The Seattle Kraken announced on Monday, June 29th, that the team had extended qualifying offers to Jacob Melanson, Mackie Samoskevich, Victor Ostman, and Ville Ottavainen.
The deadline for NHL teams to issue qualifying offers to pending restricted free agents was 5 p.m. ET on Monday. By issuing the offers, teams are given the right of first refusal or draft choice compensation should the player sign an offer sheet with another team.
The Kraken extended offers to two forwards, one defenseman, and one goaltender.
Jacob Melanson
Last season, Melanson appeared in 36 games with the Kraken. He recorded two goals and three assists for a total of five points.
Mackie Samoskevich
Samoskevich appeared in 77 games last season with the Florida Panthers. He recorded 12 goals and 20 assists.
He was traded to Seattle by Florida for a 1st-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a 2nd-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on June 21, 2026.
Victor Ostman
Ostman appeared in one game with the Kraken last season. He started the game, saving 35 shots and posting a .943 save percentage.
Ville Ottavainen
The final player extended a qualifying offer was Ville Ottavainen. Ottavainen appeared in one game with the Kraken since being selected 99th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Last season, he appeared in 53 games for the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds.
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On Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks announced qualifying offers for Connor Bedard, Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso, and Ethan Del Mastro.
They also decided not to tender offers for Ryan Mast and Dmitri Kuzman, who were likely never going to make it onto their NHL roster.
The most interesting of these names is obviously Connor Bedard. They qualified him with an offer to keep him as an RFA on July 1st, but a lucrative contract for a notable number of years should follow.
It will be a long-term extension for a large amount of money, which will be the organization proving to Bedard that he is their franchise cornerstone.
As for Korchinski, Commesso, and Del Mastro, they are all depth pieces right now. Each of them has a ceiling of an NHL contributor. For Commesso, he should get more than 3 starts in the NHL next season, but it will also depend on how things go for Arvid Soderblom.
Korchinski and Del Mastro are probably not on the opening day roster, but will each get looks throughout the season for different reasons.
Bedard eclipsed 30 goals and 70 points for the first time in 2025-26, and it likely would have been more had he not lost more than a month to a shoulder injury.
Chicago will "overpay" Bedard at first, but the contract that they give him could look like a bargain by this time next year if he reaches his goal-scoring potential and has over 100 points. His health will be a key to his success, as well as decisions made regarding his linemates.
As for the other three, only time will tell, but they are somewhat important pieces to the current state of the organization. The Rockford IceHogs are looking to have a big year in 2026-27, and these three are almost certainly going to have a say in that, even though they would like to be playing more games in the NHL.
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Earlier today, the club announced that they will not be extending qualifying offers to five of their restricted free-agents: forwards Jayden Grubbe, Nils Åman, Danila Klimovich, and Chase Stillman, and defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph. All five players will now become free-agents.
The only player on this list to log semi-consistent NHL minutes through the 2025–26 season was Joseph, who skated in 31 games for Vancouver and scored a goal and six assists. The former first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft had his best NHL season as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 21 points in 75 games, but has yet to regain similar form.
Aside from Joseph, the only other player to actually spend time at the NHL level this season was Åman. While he once played in 68 NHL games for the Canucks in 2022–23, the forward’s NHL time has dwindled since then. He skated in two games for the Canucks this season — a season-low throughout the past four years.
Another interesting name on this list is none-other than Klimovich. A second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the forward made the leap to the Abbotsford Canucks immediately after his draft year, spending a total of five seasons in the AHL. Throughout this time, he ended up tying the franchise’s lead in career goals scored with 70, but was unable to crack Vancouver’s lineup.
Both Grubbe and Stillman were acquired via trade during the past year, with Grubbe heading to Vancouver in exchange for Josh Bloom back in March. The former 2021 third-round pick spent two games with Abbotsford during the 2025–26 season, scoring one goal. Stillman was one of two pieces acquired in the trade that sent 2025 AHL Playoff MVP Artūrs Šilovs to the Penguins, with the other piece a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Stillman spent a good chunk of the 2025–26 season injured, producing three goals and nine assists in 24 games with the AHL Canucks.
Sep 26, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Pierre Olivier Joseph (7) handles the puck against the Seattle Kraken in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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The Islanders didn't extend qualifying offers to three NHL players ahead of Monday's deadline.
The Islanders didn’t extend qualifying offers to any of their three NHL-level restricted free agents by Monday’s deadline, indicating it’s unlikely that any of Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov or Adam Boqvist will be back in the fold.
While an industry source told The Post that the door isn’t closed on Gatcomb to be re-signed as an unrestricted free agent, the lack of qualifying offer does seem to imply he isn’t in the Islanders’ plans.
Marc Gatcomb skates with the puck during a November 2025 game for the Islanders against the Canucks. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post
General manager Mathieu Darche said over the weekend that the team wouldn’t qualify Boqvist, who struggled to crack the lineup last season.
Not bringing back Shabanov, who was signed last summer from Russia, isn’t much of a shock either given he was often healthy-scratched last season.
Gatcomb, though, was in the lineup for much of the season and contributed well on the fourth line.
The former undrafted free agent broke into the NHL with the Islanders two seasons ago and fought his way to a regular role with physical, straight-line play.
Marc Gatcomb looks to move the puck during an October 2025 game for the Islanders. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
Alex Jefferies, Joey Larson and Henrik Tikkanen, all minor leaguers, were qualified and will become restricted free agents.
Also amongst the AHL contingent, Matthew Maggio, Eetu Liukas, Tristan Lennox and Ruslan Iskhakov were not extended qualifying offers.
Officially, the Philadelphia Flyers have finalized their qualifying offers with Monday's 5 p.m. deadline come and gone, featuring one surprise.
The players who were tendered qualifying offers will come as no surprise.
Young stars Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, as well as prospects Hunter McDonald and Nikita Grebenkin, had their signing rights retained by the Flyers on Monday.
The group of players who did not have their signing rights retained was much larger, though.
A cabal of trade acquisitions--Artem Guryev, Brett Harrison, Christian Kyrou, Tucker Robertson, and Phil Tomasino--as well as Karsen Dorwart, were not given qualifying offers and are free to sign with other NHL organizations, starting Wednesday, July 1.
Kyrou, a 2026 AHL All-Star, is the name many Flyers fans are stuck on, given how promising he looked during his short time with the Flyers organization.
After being traded for Samu Tuomaala early in the year, Kyrou ripped off 10 goals, 24 assists, and 34 points in just 55 games with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, though that surge of offense was, obviously, not enough to warrant keeping him around.
In the interest of fairness, the Flyers do have a considerable number of options at Kyrou's position.
Former second-round pick Spencer Gill will be turning pro this year, in addition to David Jiricek and Oliver Bonk pushing for NHL roster spots with the Flyers.
Plus, Carter Amico, Luke Vlooswyk, and Brek Liske are all one or two years away from turning pro themselves.
Basically, the Flyers decided that, if Kyrou wasn't going to make the NHL on their team now, he never will, and the Tuomaala trade already proved that the young defenseman's trade value around the league was nil.
From here, the Flyers' next steps will be to re-sign Zegras, Drysdale, Grebenkin, and McDonald to NHL contracts with greater term and/or salary.
It’s been a busy day for the Montreal Canadiens; on top of trading Joshua Roy and Brendan Gallagher, the Habs announced which RFAs they qualified and their development camp roster. As previously announced, the event will take place from Tuesday, June 30 to Thursday, July 2 at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, and the on-ice sessions will be open to the public.
On Tuesday, players will undergo physical testing and won’t be made available to the media. Then, on Wednesday, the goaltenders will take to the ice at 9:15 AM, the defensemen at 10:15 AM, and the forwards at 11:00 AM, before holding media availabilities from 13:00 onward. On Wednesday, the goaltenders will take to the ice at 10:00, and at 11:00 AM there will be a scrimmage.
There will be six goaltenders at camp: Alexis Cournoyer, Emmett Croteau, Max Lacroix (on a tryout – son of former NHL Eric Lacroix and grandson of Hall of Famer builder Pierre Lacroix), Quentin Miller, Arseni Radkox and Mikus Vecvanags. They will be joined by 12 defensemen: Rasmus Bergqvist, Cooper Cleaves, Jean-Samuel Daigneault, Aiden Dubinsky, Carlos Handel, Brayden Klimpke, Andrew MacNiel, Bryce Pickford, Owen Protz, Timofei Runtso, Nolan Stevenson (on a tryout – Was the captain of the Penticton Vees before making the jump to the NCAA last season) and Maxon Vig.
As for the forwards, it will be a fairly big contingent with 19 players coming: Dillan Bentley, TylerDeakos, Donovan Frias (on a tryout), Remi Gelinas (on a tryout), Michael Hage, Aleksandr Legkov (on a tryout), Giacomo Martino (on a tryout), Ben Merrill, L.J. Mooney, Reid Morich (on a tryout), Nikita Ovcharov (on a tryout), Hayden Paupanekis, Gleb Pugachyov (who's visa application apparently went smoothly), Thomas Rousseau (on a tryout), Wesley Royston, Logan Sawyer, Parker Trottier, Braidy Wassilyn (on a tryout), and Alexander Zharovsky.
Fans will definitely want to keep an eye on first-time attendees Paupanekis (who missed out last year because of mononucleosis), Zharovsky, and Pugachyov, as well as a few returning players. Last time around, Mooney impressed on the ice despite his diminutive size, and Owen Protz did so well at both development and rookie camps that he was invited to the main camp.
There will be no shortage of coaches on the ice as the organization has invited nine coaches: Kori Cheverie, Caroline Ouellette, Noemie Marin, and Alex-Andre Perron from the Montreal Victoire, former Hab Mike Condon who’s now a performance consultant, Olivia Cook (Potsdam Division III coach), Bruno Pierre Guillemette (goalie coach from the Montreal Victoire), Yanick Jean (QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguneens’ coach), and Olivier Latendresse (M18 AAA Charles-Lemoyne Riverains’ coach).
If you have time to kill on Canada Day or fancy taking a day off on Thursday, a day trip to Brossard seems in order.
On Monday, the Winnipeg Jets extended qualifying offers to forward Cole Perfetti and defenseman Tyrel Bauer while declining to qualify forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The most significant decision of the three surrounds Perfetti, whose next contract will be one of the more closely watched negotiations in Winnipeg this summer. The 24-year-old winger is coming off a lackluster season, finishing with 12 goals and 19 assists for 32 points in 68 games, a step back from the year prior when he appeared in all 82 regular-season games and recorded 18 goals and 32 assists for 50 points.
The qualifying offer keeps Perfetti under Jets control as a restricted free agent and signals that Winnipeg still believes in the offensive upside that made him a top ten pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. His current cap hit sits at $3.25 million and any new deal will likely push that number slightly higher with the rising NHL salary cap.
Perfetti has already etched his name into Jets history, most memorably for his game-tying goal with 2.2 seconds left in regulation of Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues in the 2025 playoffs, the latest game-tying or winning goal in regulation in NHL playoff history.
Bauer also received a qualifying offer, retaining the Jets' rights to the physical blueliner. The Cochrane, Alberta product had a goal and four assists for five points while racking up 110 penalty minutes in 52 games this past season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL.
Bauer is not a player who will ever be counted on for offense but brings the kind of physicality and toughness that organizations value in their depth pool, and the Jets have seen enough to bring him back for another season.
As for Anderson-Dolan, the decision not to qualify him means he will hit the open market as a free agent. The Calgary native was selected 41st overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2017 NHL Draft but never developed into the player that pedigree suggested.
He spent this past season in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, recording 36 points in 72 games, and will now look to carve out a role elsewhere as he enters the next chapter of his career.
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The Penguins have acquired forward David Gustafsson in exchange for defenseman Jack St. Ivany. The move was announced by the Penguins via their official X account.
Gustafsson is a pending restricted free agent.
The Penguins have acquired forward David Gustafsson from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenseman Jack St. Ivany.
Gustafsson has spent the last seven seasons with the Jets organization and played for their AHL affiliate (Manitoba Moose) during the 2025-26 season, finishing with 10 goals and 32 points in 48 games. Gustafsson has played in 149 NHL games, racking up six goals and 20 points.
St. Ivany appeared in 20 NHL games with the Penguins during the 2025-26 season, finishing with seven points (all assists). He also compiled one goal and six points in eight AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year.
St. Ivany has nine assists in 53 career NHL games.
CALGARY, CANADA - NOVEMBER 12: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Calgary Flames stops a shot from David Gustafsson #19 of the Winnipeg Jets during the second period of an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on November 12, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Penguins made a trade on Monday, exchanging depth players with the Winnipeg Jets. Jack St. Ivany is off to the Jets, forward David Gustafsson is coming to the Pens.
The Penguins have acquired forward David Gustafsson from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenseman Jack St. Ivany.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward David Gustafsson from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenseman Jack St. Ivany, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Gustafsson is a pending restricted free agent.
The 6-foot-2, 196-pound forward spent the 2025-26 season with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, recording 10 goals, 22 assists, 32 points and was plus-12 in 48 games. His 0.67 points-per-game average ranked first on the Moose while his 22 assists were third on the team. He also suited up for seven Calder Cup Playoff games, notching four points (1G-3A).
Gustafsson, 26, has spent the last seven seasons in the Winnipeg Jets organization (2019-26), split between the Jets and the Moose. At the NHL level, Gustafsson has suited up for 149 career regular-season games where he’s accumulated 20 points (6G-14A). At the AHL level, he’s notched 91 points (34G-57A) in 136 career regular-season contests.
Prior to coming to North America, the Tingsryd, Sweden native spent two seasons (2017-19) in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league. He also represented his home country on the international level on multiple occasions, bringing home bronze medals at the 2020 World Junior Championship and 2018 World Under-18 Championship.
Gustafsson was drafted by Winnipeg in the second round (60th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
It was later announced that Gustafsson has been extended a qualifying offer. Both St. Ivany and Gustafssonhave been tweener level players stuck between the AHL and NHL in recent seasons. Gustafsson adds more organizational depth to the club, which lost favorite call-up Joona Koppanen to a contract in the Swedish league.
As far as defense goes, there’s another spot open and waiting for a yet-to-be-acquired player for the blueline in Pittsburgh.
On Monday, the Winnipeg Jets traded forward David Gustafsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Jack St. Ivany in a swap of depth players that addresses a positional need for Winnipeg heading into the offseason.
Gustafsson, a 26-year-old Swedish center, spent the bulk of his Jets tenure as a fringe roster player carving out a bottom-six role when healthy and in the lineup. In his last NHL season in 2024-25, he made 36 regular-season appearances for Winnipeg, recording two goals and four assists for six points. He spent this past season entirely in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, recording ten goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 48 games.
Coming back to Winnipeg is St. Ivany, a 26-year-old right-shooting defenseman who brings size and physicality to the Jets backend. The six-foot-three, 201-pound blueliner appeared in 20 games for Pittsburgh this past season, recording seven assists and a plus-4 rating before a preseason lower-body injury cost him significant time and limited his overall impact with the Penguins.
When given the opportunity to play in the AHL during his recovery, St. Ivany was a near point-per-game player, putting up a goal and five assists for six points in eight games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, a showing that suggests there may be more offensive upside than his NHL numbers indicate.
St. Ivany is entering a contract year with a cap hit of $850,000, meaning he will have every incentive to put his best foot forward with a new organization and play his way into a meaningful deal.
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Florida Panthers fans may notice a difference when watching games next season.
That doesn’t include the expected major improvement in overall play thanks to having a fully healthy roster.
On Monday, the Panthers’ local television partner announced a change in branding. The station formerly known as Scripps Sports will now be known as The Spot – South Florida 39.
According to an official release, the network will continue to provide the same local programming that viewers have already been enjoying “while introducing an infusion of more sports programming as well as a refreshed visual identity and marketing presence across broadcast, digital and social platforms.”
The availability of Panthers games is not changing.
Fans from across South Florida, from the Florida Keys to the Treasure Coast, will still be able to enjoy Panthers hockey for free across the television airwaves.
We should know the Panthers 2026-27 schedule sometime in the coming weeks.
The Florida Panthers were slated to make the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft before trading it to the Ottawa Senators. They also dealt the 25th pick, which they acquired from the Seattle Kraken, to land Brady Tkachuk.
All that meant was that the Panthers wouldn’t be making a selection in the NHL draft until the second round, 40th overall to be exact.
Despite a relatively long wait, the Panthers made good use of that pick, selecting Lithuanian forward Simas Ignatavicius.
The 18-year-old is a late 2007 birthday, born after the September 15 cutoff. Standing 6-foot-3, 201 pounds, Ignatavicius brings elements the Panthers cherish.
Ignatavicius’ game revolves around straight-line speed, physicality, and two-way ability. The Panthers also love size, and Ignatavicius brings it.
Ignatavicius has been playing in Switzerland since he was 12, leaving his parents behind at a young age.
“I was born in Memphis, Tennessee,” Ignatavicius said after being drafted. “Long story short, my dad used to play professional basketball, like college, and then played in Europe, and after his career, he was just living in the U.S. with my mom, and obviously both parents were Lithuanian, so they decided to move back to Lithuania, and I went with them. After that, I left my parents at the age of 12, I went by myself to Switzerland, so that was a big thing, and here I am now.”
Ignatavicius has been playing with Genève-Servette HC for quite some time now and made his NL debut this season, scoring seven goals and 13 points in 52 games. He’ll return to Switzerland for the 2026-27 season, where he’ll continue to round out his game and improve offensively.
Many draft analysts saw Ignatavicius landing late in the first round or even early in the second, meaning the Panthers got great value from their selection at 40th overall.
How Ignatavicius develops will be interesting. With a fairly polished two-way ability and a high motor, he has an attainable floor as a bottom-six winger. But the Panthers will likely be hoping he can develop into something more.
His physical tools are very compelling, and if his skill level continues to develop, particularly in his shot and playmaking, there is possible top-six upside. Ignatavicius mentioned he likes to model his game after Matthew and Brady Tkachuk.
“I think just playing a 200-foot game, obviously defense first, then offense, playing hard,” said Ignatavicius. “Obviously they have Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk now, two big players, physical, but I’m sure I can help that too. I’m a big guy, not scared to go into dirty areas, and I think that’s what can help the team go to the playoffs and go for the Stanley Cup, so I’ll do my best, and yeah, I’m just ready to work.”
Tkachuk is a player who can make skilled plays with the puck but isn’t afraid to get to the dirty areas of the ice to be effective.
Other Panthers prospects, like Sandis Vilmanis, have thrived because of their ability to flourish in the Panthers’ brand of hockey, and the hope is that Ignatavicius can do the same.
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Gavin McKenna will be one of 53 prospects who will take the ice on July 2nd when the Toronto Maple Leafs host their annual development camp at Ford Performance Centre.
The Maple Leafs used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft to select McKenna and there will be a lot of eyes on the Penn State product to see how he looks on the ice while wearing a Toronto jersey.
In addition to McKenna, other prospects include Zach Olsen, Cooper Williams and Brody Pepoy.
Defencemen Alexander Bilecki, Ethan MacKenzie, Måns Gudmunssson and Yaroslav Fedoseyev; and goaltenders Juuso Ainasto and Patriks Plumins.
Also in attendance will be five draft picks from the 2025 NHL Draft (forwards William Belle, Tyler Hopkins, Tinus Luc Koblar, and Harry Nansi, as well as defenceman Rylan Fellinger), six draft picks from the 2024 NHL Draft (Miroslav Holinka, Victor Johansson, Matthew Lahey, Sam McCue, Timofei Obvintsev, Alex Plesovskikh), one draft pick from the 2023 NHL Draft (Hudson Malinoski), and one draft pick from the 2022 NHL Draft (Nicholas Moldenhauer).
The roster also includes three players signed to an NHL contract (Vincent Borgesi, Brandon Buhr, Hayes Hundley) and one player signed to AHL contracts (Frank Djurasevic).
There are a whopping 26 free agents who will also be at camp, that will be overseen by Maple Leafs assistant GM, Player Development, Hayley Wickenheiser
Forwards (29)
Defencemen (18)
Goaltenders (6)
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The Connor Hellebuyck saga in Winnipeg is not over just yet as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday's edition of his 32 Thoughts podcast that trade discussions between the Jets and the Buffalo Sabres are still ongoing.
Friedman explained to listeners that he still thinks Winnipeg and Buffalo are talking and that he does not believe that chapter is closed.
The news comes days after reports surfaced that the Sabres had presented the Jets with a significant pre-draft offer for the superstar goaltender.
Buffalo's reported package included the fourth overall pick, starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a player believed to be Jack Quinn and at least one additional asset. Hellebuyck himself had reportedly signed off on a move to Buffalo, yet Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff declined to pull the trigger.
With the draft now in the rearview mirror, the negotiating landscape has shifted considerably in Winnipeg's favor. The fourth overall pick was the centerpiece of Buffalo's original offer and that card has already been played when they drafted defenseman Daxon Rudolph.
Elliotte Friedman: Re Connor Hellebuyck: I still think Winnipeg and Buffalo are talking, I don't think that's over yet - 32 Thoughts (6/29)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 29, 2026
How the Sabres reconstruct a comparable package without that asset is one of the central questions hanging over any renewed discussions, and it is hard to imagine Cheveldayoff settling for something less appealing than what he already turned down.
The hesitation from the Jets side has always been rooted in the same concern. Hellebuyck is not simply a starting goaltender.
The 33-year-old Michigan native has been the backbone of everything Winnipeg has built in recent years, the kind of elite netminder capable of single-handedly keeping a team in games and one of the best in the world at his position for several seasons running.
Replacing him with Luukkonen, a goaltender who showed volatility this past postseason and was not even receiving every start for Buffalo in the playoffs, represents a significant downgrade in net and a real gamble on the team's ability to remain competitive.
That competitive window matters enormously for a Jets organization that still has core pieces like Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey who want to win and want to do it in Winnipeg.
Any decision involving Hellebuyck cannot be made in isolation. It has to account for what the team looks like in net the day after a trade and whether the returning pieces genuinely move the needle for a team trying to remain a contender.
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The Ottawa Senators have decided not to issue a qualifying offer to RFA winger Arthur Kaliyev, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The move was first reported by Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, and Kaliyev no longer appears on the club's Puckpedia page.
Kaliyev arrived in Ottawa last summer hoping it would provide the fresh start he needed to revive his NHL career.
The former second-round pick had shown flashes of being a productive scorer with the Los Angeles Kings, recording 71 points in 202 NHL games over parts of four seasons. But a series of injuries derailed his progress.
During the 2023-24 season, Kaliyev suffered an upper-body injury in training camp that kept him sidelined until December. Once healthy, the Kings attempted to assign him to the American Hockey League, but he was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers in January.
His stint in New York was brief. Kaliyev dressed for just 14 games before another upper-body injury ended his season.
The Rangers elected not to qualify him last summer, allowing the 24-year-old to hit the open market. Ottawa quickly signed him to a one-year, two-way contract, a move that seemed logical given his previous relationship with Senators owner Michael Andlauer and general manager Steve Staios.
Kaliyev played for the Hamilton Bulldogs when Andlauer owned the club and Staios served as general manager, helping the franchise capture the 2022 OHL championship.
Despite remaining healthy throughout the season, Kaliyev never earned an extended look with Ottawa, appearing in only two NHL games.
Instead, he spent the bulk of the year with the Belleville Senators, where he reminded everyone of his offensive ability. Kaliyev scored 40 goals in 70 AHL games and was named to the league's All-Star Team, finishing as the American Hockey League's top goal scorer.
Even with that production, it wasn't enough to convince Ottawa to keep him around.
Kaliyev's season also included an off-ice distraction after allegations involving money and gambling were made by a former girlfriend. The NHL investigated the matter and cleared him of any wrongdoing in February.
There's little question Kaliyev has excellent offensive instincts, particularly on the power play, where his heavy shot remains elite, even by NHL standards. The bigger concern continues to be his five-on-five game, including his skating and defensive play.
With the Senators choosing not to qualify him, Kaliyev now returns to the open market looking for another opportunity to turn his offensive talent into a permanent NHL role.
Garrioch also says that RFA Leevi Merliainen has been qualified, but Riley Kidney was not. Other restricted free agents in Belleville include Tyler Boucher and Xavier Bourgault.
**This story will be updated as additional qualifying-offer decisions become official ahead of and after Monday's 5:00 p.m. deadline.**
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This story was first published in The Hockey News Ottawa. Read more articles at the headlines below.
