When drafting a player out of North America or any European country with a transfer agreement, a team acquires their exclusive negotiating rights for a set amount of time. Each year on June 1, a long list of players see those rights expire and become unrestricted free agents (or choose to re-enter the draft, depending on specific circumstances). This year, even though many other NHL deadlines have been shifted, June 1 will still act as the threshold for expiring draft rights.
While this doesn’t always result in a flurry of signings in the last week of May, there are usually a few players who ink their deals at the last minute to stay in the organization that drafted them. With the deadline set for 4:00 pm CT next Tuesday, CapFriendly has provided a full list of players who will see those rights expire:
Arizona Coyotes
Filip Westerlund (44th overall, 2017)
Erik Walli Walterholm (190th overall, 2017)
Buffalo Sabres
Marcus Davidsson (37th overall, 2017)
Calgary Flames
Filip Sveningsson (202nd overall, 2017)
Carolina Hurricanes
Ville Rasanen (197th overall, 2017)
Chicago Blackhawks
Roope Laavainen (119th overall, 2017)
Cole Moberg (194th overall, 2019)
Colorado Avalanche
Sasha Mutala (140th overall, 2019)
Luka Burzan (171st overall, 2019)
Dallas Stars
Nicholas Porco (142nd overall, 2019)
Detroit Red Wings
Malte Setkov (100th overall, 2017)
Florida Panthers
Henry Rybinski (136th overall, 2019)
Montreal Canadiens
Joni Ikonen (58th overall, 2017)
Jacob LeGuerrier (126th overall, 2019)
Kieran Ruscheinski (206th overall, 2019)
New York Islanders
Felix Bibeau (178th overall, 2019)
Cole Coskey (209th overall, 2019)
New York Rangers
Calle Sjalin (145th overall, 2017)
Ottawa Senators
Viktor Lodin (94th overall, 2019)
Philadelphia Flyers
Yegor Serdyuk (165th overall, 2019)
Roddy Ross (169th overall, 2019)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Antti Palojarvi (186th overall, 2017)
St. Louis Blues
Anton Andersson (206th overall, 2017)
Jeremy Michel (217th overall, 2019)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Quinn Schmiemann (182nd overall, 2019)
Vancouver Canucks
Ethan Keppen (122nd overall, 2019)
Washington Capitals
Sebastian Walfridsson (151st overall, 2017)
Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (213th overall, 2017)
Winnipeg Jets
Santeri Virtanen (105th overall, 2017)
Vegas Golden Knights
Mason Primeau (141st overall, 2019)
Many of these players have already signed contracts in Europe (or, in the case of Andersson, retired from hockey altogether) suggesting they won’t be inking NHL deals by next week. Many others will simply become unrestricted free agents or sign minor league contracts to stay with the organization that drafted them.
Bobbalo can’t even sign their 2nd rounder. (I spell Buffalo like that).
Wi?