Max Domi among five players to get qualifying offers from Habs
Domi #Domi
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin did some housekeeping Saturday when he made qualifying offers to five restricted free agents, including Max Domi and Victor Mete.
The other players who were extended offers are Charles Hudon, Noah Juulsen and Xavier Ouellet.
The qualifying offers, which range from 100-110 per cent of last season’s salary, allow a team to retain a player’s rights and are merely the opening salvo in salary negotiations.
The most interesting player in the group is Domi. After signing a two-year bridge deal when he joined the Canadiens in 2018, he’s probably looking for a raise from the $3.15 million he received last season as well as term. Both might be unlikely because Domi’s production went down and he appears to have lost his position as a top-six forward.
Domi, 25, posted 17-27-44 totals and was minus-3 in 71 regular-season games this year and had 0-3-3 totals in 10 postseason games. The previous season — his first in Montreal after being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk — Domi led the Canadiens in scoring with 28-44-72 totals in 82 games and was plus-20.
Domi could ask for arbitration. The deadline for filing for arbitration is Oct. 10 and hearings will start on Oct. 21. Filing for arbitration usually focuses on both sides on reaching an agreement and 36 of the 40 cases last year were settled before reaching the arbitrator.
Hudon, who had an $800,000 NHL salary last season and Ouellet ($1.3 million) are also eligible for arbitration. He registered a goal and an assist in 15 games with the Habs in 2019-20 and spent most of his time with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Mete ($810,000) and Juulsen ($863,000) are both coming off entry-level deals. Mete is in line for a raise, but it won’t be a big one because he’s looking at starting the season as the seventh or eighth defenceman.
Ouellet and Mate played all 10 playoffs games for the Canadiens this summer, but the additions of Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov have pushed them out of the top six.