The Canadiens chose not to give Joe Veleno a qualifying offer on Monday, a move that will send him to unrestricted free agency on July 1.
The decision closes the door on the Canadiens' exclusive negotiating rights with Veleno after one season in Montreal. He signed a one-year, US$900,000 contract with the Canadiens last summer as a free agent, then finished this season with 2-3-5 totals in 61 regular-season games and one assist in nine playoff games.
A qualifying offer is a guaranteed, one-year contract extension that lets a team keep those rights for another round of talks. The Canadiens used that route for eight players on Monday, including Kirby Dach, Arber Xhekaj, Zachary Bolduc, Brett Berard, Jared Davidson, Sean Farrell, Hunter McKown and Maksymilian Szuber.
That is what makes Veleno stand out from the group. He was part of the Canadiens' season, but he was not part of the list they chose to protect, and now he is free to negotiate with every team when July 1 arrives.
