One day before the NHL’s free agent period opens, there was one last item of business for the 32 NHL teams, and that was extending qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents.
The Montreal Canadiens extended qualifying offers to five players: Jakub Dobeš, Sean Farrell, Jayden Struble, William Trudeau, and Cayden Primeau
That means they retain their NHL rights, and can continue to negotiate without worrying about an open market. Some of the players can sign offer sheets, but that gives the team the right to match.
It also means that Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Xavier Simoneau, Gustav Lindström, and Noel Hoefenmayer become unrestricted free agents tomorrow. This doesn’t necessarily mean that their time in the Canadiens organization comes to an end. A few years ago, the team did not qualify Rem Pitlick, but he re-signed with the team at terms more favourable to both the player and team than the qualifying offer would have been.
Some of those players can also sign AHL contracts with the Laval Rocket if no other organization is more enticing to them.
