Predators retain matching rights on 3 forwards, 2 defensemen ahead of free agency period.
The deadline for NHL teams to issue qualifying offers to pending restricted free agents was 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 30. By issuing the offers, the teams are given the right of first refusal or draft choice compensation should the player sign an offer sheet with another team.
The Nashville Predators have tendered offers to the following players set to become free agents on July 1:
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All except Wilsby spent time in the NHL last season, so there are no real surprises here. Del Gaizo, Stastney and Wilsby in particular are viewed as key pieces of the organization's future on the back end.
All five players are in the $750,000 to $999,000 range, meaning that their qualifying offers are required to be 105% of their current salary, up to $1 million. If a qualifying offer is not accepted, it expires by July 15 unless extended in writing by the team.
The Predators elected not to extend qualifying offers to the following players, who will now become unrestricted free agents eligible to sign with any team:
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Again, no real surprises here. The Predators also offloaded another pending RFA by trading Egor Afanasyev's signing rights to the San Jose Sharks on June 23. San Jose has since extended an offer to Afanasyev.