-liner, but Perron is 36 and showed signs of decline last season. That might not be the wisest use of cap room considering the Sens still need a third-pairing defenseman after letting Erik Brannstrom walk and still need to sign RFA center Shane Pinto.
Los Angeles Kings
Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It's been an offseason to forget so far in Los Angeles. Swallowing his pride and trading away Dubois is something GM Rob Blake probably needed to do, but it still stings.
Blake also made a pair of uninspiring signings Monday, bringing in left-shot blue-liner Joel Edmundson (four years, $3.85M AAV) and winger Warren Foegele (three years, $3.5M AAV). The Kings would've been better off combining that money to retain Matt Roy and adding a cheaper forward instead of Foegele.
Edmundson is highly physical and more impactful come playoff time, but he's also a 30-year-old, third-pairing defenseman with a history of back issues.
Foegele's deal is far less risky. He's only 28 and coming off a career-high 20-goal season, but he was also a healthy scratch at times in the postseason. It's fair value but not exactly a positional need, either, considering L.A. lost its third- and fourth-line centers.
The Kings still have $10 million in cap space to work with, but a good chunk of that will go to Quinton Byfield's new deal.
Seattle Kraken
NHL Images / National Hockey League / Getty
Seattle seems destined to remain in NHL purgatory under GM Ron Francis.
If the Kraken were taking on bad contracts to stockpile picks and prospects, the lackluster on-ice results would be understandable. But they've been one of the most active teams in free agency over the last few years, whiffing far more often than they've squared one up.
The Kraken made two major splashes Monday, signing right-shooting offensive defenseman Brandon Montour (seven years, $7.14M AAV) and center Chandler Stephenson (seven years, $6.25M AAV). Both players are 30 years old.
Stephenson's underlying results cratered this past season on a far superior Vegas team. Now, he'll be asked to carry more of the load in Seattle.
The Montour signing is far more palatable. He was among the game's elite blue-liners as recently as 2022-23 when he racked up 73 points, but he hasn't come close to replicating that production in any other season. He should at least be a strong fit on the team's second pair with Jamie Oleksiak.
These deals would be appropriate for a contender willing to overlook how a contract may age, but the Kraken aren't even close to that realm.
Quick hits: Best and worst value signings
The following section doesn't include contracts mentioned among the winners and losers but highlights some of the other best and worst value signings of the day.
Best value signings
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
LW/RW Jake DeBrusk ➡️ Canucks (7 years, $5.5M AAV): Betting on DeBrusk, who's just 27, is a wise choice. The three-time 25-goal-scorer is coming off a down year, but look for him to have a career year in Vancouver. This could look like a bargain in a year or two.
LW/RW Anthony Mantha ➡️ Flames (1 year, $3.5M): Mantha was traded for a second- and fourth-round pick at the 2024 deadline. At the very least, the rebuilding Flames bought themselves a second-rounder for $3.5M - perhaps more if Mantha performs. He'll be motivated.
C Matt Duchene ➡️ Stars (1 year, $3M): Duchene certainly left money on the table to rejoin the Stars, especially in a weak UFA center class. A resurgent, 65-point campaign in 2023-24 could've netted him a sizeable payday if he wanted it.
LW/RW Jonathan Drouin ➡️ Avalanche (1 year, $2.5M): Drouin had to have turned down more money to rejoin the Avalanche, right? He's coming off a 56-point campaign and is a good fit in Colorado.
RD Jani Hakanpaa ➡️ Maple Leafs (2 years, $1.5M AAV): Hakanpaa shoots right, is 6-foot-6, and averaged 18:39 per game last season with good underlying numbers. How did he get less than half the AAV of Edmundson?
G Anthony Stolarz ➡️ Maple Leafs (2 years, $2.5M AAV): Stolarz has never played more than 28 games in a season, but his numbers have always been strong - even on some horrible Ducks teams. He's saved 28.5 goals above expected over the last three seasons.
Worst value signings
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
C Elias Lindholm ➡️ Bruins (7 years, $7.75M AAV): This is a lot of money for a long time for a player coming off a bad season. It's an intriguing fit with the Bruins, but this could age poorly if Lindholm can't regain his old form.
LD Oliver Ekman-Larsson ➡️ Maple Leafs (4 years, $3.5M AAV): OEL shined in third-pairing minutes in Florida, but Toronto gave him top-four money. He's a questionable fit on the Leafs' blue line, and he turns 33 on July 17.
RD Mathew Dumba ➡️ Stars (2 years, $3.75M AAV): Injuries unfortunately caught up to Dumba, who's posted extreme negative underlying results in each of the last three seasons with three different teams.
RD Ilya Lyubushkin ➡️ Stars (2 years, $3.25M AAV): Lyubushkin can throw bone-crushing hits and is strong in front of his own net, but he really struggles moving the puck. This is a bit rich for a third-pair defenseman.
The Edmonton Oilers reupped forward Adam Henrique with a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $3 million, the team announced.
Henrique recorded 24 goals and 27 assists in 82 games split between the Anaheim Ducks and Oilers last season. Edmonton surrendered a first-round pick as part of the package to land the veteran forward ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
The 34-year-old tallied seven points in 17 games during Edmonton's run to the Cup Final, primarily serving as the team's third-line center.
Further moves may be coming, though, as Edmonton is $2.4 million over the salary cap and still needs to sign restricted free agents Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.
The Oilers re-signed the veteran forward with a three-year contract carrying an annual cap hit of $1.45 million, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Janmark only recorded four goals and eight assists in 71 regular-season games, but he proved to be a valuable commodity in the postseason. "The Janitor" was a crucial part of the Oilers' successful penalty kill, notching a pair of shorthanded goals in the playoffs. He recorded four points in the Stanley Cup Final.
The 31-year-old projects to fill a bottom-six role in Edmonton once again next season.
The Carolina Hurricanes restocked their blue line by bringing in Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere on multi-year deals Monday.
The club announced it signed Walker to a five-year pact with an average annual value of $3.6 million, and Gostisbehere to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $3.2 million.
Walker recorded a personal-best 29 points in 81 games in the 2023-24 campaign split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche, averaging a career-high 19:14 per contest. A superb skater, the 29-year-old excels at pushing play up the ice and joining the rush. He posted tremendous underlying numbers this past season, ranking 22nd among all NHL defensemen with 12.1 goals above replacement, per Evolving-Hockey.
Sean Walker, signed 5x$3.6M by CAR, is a skilled offensive defenceman who can carry the puck and create scoring opportunities and goals. Did well at basically everything this season on PHI's second pair. Concern would be size and if he can repeat this season. #LetsGoCanespic.twitter.com/AxjYkOg7pE
"Sean is a dependable right-shot defenseman who has played all situations at a high level during his career," new Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. "He is extremely strong at both ends of the ice, and his offensive abilities are a great fit for our style of play."
An undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green, Walker spent the first five seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Kings. The Keswick, Ontario, native is listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds. He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2021 World Championship.
For Gostisbehere, the deal marks a reunion of sorts, as he spent 23 games with the Hurricanes in 2022-23 as a trade deadline pickup, plus 15 more contests in the postseason.
Shayne Gostisbehere, signed 3x$3.2M by CAR, is a puck-moving offensive defenceman. Great passer, great shot (which he'll use plenty), no physicality, has the best penalty differential of any defenceman in the past three seasons (+34). #LetsGoCanespic.twitter.com/03XpFpCyky
"We're thrilled to bring Shayne back to Raleigh," Tulsky said. "He's an elite passer and power-play specialist, and we think his familiarity with our organization will make him an excellent fit for us."
The Pembroke Pines, Florida, native suited up for the Detroit Red Wings in 2023-24, producing 56 points in 81 games. It was the third time Gostisbehere reached the 50-point mark in his 10-year career. The 31-year-old has also played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes.
Carolina's defense could look as follows next season:
LD
RD
Jaccob Slavin
Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov
Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere
Jalen Chatfield
The Hurricanes' blue line needed reinforcements after losing Brady Skjei (seven-year, $49-million contract with the Nashville Predators) and Brett Pesce (six-year, $33-million contract with the New Jersey Devils) to free agency earlier Monday.
The club re-signed Chatfield on Sunday and gave Slavin an eight-year, $51.7-million extension Monday. Orlov and Burns will be UFAs in 2025.
The Montreal Canadiens traded defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils for a 2026 fourth-round pick, the teams announced Sunday.
Kovacevic shoots right and stands at 6-foot-5, 223 pounds. The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract with a sub-league-minimum cap hit of $766,000.
Johnathan Kovacevic, acquired by NJ, is a puck-carrying two-way defenceman who's active in his own end and kills penalties. Has done solid work for MTL in a third pair role. #NJDevilspic.twitter.com/rsoCp4fger
The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed defenseman Timothy Liljegren to a two-year contract carrying an annual cap hit of $3 million, the team announced Sunday.
Liljegren was set to become a restricted free agent. The new contract walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2026.
The 25-year-old tied a personal best with 23 points in 55 games for the Leafs last season, averaging a career-high 19:40 per game.
Timothy Liljegren, signed 2x$3M by TOR, is a second-pairing two-way puck-moving defenceman. This season he proved that he could keep up his performance in a bigger role, but admittedly has not yet shown that he can do it in the playoffs as well. #LeafsForeverpic.twitter.com/nqLuMCVofr
However, Liljegren's ice time dropped to 17:52 per game in the playoffs and he was a healthy scratch in one contest.
The Maple Leafs drafted Liljegren 17th overall in 2017.
Liljegren's place on the right side of Toronto's blue line will depend on what the club does in free agency. The Leafs already acquired the rights to Chris Tanev, though they still have to sign him. They've also reportedly shown interest in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nikita Zadorov, and Matt Roy, though the latter two appear to be long shots.
Liljegren agrees to 2 year extension with Toronto at $3 mil per. The Leafs are still in on OEL. Zadorov is likely too expensive. They like Matt Roy but sounds like he may be headed a different direction. Hence, Liljegren provides some affordable insurance.
The Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Buffalo Sabres are among the teams expected to make a play for Patrick Kane when free agency opens Monday, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
The Detroit Red Wings remain in the mix, too. The two sides reportedly found some traction toward a new deal Sunday.
Detroit is still reportedly negotiating with some of its other pending unrestricted free agents - Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron - into the 11th hour as well.
Kane recorded 20 goals and 27 assists in 50 games with the Red Wings last season. He missed most of the first half of the campaign while recovering from hip resurfacing surgery, a procedure no NHL player had successfully returned from previously.
AFP Analytics projects he'll sign a two-year contract with a $6.3-million average annual value.
The 35-year-old played for the Rangers as a 2023 trade deadline pickup. He's also from Buffalo. He has no obvious ties to the Habs or Stars.
A three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Kane also won the Calder Trophy in 2008, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013, and the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, and Art Ross Trophy in 2016.
Kane has tallied 1,284 points - the third most among American-born players - in 1,230 career games across 17 NHL seasons.
The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed the pending unrestricted free-agent forward to a four-year contract with a $3.75-million cap hit, the team confirmed Sunday.
Domi took to X to announce he's staying in humorous fashion.
The contract provides Domi some much-needed security after he's bounced around between seven teams during his nine-year NHL career.
Domi produced nine goals and 38 assists in 80 games during his first season with the Maple Leafs, endearing himself to fans for his willingness to drop the gloves and stand up for his teammates.
The 29-year-old was a versatile piece for the Leafs, serving as both a third-line center and a top-six winger at times. He was a particularly efficient playmaker, finishing second in the NHL behind Connor McDavid in assists per 60 minutes among players with at least 500 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
However, Domi's defensive issues, which have plagued him for much of his career, didn't improve in Toronto. He posted 16.1 offensive goals above replacement but minus-3.5 defensive goals above replacement, per Evolving-Hockey.
Max Domi, signed 4x$3.75M by TOR, is a pesky all-offence pure playmaker. One of the most efficient passers in hockey (9th in primary assist rate in the past three seasons) but has bounced around due to less desirable qualities (defence, lack of scoring, penalties) #LeafsForeverpic.twitter.com/sVBtRVzadb
His most productive season came in 2018-19 with the Montreal Canadiens when he tallied career highs in goals (28), assists (44), and points (72). Domi has failed to surpass 56 points in a season since then.
Domi grew up in Toronto while his father, Tie, was playing for the Leafs. The elder Domi was a fan favorite as an enforcer during his 12 years with the franchise.
