NHL Free Agency: Five Intriguing Players Who Went Unqualified

The NHL’s free-agent market got a boost late Friday afternoon when the deadline passed for teams to extend qualifying offers to their RFAs. 

Those players are now UFAs and assets for the highest bidders. It’s unlikely teams will find the missing piece to their Stanley Cup playoff aspirations with this new group of UFAs, but there could well be great bargain acquisitions that don’t force teams to give up any assets (other than salary cap space) to acquire. 

Here are five intriguing non-tendered RFAs/new UFAs (and their most recent NHL team) on the market with three forwards and two defensemen:

The second-most productive non-tendered player on this list, tied with Morgan Geekie, Steel generated 18 assists and 28 points in 65 games with the Wild this past season. 

The 25-year-old has been in the NHL for parts of five seasons – four with the Anaheim Ducks that selected him 30th overall in the 2016 draft and last season with Minny. And he hasn’t been able to dominate the offensive side of the game the way he did as a WHL star with Regina. 

Part of that is because of his 5-foot-11 frame, but he just hasn’t panned out as a top-nine player. That could change if a playoff-worthy team takes a chance on him as a secondary contributor, but he’s basically going to have to sign a minimum-level salary and establish himself as a veteran of consequence at hockey’s top level.

The Ducks chose not to retain Comtois’ services after he spent the first 210 regular-season games of his NHL career with them. The 24-year-old chipped in 48 assists and 86 points in that span, but there’s still a chance he could grow into a decent-enough depth forward on a playoff contender. 

Comtois had a salary cap hit of $2.03 million last season, and he’ll have to take half that amount or less if he’s going to catch on with a new organization. At 6-foot-2, he’s got some size that should attract attention on the free-agent market, and he’s still got a few years to improve his game before he’s forced to take his talents to a European league.

The 26-year-old Fischer looks to be moving on from the Coyotes, who has spent the entirety of his seven-season NHL career in Arizona. 

Fischer posted 13 goals and 27 points in 80 games with the Coyotes in 2023-24 – not as many as the career-best 15 goals and 33 points in his rookie season of 2017-18, but not a terrible number for someone with a modest $1.125 million cap hit last year. 

There’s an outside chance he returns to Arizona on a cheaper contract, but it’s probably best for both sides to move on. Fischer deserves a shot at showing an improved game on a much better team than the Coyotes, and Arizona wants to give opportunities to new faces.

Despite playing only three NHL seasons thus far in his career, Foote will be looking for his third team in the league after departing the Preds – who acquired him during the season in the Tanner Jeannot trade.

He isn’t in a position to ask for more than the $850,000 he earned in each of the past two years. Foote is a big body at 6-foot-5, but consistency is the reason he has yet to play a full 82-game regular season at the NHL level. 

Teams seeking depth on the back end will likely enquire about his availability, as he is a former 14th overall pick after all.

Despite averaging 19:12 of ice time in 73 games with the Blackhawks last season, Jones was cut loose. 

His cap hit of $1.3 million in 2022-23 wouldn’t break the bank for a new employer, but he has his challenges in his own zone, which is why he will be looking to land on his third NHL team in six seasons. Jones isn’t a top-four blueliner, but as a depth defender, he will likely get one more opportunity to stick around in hockey’s best league.