According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Wild have tendered qualifying offers to (amounts pulled from CapFriendly’s QO calculator):
- Mikael Granlund ($3.2MM)
- Nino Niederreiter ($3.5MM)
- Erik Haula ($1.05MM)
- Gustav Olofsson ($874K)
- Mike Reilly ($874K)
The team has also decided not to qualify Guillaume Gelinas, Alex Gudbranson, and Brady Brassart, and is still deciding on Jordan Schroeder. It is likely that the team also qualified Christian Folin, but it is still unclear if the team has made a decision on Steve Michalek, Kurtis Gabriel, Zack Mitchell and Zach Palmquist, all of whom are also restricted free agents this summer.
Those free agents not issued an offer will become unrestricted free agents, while the Wild will retain the exclusive negotiating rights on the others even if they should turn down the offer. Both Reilly and Olofsson are still eligible for two-way offers, which they may accept. The other more established RFAs will in all likelihood turn them down and enter negotiations or the arbitration process.
The reason the team is still undecided when it comes to Schroeder, despite his 13 points in 37 games and pedigree as a first-round pick, is likely because he is eligible for arbitration. With Minnesota set to be very tight to the cap next season, they may not be able to afford the arbitration settlement for the 26-year old and could instead cut him lose or trade him in the coming days.
All teams must submit qualifying offers by 4pm on June 26th, or else lose their exclusive negotiating rights to that player. Last year, many players including Brandon Pirri and Beau Bennett did not receive offers by the deadline and became UFAs able to sign anywhere in the league.