Though most players have to wait until after their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team in the league without compensation, there are a few other ways to get to the open market. Players that complete seven full seasons in the NHL are eligible for UFA status, as are restricted free agents that do not receive qualifying offers.
There is another way, however, offered to those players who don’t get many opportunities in the NHL but have put in several years at the professional level: Group VI unrestricted free agency.
Earlier today, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents through this category. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:
- The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
- The player has completed three (3) or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19-year-old player), or one (1) or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
- The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender. This games played requirement is subject to pro-rating due to the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Boston Bruins
Jack Ahcan
Matt Filipe**
Joona Koppanen
Nick Wolff
Buffalo Sabres
Joseph Cecconi
Austin Strand
Jeremy Davies
Calgary Flames
Matthew Phillips
Nicolas Meloche
Kristians Rubins
Carolina Hurricanes
Maxime Lajoie*
Jack Dugan
Zachary Sawchenko
Chicago Blackhawks
(none)
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Joona Luoto
Justin Richards
Lane Pederson*
Dallas Stars
Riley Tufte
Ryan Shea
Fredrik Karlstrom
Ben Gleason
Dylan Wells
Detroit Red Wings
Chase Pearson
Victor Brattstrom
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Casey Fitzgerald*
Henry Bowlby
Connor Bunnaman
Lucas Carlsson*
Los Angeles Kings
(none)
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Otto Leskinen
Anthony Richard
Frederic Allard
Nashville Predators
Austin Rueschhoff
Devin Cooley
New Jersey Devils
(none)
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Timothy Gettinger
Wyatt Kalynuk
William Lockwood
Ottawa Senators
(none)
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
Alexander True
Carsen Twarynski
Joey Daccord*
St. Louis Blues
(none)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
(none)
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Axel Jonsson Fjallby*
Mikhail Berdin
*Indicates that the player could technically still play enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency, though in some cases this will be impossible because of injury.
**If Filipe does not play a game in 2022-23, he will not have the three professional seasons and will not qualify for Group VI status.