Deadline to qualify restricted free agents was 4 p.m. (CT) Monday; players can become UFAs on Wednesday
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues issued a qualifying offer to newly-acquired forward Connor McMichael but are allowing two mainstays to get to unrestricted free agency on Wednesday.
They did not issue QO's to forward Jonatan Berggren and defenseman Matthew Kessel along with forward Thomas Bordeleau, while also qualifying forward Mikhail Abramov and defenseman Leo Loof, according to PuckPedia. The Blues have not officially released their QO list as of Monday evening.
The QO to McMichael comes as no surprise after acquiring the 25-year-old from the Washington Capitals last week in a package that also netted a 2025 second-round pick (Milton Gastrin) and a first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2026 NHL Draft that they used on center Maddox Dagenais.
It's somewhat of a surprise that the Blues would not issue a QO to Berggren, who was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings last season and put up 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 36 games.
Berggren, 25, who was playing on a one-year, $1.825 million contract, was projected to be in the mix and battle for a spot likely on the third line with the Blues pending his return to the team, and he can still get resigned, but he will hit unrestricted free agency on Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CT).
As does Kessel, 26, who was a fifth-round pick by the Blues in 2020 who was playing on a two-year, $1.6 million contract ($800,000 average annual value) and had two goals and an assist in 29 games last season. But with the addition of Brandon Carlo in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Theo Lindstein getting more and more ice time as the year progressed last season and potential of Adam Jiricek, their first-round pick in 2024, knocking on the NHL door in St. Louis, Kessel was falling down the chain and apparently off the ladder.
McMichael is arbitration-eligible but with Alexander Steen taking the reigns of the general manager position on July 1, it has been accustomed by Doug Armstrong in years past to get these RFA contracts wrapped up as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Blues issued a qualifying offer to restricted free agent forward Connor McMichael (24) on Monday, retaining his rights. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)Abramov, who the Blues also picked up from the Maple Leafs, has spent the past two seasons playing in the KHL, and Loof, a third-round pick in 2020, has returned to to play for Ilves in Finland's top league Liiga after spending the past three seasons with Springfield of the American Hockey League.
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