Kevin Stenlund Among Players Not Qualified in Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Jets have extended qualifying offers to seven players.

The team announced that forwards Gabe Vilardi, Morgan Barron and Rasmus Kupari, as well as defencemen Dylan Samberg, Logan Stanley, Declan Chisholm and Leon Gawanke have been tendered qualify offers.

Interestingly, Winnipeg extended its olive branch to Gawanke, who previously signed a four-year deal overseas in Germany this offseason, while expressing his displeasure with Winnipeg's talent promotion systems.

In being qualified, Winnipeg will be able to retain the young German's rights. he will become a Group 6 free agent in July of 2024, meaning the Jets could consider a trade over the next 365 days to an organization looking for an offensive defenceman. 

On the day that the Jets cut bait with former captain Blake Wheeler - and three days after shipping Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles - the team will also likely say goodbye to forward Kevin Stenlund, as well as Manitoba Moose regulars Alex Limoges (forward) and Arvid Holm (goaltender), as they were not extended offers.

It does not necessarily mean that they will not sign with Winnipeg in the offseason, but it does give those three players unrestricted free agent status, meaning they can sign anywhere as they so choose, come Saturday. 

Of the names let go, Stenlund is the only surprise. The 26-year-old scored six times and added another three assists for nine points in 54 games in his first season within the Jets' organization. He started the season with the Moose, but worked his way into the lineup as a big-bodied and reliable centreman. Stenlund was on a league-minimum $750K salary.

The unrestricted free agent signing period opens Saturday at noon, to which the majority of star players without contracts will find a new home for 2023-24.