After two years in Colorado, Johnson returns to the Blue Jackets where he played from 2012 to 2018. At age 37, Johnson will likely be nothing more than a No.6 or No.7 defenseman in Columbus this season. He had 16 points (3G / 13A) in 80 games a season ago.
Motte is a fourth-line penalty killer who has just 60 points (31G / 29A) in 247 games over the last five seasons. Motte won't provide much offence but should help a Red Wings' penalty kill that was 14th in the NHL (79.6%) a season ago.
Barron has spent the last three seasons with Tucson (AHL), where he's combined for 29 goals and 33 assists (62 points) in 182 games. Since being drafted in the seventh-round in 2016, Barron has yet to appear in an NHL game.
Driedger had two outstanding seasons with the Panthers in 2020 and 2021 before being claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft. While with the Panthers, he was 21-8-4 with a 2.07 GAA and .931 SV% across two seasons. However, he had a 2.93 GAA and .900 SV% in 29 games (26 starts) with the Kraken and played in just two NHL games during the 2024 season. With Anthony Stoalrz now in Toronto, Driedger will battle with Spencer Knight for the role of Sergei Bobrovsky's backup in 2025.
The Blues selected Jiricek with the No.16 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blueliner spent the 2024 season in Czechia, posting one assist in 19 games with Plzen HC. He also represented Czechia at the World Juniors but played just one game before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.
After three years in Winnipeg, Schmidt was bought out this summer and lands with the Panthers on a one-year deal. He reconnects with former head coach Paul Maurice, who was behind the Jets' bench in 2022. Most recently, Schmidt had 14 points (2G / 12A) in 63 games while also racking up 66 hits and 76 blocked shots.
Pare was a sixth-round pick of the Bruins in 2017 but spent the last two season with the Colorado Eagles (AHL), and tallied 35 points (14G / 21A) in 61 games in 2024. He will start the 2025 season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Myers had a really strong year in the AHL in 2024, posting 23 points (4G / 19A) and a plus-29 rating in 61 games for the Syracuse Crunch. He'll likely be an AHLer to start 2024-25 but gives the Maple Leafs some nice organizational depth on the right side of the blueline. He appeared in five NHL games with the Lightning last year and has 158 career games under his belt.
Mermis spent most of 2024 with the Minnesota Wild, where he set career highs in games (47), goals (3), assists (5) and points (8). Expect him to start 2024-25 in the AHL--he had 26 points (5G / 21A) in 63 AHL games in 2023.
After serving a 41-game suspension for gambling, Pinto had 27 points (9G / 18A) in 41 games upon making his season debut on January 21st. The 23-year-old will serve as the team's No.2 centre behind Tim Stützle and will look to build on the 19-goal and 22-assist per 82-game pace he's set in his first two full seasons.
Atkinson had a strong first season in Philadelphia but missed all of 2023 and struggled with 2024, scoring just 13 goals and 15 assists (28 points) in 70 games. At age-35, Atkinson's days of 30-plus goals are over, but he should provide the Lightning's bottom-6 and PP2 with some offensive punch.
Harkins has been a fringe NHLer for the last two seasons, splitting his time between the NHL and AHL. In 2024, he had 12 points (5G / 7A) in 14 AHL games and four assists in 45 NHL games with the Penguins. Now with the Ducks, he'll likely be in the mix as their No.12 forward.
Joseph will join his brother in St. Louis who was acquired in an earlier deal on Tuesday after the defensemen signed a one-year $950,000 contract with the Blues. The 25-year-old defenseman had spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh and had two goals, 11 points and 14 PIMs in 52 games played in 2023-24.
Winnipeg has added to their offensive depth on Monday by signing Jaret Anderson-Dolan to a two-year, $1.55 million contract. The first year of Anderson-Dolan's contract will be a two-way contract, with the second season (2025-26) being only a one-way. In 31 games in 2023-24 with both Nashville and Los Angeles, the 24-year-old had a goal and four points.
Richard will join his sixth organization in five years after he signed a two-year, two-way contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 27-year-old played in nine games with Boston in 2023-24, picking up a goal, three points and two PIMs while averaging 10:36 TOI/GP. He has four goals and eight points in 24 career NHL games.
Blackwell has spent the last two seasons in Chicago but earned himself a one-year, $775,000 contract on Tuesday with Dallas. The 31-year-old is entering his seventh NHL season and had eight goals, 12 points, 10 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus in 44 games in 2023-24.
Entwistle will return to Chicago for a fifth season after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has yet to surpass 12+ points in any of his four NHL seasons but had five goals, 11 points, 47 PIMs and a -29 plus/minus in 67 games played in 2023-24.
Tatar will return to New Jersey on a one-year, $1.8 million contract for the 2024-25 season where he was a fan favourite after spending two seasons with the Devils between 2021 and 2023. The 34-year-old left-winger spent 2023-24 split between Colorado and Seattle and had nine goals, 24 points and 20 PIMs in 70 games played.
Aarnodt will return to Colorado for a third season after he signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Tuesday. The 26-year-old undrafted defenseman joined Colorado from Minnesota State University (Mankato) in 2021-22 and had six goals and 14 points in 60 games played in 2023-24 with the Eagles (AHL).
After five seasons in Long Island, Sebastian Aho has signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract ($775,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old appeared in 58 games in 2023-24, picking up two goals, nine points and 12 PIMs.
