PHOTO CREDITS: (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty)
By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj
As July 1st, or better known as the start of NHL Free Agency Frenzy, gets closer and closer, teams around the NHL are looking to re-sign the players that are going to be around for a long time. Boston has some key players within the system that are going to become free agents, however, the biggest names – Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Danton Heinen – are all restricted free agents (RFA).
In order to retain negotiating rights on these RFAs and others within the Bruins organization, Boston had to extend qualifying offers to six players. For a brief description on what exactly a qualifying offer is, below is a statement from CapFriendly.
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A qualifying offer is an official Standard Player Contract (SPC) offer which shall be 1 year in length, and which can be subject to salary arbitration should the player be eligible.
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Clubs have until the later of June 25th or the first Monday after the Entry Draft to submit Qualifying Offers.
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Qualifying Offers apply to Group 2 and Group 4 free agents.
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Submitting a Qualifying Offers gives the prior club the right of first refusal to match any offer sheet submitted, or receive draft pick compensation.
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If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they remain an RFA and their rights are retained by the team.
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If a player does not receive a qualifying offer, the player becomes a UFA. – CapFriendly.com
As mentioned above, if the player decides to reject the offer, then he remains an RFA and can negotiate a new deal with the team. For the players that did not receive an offer at all, then they will enter the free agent market as a UFA and teams can no longer receive draft compensation in return.
Here are the six players that the Boston Bruins extended a qualifying offer to:
The qualifying offer depends on the salary that the player made in the previous season with their respective club. More on that from CapFriendly below:
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The qualifying offer is calculated from the players base salary (NHL salary minus signing bonus), and at minimum must meet the seasons minimum salary requirements:
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110% of the base salary if the base salary is less than or equal to $660,000
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105% of the base salary if the base salary is greater than $660,000 or less than $1,000,000. However, this qualifying offer cannot exceed $1,000,000.
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100% of the base salary if the base salary is equal to or greater than $1,000,000.
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CBA Reference 10.2 (a) (ii) – CapFriendly.com
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On their website, there is a tool that allows you to select a player that is currently an RFA and what exactly their qualifying offer is worth. Here are the results of that. It should be noted as well that all qualifying offers are only one year in length.
- D Charlie McAvoy – $874,125
- D Brandon Carlo – $874,125
- F Peter Cehlarik – $735,000
- F Ryan Fitzgerald – $787,500
- F Danton Heinen – $874,125
- F Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson – $874,125
Players can choose to accept the contract if the salary works for them in hopes for earning a larger deal once the one year expires. Forwards Ryan Fitzgerald and Peter Cehlarik will most likely agree to the qualifying offer that has been presented to them.
Evidentally, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Danton Heinen will decline the qualifying offer as they are proven NHL players and will get a large payday very soon. By declining the offer, they remain RFAs and the Bruins do indeed keep their rights within the system.
Another player that will likely decline this qualifying offer is forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson who announced in May of this year that he has signed a contract with Vaxjo of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) for the 2019-20 campaign. GM Don Sweeney said in a press release that Forsbacka Karlsson wishes to be closer to his family while continuing his hockey development. This declining of the qualifying offer means that Boston will hold onto his rights for the time being.
Within the entire Boston Bruins organization, only one player did not receive a qualifying offer and that is forward Gemel Smith who skated in 47 games with the Providence Bruins, putting up 16-24-40 numbers. Smith will enter the 2019 Free Agent class as an unrestricted free agent.
July 1st is less than one week away and the free agency frenzy is only getting more and more interesting. Make sure to stay locked on Black N’ Gold Hockey for the latest on the Boston Bruins.
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