NHL rule causes dozens of college players to lose contracts with their team
Twenty-seven players are now without NHL contracts just weeks before the start of the 2024-2025 NHL season.
August 15th marked the official NHL deadline for collegiate free agents in their final year of school to retain exclusive signing rights, should a team choose to maintain their contract status, allowing them to stay with the franchise.
This decision led eighteen teams to part ways with twenty-seven players in total, with each player now eligible to sign professionally with another team in North America or Europe.
Prospects Who Lose Exclusive Free Agent Rights
Jack Perbix - RW - Anaheim Ducks
Jack Perbix 23 was a fourth round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2018. Perbix spent 2023-24 in the NCAA with Northern Michigan after prior stops with Minnesota & Western Michigan. Perbix had 3 goals and 4 points in 31 games. In 12 ECHL games, Perbix had just one point off a goal. Jack is the brother of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix.
Quinn Olson - LW - Boston Bruins
Quinn Olson was a third round pick of the Boston Bruins in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Olson spent his entire collegiate career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, and last season had 4 goals and 21 points in 37 games played.
Liam Gorman - RW - Chicago Blackhawks
Liam Gorman was a sixth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022 for a sixth round pick. Gorman had a goal and four points in 28 games for UMass.
Cole Brady - G - Dallas Stars
Cole Brady was a fifth round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to Dallas in a three-way deal that sent Flames defenseman Chris Tanev to the Stars. Brady had a 4-2-2 record with a 3.03GAA and a .886SV% in 9 games in 2023-24 for UMass.
Cooper Moore - LHD - Detroit Red Wings
Cooper Moore was a fifth round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Moore had 3 goals and 22 points in 39 games for the Quinnipac Bobcats last season. He will re-join Quinnipac for the 2024-25 season.
Sam Stange - RW - Detroit Red Wings
Sam Stange was a fourth round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Stange played in just 7 games in 2023-24 for Wisconsin, going pointless. He has transferred to Omaha for the 2024-25 NCAA season.
Carter Berger - LHD - Florida Panthers
Carter Berger was a fourth round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Berger had 4 goals and 20 points in 36 games for Western Michigan. Berger had played two seasons for WMU after transferring from Connecticut. Berger previously signed a one-year AHL deal prior to the deadline with Hartford.
Owen Lindmark - C - Florida Panthers
Owen Lindmark was a fifth round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Lindmark spent last season as a fifth-year senior with Wisconsin, with 11 goals and 21 points in 29 games.
Ben Meehan - LHD - Los Angeles Kings
Ben Meehan was a fifth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He had a goal and 12 points in 25 games for UMass-Lowell. Meehan was recently apart of the Florida Panthers development camp.
Rhett Pitlick - LW - Montreal Canadiens
Rhett Pitlick was a fifth round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He had 19 goals and 36 points in 39 games for Minnesota in 2023-24. Pitlick is the brother of NHLers Rem and Tyler. Rhett is expected to forgo his senior year and sign a pro contract, likely in the American Hockey League.
Ty Smilanic - C - Montreal Canadiens
Ty Smilanic was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Smilanic was traded from Florida to Montreal in a deal that sent Ben Chiarot to the Panthers. Smilanic had a goal and 7 points in 31 ECHL games for Trois-Rivieres.
Alexander Campbell - LW - Nashville Predators
Alexander Campbell was a third round pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Campbell had a team-leading 22 goals for Northeastern, 5th in Hockey East scoring, as well as 42 points. Campbell will play in the AHL for Nashville's affiliate, Milwaukee in 2024-25, after a nine game stint for the club last season.
Ethan Haider - G - Nashville Predators
Ethan Haider was a fifth round pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Haider had a 7-11-2 record in 21 games played with Connecticut, along with a 2.91GAA and .906SV%.
Bryce Brodzinski - RW - Philadelphia Flyers
Bryce Brodzinski was a seventh round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Brodzinski had 14 goals and 22 assists for a team leading 36 points for Minnesota. Brodzinski is expected to sign a non-NHL pro contract. His brother Jonny currently plays in the NHL for the New York Rangers.
Chase Yoder - C - Pittsburgh Penguins
Chase Yoder was a fifth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Yoder had 11 goals and 20 points in 35 games for Providence last season. He will return to the Friars for his final year.
Alex Young - C - San Jose Sharks
Alex Young was a seventh round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Young had 6 goals and 9 points in 37 games for Arizona State. Young previously signed a one-year ECHL deal with the Adirondack Thunder.
Nick Capone - RW - Tampa Bay Lightning
Nick Capone was a sixth round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Capone had 4 goals and 8 points in 32 games for Connecticut.
Eamon Powell - RHD - Tampa Bay Lightning
Eamon Powell was a fourth round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Powell had 5 goals and 38 points in 40 games for Boston College, 5th in NCAA defensemen points. Powell, the Eagles captain, is expected to return for his final season.
McKade Webster - LW - Tampa Bay Lightning
McKade Webster was a seventh round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Webster had 14 goals and 32 points in 43 games for Denver in 2023-24, captaining the team to a NCAA championship.
Michael Koster - RHD - Toronto Maple Leafs
Michael Koster was a 5th round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Koster had 2 goals and 14 points in 33 games for Minnesota.
Veeti Miettinen - RW - Toronto Maple Leafs
Miettinen was a sixth round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Miettinen had 20 goals and 35 points in 37 games for St. Cloud State. Miettinen had previously signed a two-year deal in his native Finland with KalPa.
Carson Bantle - LW - Utah HC
Carson Bantle was a fifth round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Bantle had 14 goals and 19 points in 39 games for Wisconsin in 2023-24.
Jack Malone - RW - Vancouver Canucks
Jack Malone was a sixth round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Malone had 12 goals and 25 points in 41 games for Boston College. Malone had previously signed a two-year AHL deal with the Utica Comets.
Matthew Thiessen - G - Vancouver Canucks
Matthew Thiessen was a seventh round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He had a 3-11-2 record in 18 games for Minnesota-Duluth, along with a 3.14GAA and .904SV%.
Ryder Donovan - C - Vegas Golden Knights
Ryder Donovan was a fourth round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He played for St. Thomas in 3 games last season after missing last season for mental health related reasons. Donovan was recently invited to the Knights development camp.
Harrison Blaisdell - C - Winnipeg Jets
Harrison Blaisdell was a fifth round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He had 11 goals and 14 points in 32 games for New Hampshire. Blaisdell had previously signed an ECHL contract with the Fort Wayne Komets.
Logan Neaton - G - Winnipeg Jets
Logan Neaton was a fifth round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Neaton had a 6-14-2 record with Miami (OH), along with a 3.24GAA and .894SV%
27 Players Now Eligible To Sign New Deals
All players who have been released are eligible to sign professional contracts or, if eligible, return to school for an additional year. Some of the players who were not offered new contracts had already signed professional deals or committed to return for another year of college hockey.
| POLL | ||
Should the NHL have a signing deadline for college prospects? | ||
| Yes | 175 | 73.2 % |
| No | 64 | 26.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
