August is typically the quietest month of the year around the NHL. The draft and the opening of free agency are in the books, and the salary arbitration period has passed — quietly, this year, as the NHL Players’ Association chose not to announce specific hearing dates for players and bargaining terms weren’t leaked by insiders as we’ve seen in the past.

According to PuckPedia, that leaves 25 restricted free agents still unsigned by their teams as of Aug. 11. The players’ NHL rights are held by the teams, so there’s no real particular urgency to get these deals done. But with just over a month to go before training camps begin, all parties are likely hoping to get pen to paper sooner rather than later.

Here are some of the biggest names to watch.

Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins

In 2023, Swayman went through a contentious arbitration hearing with the Bruins. That led to a one-year at a cap hit of $3.475 million — and a vow never to go through the process again.

Though he was arbitation-eligible again this summer, Swayman held true to that vow in July, leaving Bruins fans hopeful that the framework for a long-term deal was in place.

So far, though, nothing has been announced.

Swayman is in excellent position to secure a big payday to remain in Boston. Last season, he appeared in a career-high 44 games and finished with a .916 save percentage that tied him for fifth-best among goalies with at least 25 games played. His 18.4 goals saved above expected in the regular season, per MoneyPuck, ranked him fourth in the league.

In the playoffs, he was even better, leading the league with a .933 save percentage and 13.3 goals save above expected through 12 games, as he assumed Boston’s starting job.

Over the last three seasons, Swayman has guarded the Bruins’ net in tandem with Linus Ullmark, and the pair shared the William M. Jennings trophy for the fewest regular-season goals allowed during the 2022-23 season while Ullmark was awarded the Vezina Trophy.

Last season, though, Swayman moved into the 1A role and was Boston’s playoff starter. With one year remaining on his current contract, Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators on June 26, leaving Swayman as Boston’s unquestioned No. 1 going forward.

A fourth-round pick from 2017 who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, Swayman has been one of the NHL’s best bargains since he entered the league in the 2020-21 season. Now, the 25-year-old deserves to be paid as a top goalie.

Seth Jarvis – Carolina Hurricanes

Beneath a happy-go-lucky personality lies a supremely driven athlete. As he played out the third season of his entry-level contract in 2023-24, Seth Jarvis’s 33 goals and 67 points ranked him second in both categories on the high-flying Carolina Hurricanes.

Drafted 13th overall in 2020, Jarvis has quickly made himself a key cog in the Hurricanes’ offense, playing top-line minutes and on the first-unit power play. Now 22, he doesn’t have arbitration rights. But with the NHL’s salary cap expected to keep increasing substantially over the next several seasons, new Carolina GM Eric Tulsky could save himself some money down the road if he can get Jarvis inked to a long-term deal now.

Understandably, Tulsky needed to get Martin Necas’s more urgent contract situation resolved before he could address Jarvis’s deal. Amid rumors of a trade demand and an arbitration filing, Necas inked a new two-year deal at a cap hit of $6.5 million per season on July 29.

The Hurricanes now have $6.44 million in available cap space, with Jarvis as their only remaining RFA. It might be possible to ink him to a shorter-term bridge deal at or below that number, but Tulsky will need to find a way to create more cap space if he hopes to lock up Jarvis for the long term.

Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider – Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings’ Stanley Cup Playoff drought has now reached eight seasons — the longest in franchise history for this Original Six franchise that has 11 Stanley Cups to its name.

Two of the most important pieces of Detroit’s rebuild are due for new contracts this season, but remain unsigned.

Chosen fourth overall in 2020, forward Lucas Raymond has posted 174 points in 238 games, second-best in his draft class. The 22-year-old hit a career high with 31 goals last season, and his 72 points led his team.

Defenseman Moritz Seider was a surprise selection at No. 6 in the 2019 draft, but has more than lived up to that position. A workhorse on the blue line, the 23-year-old has averaged 22:51 per game over his first three NHL seasons. The 2022 Calder Trophy winner has put up at least 42 points in each of his three seasons, and is a force at both ends of the ice.

Detroit GM Steve Yzerman has left more than $17 million in cap space open to complete deals with Raymond, Seider and fellow RFA Jonathan Berggren. Based on current market conditions, he’ll likely be close to capped out once his young stars are signed.

Other Notable RFAs

Some of the other high-profile restricted free agents around the league who are also in need of new contracts include 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers with the Seattle Kraken, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg of the Edmonton Oilers, Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils and defenseman Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars.