On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens announced that they have offered Qualifying offers to Restricted Free agents Mark Barberio, Phillip Danault, Sven Andrighetto and Daniel Carr. Richard Labbe of La Presse was the first with the story.
Canadiens Give Four Players Qualifying Offers
The Canadiens have until June 27th at 5:00 pm to qualify the other RFAs with a restricted free agent status before they become Unrestricted free agents on July 1st. This list includes Lucas Lessio, Michael Bournival, Morgan Ellis, Darren Dietz, Joel Hanley and Mac Bennett.
In the case of Danault, Carr and Andrighetto they are just coming off their Entry-Level Contracts, whereas Barberio will be looking for his fifth professional contract. This could leave the Montreal Canadiens defenseman to push harder for the salary that he wants this summer. Since Barberio and Carr are both over 23 years old, they will be eligible for arbitration this summer.
Under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, there is a certain minimum that a player can receive for a qualifying offer. If a player made less than 660K last season, they must receive at least 110% of their salary of last season in the 2016-17 season. Players who made between 660K and 1M will make at least 105% of their 2015-16 salary in 2016-17, however a Qualifying Offer can’t exceed 1M.
The 4 players are all still eligible for 2-way contracts because they have all played under 180 NHL games. The 4 players will likely be looking for more than a 2-way deal as they all played a good part of their season and in Danault’s case the entire season in the NHL.
Both Carr and Andrighetto came up early in the season from St. John’s in order to help the injury-plagued Canadiens forward group. They both were able to cement themselves into the Canadiens lineup for the rest of the season. However, Carr injured his knee in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 25th which forced him out of the line-up for just over 2 months. Carr finished the season with 6 goals and 9 points in 23 games for the Canadiens.
Like Carr, Andrighetto seemed to solidify himself as a player who can play up and down in the Canadiens lineup on a regular basis as he put up 7 goals and 17 points in 44 games.
Barberio solidified himself as a top 6 defenseman in the Habs organization spending a lot of time playing with Greg Pateryn on a third pairing until a concussion cut his season short. He also had a strong puck possession which lead all Canadiens defenseman in that department. He played 30 games for the Canadiens in the 2015-16 season scoring 2 goals and 9 points.
Danault was traded to the Canadiens just prior to the Trade deadline with a 2nd round pick in 2018 by the Blackhawks in exchange for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. In his short stint with injury-plagued version of the Habs, he proved that he can be a versatile 4th liner playing on the wing and at centre. He also gives the Canadiens a potential go-to option for the penalty kill.
These four players will likely give the Canadiens some roster depth going into the 2016-17 season.
FOXBORO, MA – JANUARY 01: Mark Barberio #45 of the Montreal Canadiens controls the puck in the first period against the Boston Bruins during the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
