The 2025 NHL Freedman Defensive Player Class is highlighted by Aaron Ekblad (Panthers), a top right-handed defender with offensive upside and physical. His injury history and recent discipline (20 games) may attract some attention. Ivan Provorov (blue coat) offers durability and transition, with an average of over 23 minutes per night, but his metrics of possession remain inconsistent.
Dante Fabbro joined Blue Jackets for a career-high 26 points. He is becoming a reliable two-way choice. Ryan Lindgren and Cody Ceci will increase depth. Lindgren provides the body, and CECI provides a stable defensive game. Matt Grzelcyk scored a career-high 40 points, including 39 assists. Vladislav Gavrikov provides a stable presence on Kings Blue Line.
Apart from Ekblad, the class lacks the top options to compete for the team. Most of the above options (Provorov, Fabbro, Gavrikov) are intermediate batch or complementary works. The remaining groups are in the range of 5-7. Teams can prioritize major UFA commitments for the Blue Line upgrade, prioritizing trades or re-signations.
| Player | pos | age | team | AAV | GP | g | one | pts | toi | 5v4 toi | 4v5 toi |
| Grzelcyk, Matt | ld | 31 | pit | $2.75 million | 82 | 1 | 39 | 40 | 20:37 | 2:02 | 0:35 |
| Ekblad, Aaron | road | 29 | fla | $7.5 billion | 56 | 3 | 30 | 33 | 23:31 | 2:33 | 2:17 |
| Provorov | ld | 28 | CBJ | $6.75 million | 82 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 23:21 | 0:56 | 2:25 |
| Gavrikov (Vladislav) | ld | 29 | Lak | $5.88 million | 82 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 23:05 | 0:04 | 3:04 |
| Burns, Brent | road | 40 | car | $8 million | 82 | 6 | twenty three | 29 | 20:57 | 1:34 | 2:14 |
| Orlov, Dmitry | ld | 33 | car | $7.75 million | 76 | 6 | twenty two | 28 | 20:00 | 0:01 | 1:56 |
| Fabbro, Dante | road | 27 | CBJ | $2.5 million | 68 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 20:54 | 0:04 | 1:28 |
| Sisi, Cody | road | 31 | Dahl | $3.25 million | 85 | 4 | 20 | twenty four | 21:13 | 0:06 | 2:19 |
| Lindgren, Ryan | ld | 27 | Colonel | $4.5 billion | 72 | 4 | 18 | twenty two | 19:42 | 0:00 | 2:21 |
| Dumorin, Brian | ld | 33 | NJD | $3.15 million | 80 | 3 | 19 | twenty two | 19:33 | 0:01 | 2:03 |
| Purbix, Nick | road | 27 | TBL | $1.12 million | 74 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 14:41 | 0:01 | 0:15 |
| Schmidt, Nate | LD/RD | 33 | fla | $800K | 80 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 16:32 | 1:12 | 0:41 |
| Deangallo, Tony | road | 29 | NYI | $775K | 35 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 23:21 | 2:50 | 0:23 |
| Savard, David | road | 34 | MTL | $3.5 million | 75 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 16:35 | 0:01 | 2:57 |
| Sut, Ryan | ld | 40 | STL | $3 million | 82 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 19:28 | 0:04 | 1:54 |
| Martinez, Alec | LD/RD | 37 | chi | $4 million | 44 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 18:44 | 0:36 | 1:22 |
| Forbort, Derek | ld | 33 | Van | $1.5 million | 54 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 17:06 | 0:03 | 2:02 |
| Jokiharju, Henri | road | 26 | BOS | $31.1 million | 60 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 17:50 | 0:19 | 0:49 |
| Jolowsky, Dennis | ld | 27 | NJD | $775K | 39 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 13:04 | 1:10 | 0:01 |
| Ruta (Jan) | LD/RD | 34 | SJS | $2.75 million | 54 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17:15 | 0:00 | 1:44 |
| Hanley, Joel | LD/RD | 34 | CGY | $788K | 53 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 18:35 | 0:05 | 1:17 |
| Joshua Mahura | LD/RD | 27 | ocean | $775K | 64 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 13:45 | 0:02 | 0:34 |
| Peterley, Jeff | road | 37 | det | $6.25 million | 44 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 18:54 | 0:11 | 1:06 |
| De Haan, Calvin | LD/RD | 34 | Ni | $800K | 47 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 14:58 | 0:00 | 0:53 |
| Hamanik, Travis | road | 34 | Ott | $11.1 million | 59 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 17:04 | 0:02 | 1:30 |
Free agent chart and numbers for Stanley hats
| Player | pos | age | team | AAV | GP | g | one | pts | toi | 5v4 toi | 4v5 toi |
| Wotherspoon, Parker | ld | 27 | BOS | $800K | 55 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18:02 | 0:07 | 1:16 |
| Fleury, Haydn | LD/RD | 28 | WPG | $775K | 39 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 15:56 | 0:05 | 1:19 |
| Merrill Lynn, Jon | ld | 33 | Minimum | $1.2 million | 70 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14:06 | 0:01 | 0:47 |
| Smith, Brendan | LD/RD | 36 | Dahl | $10 million | 32 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 13:13 | 0:02 | 0:54 |
| Gilbert, Dennis | ld | 28 | Ott | $825K | 29 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 10:29 | 0:00 | 0:26 |
| Johnson, Jack | ld | 38 | CBJ | $775K | 41 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12:52 | 0:00 | 1:30 |
| Desimone, Nick | road | 30 | UTA | $775K | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 15:35 | 0:00 | 0:22 |
| Kellington, Oliver | LD/RD | 28 | Anna | $1.05 million | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12:18 | 0:01 | 0:17 |
| Johnson, Eric | road | 37 | Colonel | $10 million | 36 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14:35 | 0:00 | 1:35 |
| Klinberg, John | road | 32 | EDM | $1.76 million | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17:15 | 0:13 | 0:10 |
| Barry, Tyson | road | 33 | CGY | $1.25 million | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15:48 | 1:41 | 0:01 |
| Riley, Mike | ld | 31 | NYI | $1.25 million | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15:10 | 1:34 | 0:04 |
| Robert Bortuzzo | road | 36 | UTA | $775K | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10:57 | 0:00 | 1:22 |
| Hutton, Grant | road | 29 | NYI | $775K | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13:28 | 0:07 | 0:50 |
| Ruhwedel, Chad | road | 35 | Ni | $775K | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14:06 | 0:00 | 2:19 |
| Melmith, Dakota | LD/RD | 31 | Tor | $775K | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15:12 | 0:00 | 0:04 |
| Lagerson, William | LD/RD | 29 | det | $775K | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14:34 | 0:01 | 0:23 |
| Kester, Matt | ld | 27 | fla | $775K | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12:41 | 0:00 | 0:50 |
| Hakampa, Jani | road | 33 | Tor | $1.47 million | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:05 | 0:00 | 1:03 |
| Schulder, Jimmy | ld | 30 | SJS | $800K | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:47 | 0:02 | 0:54 |
| Petrovic, Alexander | road | 33 | Dahl | $775K | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:06 | 0:02 | 0:05 |
| Megna, Jaycob | ld | 32 | fla | $775K | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:06 | 0:00 | 1:24 |
| Hager, Robert | ld | 30 | VGK | $775K | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:09 | 0:00 | 0:00 |
| Santini, Steven | road | 30 | TBL | $775K | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:37 | 0:00 | 0:00 |
| Friedman, Mark | LD/RD | 29 | NSH | $775K | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:04 | 0:00 | 0:21 |
| Dermott, Travis | LD/RD | 28 | EDM | $775K | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:16 | 0:04 | 0:22 |
| Jones, Kaleb | LD/RD | 28 | Lak | $775K | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:34 | 0:22 | 0:21 |
| Hulson, Noah | road | 28 | Van | $775K | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:17 | 0:01 | 2:18 |
| Guillaume | ld | 27 | Van | $775K | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:48 | 0:00 | 0:09 |
| Stillman, Riley | ld | 27 | car | $775K | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:11 | 0:00 | 0:11 |
| Kruelman, Nathan | road | 27 | pit | $775K | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:05 | 0:00 | 0:00 |
| Cogland, Dylan | road | 27 | WPG | $775K | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:21 | 0:09 | 0:33 |
| Ah, Jack | ld | 28 | Colonel | $775K | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:48 | 0:36 | 0:31 |
List of player contracts signed so far
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