The Best Landing Spots for 6 2025 NHL Restricted Free Agents
When it comes to restricted free agency in the NHL, we often get big dreams about bidding wars leading to offer-sheet signings that become wars of words between rival GMs, and, dang it, that's the drama we want.
Admittedly, though, the process is often a bummer.
Most RFAs re-sign or agree to long-term extensions before even reaching the market. When the Blues hit the Oilers by signing Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway away on offer sheets, it was a dream come true to see a GM make the best use of all the signing tools available.
This summer, the salary cap will jump to $95.5 million. Next, it'll go to $104 million, and the year after, $113.5 million. Offer sheets will still be rare because the rights-holding team can simply match.
But more than a few good players will be looking for new contracts this summer, and we're going to find the best fits for them. Thanks to the Blues, we've got hope that they've inspired other GMs to be bold with all that extra cap space to spend.
Matthew Knies to the Utah Mammoth
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Let's be clear: The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have a hard offseason and will almost certainly have a lot of big changes to their forward group—what with Mitch Marner and John Tavares being unrestricted free agents.
Matthew Knies is coming up on restricted free agency. For as great of a fit he is with their group under Craig Berube, just think of how good he would fit on the Utah Mammoth.
Look at what the Mammoth have in place with Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley. Three dynamic, young forwards who are just on the rise. Add in Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton and Logan Crouse, and it's a good mix for depth. Adding Knies would give them a goal-scoring forward who attacks the net and provides a different style that would complement their top stars very well.
The Mammoth will have plenty of money and cap space. After a very good season, they're poised to make a move that can put them into the playoffs next year. Knies would be the perfect fit for what they have.
Noah Dobson to the Toronto Maple Leafs
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The Maple Leafs struggled to move the puck up the ice from their defense during their latest playoff disappointment.
Morgan Rielly struggled, and despite Jake McCabe's noble effort, they lacked a true puck-carrier on the blue line who could help the Leafs attack. If they were to add a player like New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, that would change immediately.
We know it's still a sore spot to tease the idea of Toronto taking away another outstanding Islanders player after the whole thing with John Tavares seven years ago, but as much as that signing was almost a luxury addition at the time, Dobson would address a need.
He generates offense and handles the puck with ease. Rielly is still good and capable of that for Toronto, but it was hard to see him struggle to do that against Florida in the second round.
The Panthers were able to stunt the Leafs by making life harder on their defensemen when it was their turn to take the puck up the ice. Fixing that issue with Dobson would be a dream for Leafs management.
K'Andre Miller to the Seattle Kraken
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New Kraken GM Jason Botterill has a fair bit of work to do to help get the team back into the playoffs. One clear weakness is the blue line.
Yes, they've got Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour. Adam Larsson is a solid defender, and Jamie Oleksiak is a heavy hitter on the third pair. That's about all they're working with, however. While Dunn and Montour can push the puck, they could stand to have a true two-way threat like New York Rangers RFA K'Andre Miller.
He is a big, strong defenseman who prides himself on the defensive side of the puck more than the offensive. With the way chances piled up against goalies Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer over the past couple of years, Miller would shore things up in a hurry.
The Rangers aren't shaping up to have a lot of flexibility, which could open them up to offer-sheet threats, and if it does, Miller will be a sought-after player by plenty of teams.
Bowen Byram to the Calgary Flames
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Bowen Byram had a lot of success this season with the Buffalo Sabres. That was despite being part of a defense corps that was loaded with left-handed shots and had the top two spots on the left side spoken for by Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.
One team that's in huge need of a left-shot, puck-moving, offensively capable defenseman is the Calgary Flames.
Although Calgary has outstanding two-way defensemen with Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, a power-play quarterback on the blue line would be a huge help, and Byram would fit that need very well. 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh will be one of those guys at some point, but it's an obvious position to address.
There's a catch to this plan, however. The Sabres are comfortably under the cap, and if anyone wanted to offer-sheet one of their players, it would have to be a huge price tag for Buffalo to pass on. A trade, though...
Mason McTavish to the Vancouver Canucks
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If there's a position the Vancouver Canucks must address in the offseason, it's center. Elias Pettersson is the unquestionable leader up front, and Filip Chytil offers a lot of potential if he could only stay healthy. Pius Suter will be a free agent this summer and a fit for a contender.
It would be a massive long shot for the Anaheim Ducks to not bring back Mason McTavish, but if there was a contract impasse, Vancouver should be ready to pounce on him in a heartbeat.
McTavish is an outstanding scorer and plays the game decisively in all areas. He's the kind of player every team would be lining up out the door to talk to if he were available.
Will Cuylle, Detroit Red Wings
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The New York Rangers must've felt great watching forward Will Cuylle become one of their most reliable players. He had 20 goals and 25 assists all while he was credited with 301 hits and he played in all 82 games. Being a hit machine doesn't usually translate into becoming a 20-goal guy, so that combination coming true makes him a valuable player.
That combination of physicality and scoring, along with his tenaciousness on the forecheck and ability to deeply upset opponents to the point of distraction,n would make him popular in any city in the league if he played for the home team, but the team that makes most sense for us is Detroit with the Red Wings.
Just based on hits, Cuylle's 301 this season would've been nearly 100 more than Detroit's team leader, Moritz Seider, who had 212, and they only had four players who broke 100 in the category, period. Detroit's lack of guys who do a lot of the dirty work made them more one-dimensional than intended. Cuylle would help address that, all while they wouldn't lose offense in the process.
