Before the mania of free agency, or lack thereof, after all of Monday's signings, begins on Tuesday, there was one more order of business to attend to for many teams around the league. Monday was the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents.
Extending an offer to an RFA gives the team, among other things, the chance to match an offer sheet if one is presented. It also gives teams the right of refusal when an offer sheet is presented, entitling them to compensation. This year, the Hurricanes had eight players who were pending RFAs.
Ty Smith, Anttoni Honka, and Yaniv Perets are set to become free agents
The team announced that three pending restricted free agents were not given qualifying offers on Monday. This allows them to become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday when the market opens at noon. Two of the names didn't come as a surprise, but one player stood out as a surprising omission.
Ty Smith was acquired by the Hurricanes in the Jake Guentzel deal at the 2024 trade deadline. He spent most of his time with the Chicago Wolves, scoring 28 points in 36 games in the AHL this season. He earned an eight-game run with the Canes in late December, striking on the power play in Columbus on New Year's Eve.
The Hurricanes signed goalie Yaniv Perets out of college after leading Quinnipiac to a national championship. He made his NHL debut in relief on January 15, 2024, stopping the only shot he faced in a loss to the Kings. Perets earned another appearance this season in a blowout loss to the Panthers after Thanksgiving, allowing his first NHL goal.
Anttoni Honka was the only slight surprise, but it makes sense in the grand scheme of the organization. Drafted in the third round in 2019 by the Canes, Honka briefly came over to North America, playing the '22-'23 season with Chicago and scoring 34 points in 70 games. He returned to Europe, playing two years ago in Finland before playing last season in Switzerland.
Regarding Honka not being qualified, he is far enough down the depth chart that it wouldn't be worthwhile for the Canes to keep his rights. That's especially true if he's planning on staying in Europe for the foreseeable future. There are several players in front of him who are more likely to crack the roster, even among those receiving qualifying offers.
5 Hurricanes are extended qualifying offers
The remaining five Hurricanes were all given offers, allowing the Hurricanes to maintain control of their rights as they become restricted free agents on Tuesday. Those five players were Ryan Suzuki, Noel Gunler, Skylar Brind'Amour, Domenick Fensore, and Ronan Seeley.
Three of these players made their NHL debuts this season. Ryan Suzuki was the first to earn the nod, making his NHL debut on January 30th against the Blackhawks. Suzuki didn't record a point in either outing. In the AHL, Suzuki was the Wolves' leading scorer, assisting on 47 goals and scoring another 12.
Brind'Amour and Fensore were among the late-season call-ups, playing the final two games of the campaign. Fensore was held scoreless, but he impressed many with his work during the meaningless games in April. Brind'Amour got to experience the feeling of scoring your first NHL goal in the season finale, getting one in Ottawa.
Seeley and Gunler have yet to make their NHL debuts. Seeley has spent the last three seasons in Chicago, where his point production has fallen year after year. He had just ten points in 69 games this season. Gunler returned to North America after playing the '23-'24 season in Finland. He had 13 goals and 26 points with the Wolves this season.