While the deadline for qualifying offers isn’t until Wednesday shortly after the draft ends, the Canadiens opted to take care of them early, announcing that five players have received offers. Players receiving offers are center Max Domi, winger Charles Hudon, and defensemen Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen, and Xavier Ouellet.
Of the group, Domi is the most notable. The 25-year-old is coming off of a quieter second year with the team as he posted 17 goals and 27 assists in 44 games, numbers that were well below his output in 2018-19 when he set career highs with 28 tallies and 44 helpers. Shortly after their elimination at the hands of Philadelphia, he changed agents to Darren Ferris of Quartexx which led to some speculation of him being unhappy with his situation although Ferris made it known last month that Domi hopes to remain with Montreal. A position change may be in order for that to happen, however, as Nick Suzuki, Phillip Danault, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi figure to be Montreal’s top-three centers next season. Domi’s qualifier was set at $2.9MM.
Mete’s entry-level contract has come to an end but his role with the Canadiens has decreased as it has progressed. He spent a lot of this season on the third pairing and in the playoffs, his ATOI dropped to just 12:30 per game from 16:00 during the year. With Joel Edmundson being acquired and signed already this summer, his spot in their top six may be in some jeopardy. He isn’t eligible for salary arbitration.
Hudon and Ouellet spent the majority of the season with AHL Laval but were up for the stretch run and playoffs with Ouellet being a regular in the postseason. Both players are eligible for salary arbitration in their final year before UFA eligibility. As for Juulsen, the 2015 first-rounder has missed most of the last two seasons with recurring migraine issues stemming from taking two pucks to the face in the same game back in 2018-19. He was able to play in Laval late in the year and was on Montreal’s playoff roster although he didn’t get into any game action.
The team confirmed that three players – center Aaron Luchuk plus wingers Andrew Sturtz and Antoine Waked – did not receive offers. The three spent all of last season in the minors and will become unrestricted free agents on Friday.