Maple Leafs, Panthers Head Up An Early Look At Top 10 UFAs in 2025

There's a lot that can happen between now and the end of the 2024-25 season. Extensions signed... Players traded... Devastating injuries (unfortunately, they can happen). So when we look ahead to the UFA Class of 2025, nothing is a given.

But it's a fun exercise, nevertheless.

With the help of Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet, let's have a look at the Top 10 prospective unrestricted free agents, as of now, at the end of the 2024-25 season.

To begin, five of the biggest names are removed from the proceedings, as extensions of some sort are thought to be foregone conclusions before next summer rolls around, so, as with Dixon's list, you won't see Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand or Igor Shesterkin on this Top 10 Potential UFA Class of 2025:

Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
Travis Konency, Philadelphia Flyers
Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets
Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers
Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers

The Marner situation is well-known. His name has been flying around the rumor mill all summer, as many in Leafs Nation would like to see the team break up the so-called 'Core Four', and Marner, with free agency looming, is the best bet to do so. Of course, Tavares is on this list, too, but most don't think he'll be willing to leave his hometown.

Ullmark was just dealt to the Senators this summer, and the word the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner wants to see how things go this season before deciding whether to commit long-term. The same can be said for the Vancouver Canucks, who want to see if Boeser can come up with a repeat of his tremendous 2023-24 campaign before they decide to offer him a long-term extension.

As the top defensemen on the market, and the only two in the Top 10, Theodore and Ekblad would command huge sums in free agency next summer, if they make it that far.

Konecny and Ehlers have had their names bandied about on the rumor mill as well, in varying degrees, and could be traded before the end of next season; in Ehlers's case, before the end of this summer.