NHL Releases New 2025 RFA Offer Sheet Levels

Despite the large jump in the 2025-26 NHL salary cap up to an estimated $95.5 million, the compensation levels for offer sheets to restricted free agents will largely remain the same.

That’s a win for teams, but not the RFAs. All picks forfeited this offseason will be in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The basics of the system are that restricted free agents are free to sign with any team that submits an Offer Sheet beginning on July 1, but a player’s current team may retain their rights by submitting a Qualifying Offer before the later of June 25 or the Monday after the NHL Draft.

This season, the Draft is June 27 and 28, so the 2025 QO deadline will be June 30.

A new team may submit an Offer Sheet to the RFA, at which point the controlling team has seven days to match it or lose the player.

If the controlling team loses the player, the signing team owes compensation in the form of draft picks.

Last season, the St. Louis Blues extended offer sheets to Edmonton Oilers RFAs Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Edmonton was unable to match the offers. St. Louis received the players, and Edmonton received a third and second-round pick, respectively.

The practice has been largely taboo amongst NHL general managers, who feared angering or severing relationships with rivals they needed to work with for trades and other issues. However, the St. Louis-Edmonton situation showed it can be done without an angry war of words, like the terse spat and game of retaliation that accompanied the Montreal Canadiens trying to sign Carolina’s Sebastian Aho. First, there were mocking and insulting tweets as well as angry public comments on both sides. One year later, Carolina exacted revenge for the attempt and signed Montreal RFA center Jesper Kotkaniemi.

So, it’s widely believed that there will be more RFA offer sheets this summer.

Draft pick compensation is determined by the salary at which the new team signs the player. The more a new team pays, the greater the compensation.

Side note: Do not expect the Pittsburgh Penguins to engage in high-profile RFA offer sheets. The draft picks forfeited will be in the coveted 2026 draft. Should Penguins GM Kyle Dubas sign a player at a first-round compensation level, they would lose their 2026 first-round pick, which is likely a lottery ticket for phenom Gavin McKenna.

Also, the mostly static compensation levels combined with the rising cap will make it harder for new teams to tender successful offer sheets.

New RFA Offer Sheet Compensation Levels

$1,544,424 or below: No Compensation

Up to $2,340,037: Third-round selection

Between $2,340,038 and $4,680,076: Second-round selection.

Between $4,680,077 and $7,020,113: First and Third-round selections.

Between $7,020,114 and $9,360,153: First, Second, and Third-round selections.

Between $9,360,154 and $11,700,192: Two First-round selections, a second, and a Third.

More than $11,700,192: Four First-round selections.

*Credit Puckpedia.com for the values.

A stipulation of the offer sheets is that a team must possess their original draft choice. They cannot sacrifice an acquired pick if it was not their original selection. For example, last summer St. Louis had to re-acquire its second-round pick, which they dealt to the Penguins with Kevin Hayes. St. Louis parted with future second and third-round selections in order to obtain their 2025 second-round pick to extend the offer sheet to Broberg.