Canadiens Tender Qualifying Offers To Six Restricted Free Agents

NHL teams had until 5 pm on Friday to submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents, including eight players on the  Montreal Canadiens roster.

Here are the rules:

The qualifying offers must be 100% of the player’s base salary if they made over $1 million last season, 105% if the player earned between $700,000 and $1 million, and 110% if the player earned less than $660,000. By offering players a qualifying offer, teams ensure that they have the option to match or refuse any offer sheets signed by the players in question.

If a team opts not to tender a qualifying offer, the players in question automatically change their status from restricted free agents to unrestricted free agents.

Players Who Received Qualifying Offer

Rafael Harvey-Pinard, who emerged as an impact layer in the second half of the 2022-23 season, was qualified. Contract negotiations have been somewhat slow in his case, but the team still has ample time to hammer out the details during the offseason. Harvey-Pinard scored 14 goals and six assists in 34 games with the Habs.

Newly acquired forward Alex Newhook was an easy choice to qualify, especially given he was in the last year of his entry-level contract. He’s in for a significant raise, though his numbers in the NHL should lead to a reasonable contract extension. Newhook scored 14 goals and 16 assists in 82 games for the Colorado Avalanche.

They also qualified Jesse Ylonen, one of the best shooters in the system. Ylonen earned six goals and 10 assists in 39 games for the Canadiens last season.

AHL defenceman Nicolas Beaudin as well as forward Mitchell Stephens also received qualifying offers.

Players Who Did Not Receive Qualifying Offer

Unsurprisingly, Denis Gurianov did not receive a qualifying offer from the Habs. The 26-year-old earned $2.9 million last season, which means the Canadiens would have had to qualify him at the same amount.  Despite the lack of an offer, the Canadiens have not yet closed the door on contract negotiations.

Joel Teasdale, who spent the majority of the season with the Laval Rocket, was the only other player not to receive a qualifying offer.

Montreal Canadiens Salary Cap Information Via Puck Pedia.