2025 NHL draft: Buzz on prospects, trades, free agency

Although the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers may never stop celebrating, the NHL offseason has begun.

Over the past several days, Jonathan Toews agreed to sign with the Winnipeg Jets once free agency begins and there have been a flurry of re-signings, as well as a trade between the Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken, with Andre Burakovsky headed to the Second City.

The NHL draft will take place on Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles, featuring seven rounds of selections and (most likely) a handful of franchise-altering trades. Then on July 1, free agency officially begins.

To help make sense of it all, ESPN reporters Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski reached out to sources in front offices around the league for their takes on the draft, trades and the free agent class, and deliver the latest buzz around the NHL:

Schaefer earned perspective through tragedy

Matthew Schaefer has been the projected first overall pick in this year’s draft (held by the New York Islanders) for months. But the Erie Otters defenseman isn’t all that concerned about where he ultimately lands.

No pressure. No stress. It’s all about enjoying the journey — a lesson Schaefer has learned the hard way.

“I’ve been through a lot,” he said recently. And that’s putting it mildly.

Schaefer lost his billet mother in late 2023. Two months later, his own mother died after a long battle with cancer. Then, during the 2025 World Junior Championship, Otters owner Jim Waters — with whom Schaefer was close — also died. Also during the tournament, Schaefer sustained a broken collarbone and missed the remainder of his season in Erie.

That would be a harsh 12 months for anyone to endure, let alone a 17-year-old on the cusp of achieving his life-long dream of playing in the NHL. Schaefer has an upbeat attitude about it all, though. What others might view as adversity he sees as almost a superpower, and it has helped him cope with the demands of being a highly touted prospect.

“There’s a lot worse things that can happen in life [than not being picked No. 1],” he said. “Going through injuries are super easy. I feel like when I was younger and I stubbed my toe, I probably would have thought the world was ending, but going through everything, there’s so much worse things that can happen in life. And honestly, you’ve just got to take the opportunities. You’ve got to work as hard as you can. I think just being a good person goes such a long way.”

Schaefer is quick-witted and personable, admirably earnest and genuine. He has done charity work with other kids experiencing grief-related challenges, and he plans to do more volunteering with the hospital where his mother received treatment. It’s not for show, either.

Schaefer readily admits he enjoys meeting new people and hearing their stories.

“I personally love helping people,” he said. “Respecting people, [treating them] how you’d like to be treated. Holding a door for someone, it goes such a long way. I think each and every day I just want to have a positive mindset. My mindset has changed a lot with everything. Seeing what my mom went through, having a smile on her face with cancer and everything trying to bring her down, but she wouldn’t let it bring her down. Wish I was as tough as her.”

Schaefer believes that his mom will be watching when the draft takes place, and perhaps even helping him in a familiar role as he prepares for hockey’s grandest stage.

“My mom used to go in net and put on the equipment, and I’d shoot on her,” he recalled. “When I’m shooting pucks in the basement, she probably spiritually has the hockey equipment on, trying to save them, and I’m missing the net because she’s probably blocker saving that. There’s a lot of things I’ve learned. I’m definitely a lot stronger now.” — Shilton

Could the Islanders draft Hagens too?

James Hagens knows how badly some Islanders fans want to see the Hauppauge, New York, native drafted by their team. After all, the 18-year-old Boston College center is one of their own: A kid who was in the stands cheering on the Islanders during playoff games at Nassau Coliseum who just happened to one day become a top NHL draft prospect.

“I still have the [rally] towel to this day,” he told me during the Stanley Cup Final. “I just remember being a little kid, screaming my lungs off. It was a small building, but it got loud.”

Hagens said he has had people walk up to him on the golf course back home expressing hope that he’ll be an Islanders draft choice. Driving back from a workout one day, he saw a car with a “Bring Hagens Home” bumper sticker on the back.

“I just tried to duck my head and drive by. Didn’t really try to make eye contact or anything,” Hagens recalled.

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James Hagens’ NHL draft profile

Take a look at some of the best plays for Boston College center James Hagens.

He couldn’t help but get his hopes up when he watched the Islanders win the No. 1 pick in the lottery. There was a time when it appeared Hagens would go first overall in the 2025 draft. The venerable Bob McKenzie of TSN had him ranked first before the season, with nine of the 10 NHL scouts he surveyed in agreement.

There were a variety of factors for why Hagens slipped a bit this season — a great but not elite freshman season at BC, continuing concerns about this 5-foot-11-ish frame — but chief among them was the emergence of Schaefer as the Islanders’ presumptive No. 1 pick.

Yet here was buzz during the Stanley Cup Final that the Islanders might seek to make a draft-day splash by taking Schaefer first overall — and then trading back into the top four again to select Hagens. It’s assumed the San Jose Sharks are drafting forward Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit) and Hagens hasn’t been linked much with the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 3. Utah has the fourth pick, while Nashville is drafting fifth.

What could be in play from the Islanders? Speculation surrounds 25-year-old defenseman Alexander Romanov, a restricted free agent due a sizable raise, as well as the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick in 2026 that the Avs can defer to 2027. But that’s just a starting point for acquiring a top-five pick and, most importantly, a hometown star.

Isles GM Mathieu Darche has talked about his charges becoming an “attacking” team. Co-owner John Collins has discussed the necessity for the franchise to make “deeper connections” with the Long Island hockey community. Hagens would seem to address both needs, either at No. 1 … or if the Islanders can hit a two-fer in the draft. — Wyshynski

Clock is ticking on Tavares in Toronto

Unless Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs undergo seriously successful couples counselling in the next week, it’s unlikely the winger will be back in blue and white this fall. That ending has been projected for months, and frankly reflects some poor asset management by the Leafs that they’re about to lose this year’s top UFA for nothing.

Is there the possibility of a sign-and-trade, or another suitor interested in acquiring Marner’s rights, similar to how Toronto GM Brad Treliving acquired Chris Tanev’s rights at last year’s draft? Sure. But again … don’t hold your breath.

Where the Leafs’ focus can and should be at this stage is on John Tavares. The latest word is that the two sides aren’t close on an extension, and Toronto can’t beat around the bush too long here, because there are not many other viable unrestricted free agent centers available.

Sam Bennett appears determined to stay in Florida. Toews and Matt Duchene have signed elsewhere. Beyond Tavares, the Leafs are looking at Mikael Granlund, Pius Suter or perhaps Claude Giroux.

There might not be much Toronto can recuperate from the Marner situation. Tavares is the opposite; he wants to be a Leaf and is willing to negotiate.

Dallas just inked Duchene to a four-year, $18 million extension. Yes, there’s some creative accounting in there between the base salary and signing bonuses coupled with Duchene’s continued buyout package from Nashville. However, a $4.5 million average annual value contract for Tavares isn’t looking so bad when you consider the Leafs cannot lose a second-line center who just had one of his best seasons ever at age 34. And the Leafs won’t have many options to replace Tavares if he accepts another team’s offer (of which there could be many).

This is a critical juncture for Treliving, and considering all the factors at work, Toronto needs to put its best foot forward and get Tavares back under contract. — Shilton

Can Panthers bring back the big three, including Marchand?

Having covered the Panthers for multiple rounds in the playoffs, I had hours of conversations about their three key unrestricted free agents: center Sam Bennett, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger/Dairy Queen enthusiast Brad Marchand.

There was a common perception about them before the Panthers hoisted the Cup for a second time, but some of those have shifted:

1. Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP, was a lock to re-sign. While scores of teams might have doubled his base salary ($5 million), Bennett and the Panthers have been confident something would get done. Then, at the Panthers’ victory celebration at E11EVEN in Miami, he loosely quoted “The Wolf of Wall Street” to tell the fans, “I ain’t f—ing leaving,” while a message that read “8 more years” was displayed behind him.

2. Ekblad, who was drafted first overall by the Panthers in 2014, was iffy to re-sign. He would be coveted as a mobile right-shot defenseman with two Stanley Cups to his credit. The Panthers reportedly made an offer to Ekblad that was rejected last summer, and Florida then explored the trade market for him.

But the winds have shifted here. Speculation in Sunrise is that the Panthers and Ekblad, 29, could swap a high cap number for term, which can be risky with a player who has Ekblad’s injury history. Florida really likes its current defensive depth — Ekblad with Gustav Forsling, and then Seth Jones on a second pairing, where the Panthers believe he’s perfectly cast. Ekblad now is expected to stay, but as he cautioned recently: “Things seem to come down to the last minute here.”

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3. Marchand took less money in Boston on his last deal for a player of his accomplishments — he made only $8 million in base salary in two of 16 seasons with the Bruins. So the perception was that he would sign with whichever team offered the highest salary with the term he was seeking, rumored to be four years. The Maple Leafs have been the focus here, in the ultimate “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” moment in NHL history. But suitors ranging from the Washington Capitals to the Utah Mammoth were rumored to be waiting on him.

However, the fit and success he found in Florida appears to have shifted things here, too. Marchand publicly asked GM Bill Zito to give him a contract — at a Dairy Queen, no less — and Zito has said multiple times he expects to be able to sign Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand at a cap hit that allows the Panthers “to bring in other good players.”

For what it’s worth, Marchand was caught on video at the famed Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale telling a fan that he’s not leaving and then flashing four fingers. But it’s Marchand. He says a lot. — Wyshynski

Do the Blackhawks have a big surprise in store for Round 1?

Chicago is set to pick at No. 3. After Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa are all but guaranteed to go 1-2, the Blackhawks will be the first fascinating selection of the night.

Do they go center or wing?

When the scouting combine in Buffalo was wrapping up, it sounded like Chicago was zeroed in on either Moncton Wildcats center Caleb Desnoyers or Brampton Steelheads winger Porter Martone.

Martone’s stock has risen even further since the start of June, and while it may have been the Blackhawks’ inclination to go center, could they pass on Martone at this point? He’s 6-3 and 207 pounds, with a physical edge, creative playmaking, a great shot and terrific hands. Martone had 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games last season as the Steelheads’ captain, and scouts rave about his ability and potential to excel in the NHL.

Chicago already has one exemplary young center in Connor Bedard. While it’s tempting to add another potential standout at the position, the draw of Martone might just be too much to pass up. — Shilton

Oilers GM baffled by goalie decision

There’s no question that the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending was a detriment during their Stanley Cup Final loss to the Florida Panthers.

Stuart Skinner (.861 save percentage, 3.97 goals-against average) was pulled twice and eventually benched for Calvin Pickard (.878, 2.88) in their Game 5 loss, before returning to give up three goals on 23 shots in their Game 6 elimination. Both goalies were below replacement level in goals saved above expected over their last five playoff games. Meanwhile, Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky chugged along at 3.1 goals saved above expected in his last five games and did what he needed to do (.919, 2.45) in the Final.

This confused Oilers GM Stan Bowman, because he argued that Edmonton had the stronger goaltending in its three previous series in the Western Conference. “Darcy Kuemper, Adin Hill and Jake Oettinger, our goalies were better than them in each of those series,” he said. “I think that’s the reason we went to the [Stanley Cup] Final. And then in the Final it flipped.”

The assumption has been that the Oilers will prioritize finding an elite-level netminder who could theoretically prevent embarrassments like having to decide which struggling goalie will start Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. But Bowman said he’s still mulling over any goalie changes, with both Skinner ($2.6 million AAV) and Pickard ($1 million) signed through next season before becoming unrestricted free agents.

Bowman said changes for next season “may involve the goaltending or it could not,” and there’s a lot of analysis to be done in the wake of the Oilers’ second loss to Florida in two seasons before making that decision.

It’s hard to fathom that the Oilers would run it back with the same battery next season, but the options to upgrade are limited. They’ve been linked to John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks, who has a 10-team no-trade list and two years left on his contract at a $6.4 million AAV. New Jersey Devils veteran Jake Allen is the best option in a thin UFA market that also includes Alexandar Georgiev (San Jose), Alex Lyon (Detroit) and Anton Forsberg (Ottawa).

Bowman said that’s part of the decision for the Oilers: Who, exactly, would be an upgrade over Skinner and Pickard in the playoffs?

“It’s not like you just go down to the corner and pick up an elite goalie,” he said. “They’re not just waiting for you to join your team. So how many are there anyways in that group?

“If you look at the [elite] guys, some of them have had some tough playoffs. So there’s no guarantee in the goaltending world. It’s the most important [position], but it’s also in some instances not why teams win. So if you have a strong enough team, then there’s been teams that win the Cup without elite goaltending and there’s been teams that won because of their goalie.” — Wyshynski

Is Nashville really open to anything?

Rumblings about the Nashville Predators continue to grow. The Predators are picking at No. 5 but are not in the typical position a team would be in with that selection.

Nashville wants to compete now. And it has a piece of draft capital to wield in trying to land an NHL player from a team that might be closer to that retooling stage.

If there’s a blockbuster happening in the first round, it feels like Nashville will be involved.

Specifically, the Preds could use a viable defenseman to shore up the blue line alongside Roman Josi. And we know from recent offseasons that GM Barry Trotz is willing and able to go all-in as necessary and get creative.

If Trotz believes in Nashville’s opportunity to rebound from a rough 2024-25, he’s likely to consider a fair deal for an NHL-level skater. — Shilton