NHL Free Agency: Top 10 New UFAs That Did Not Receive Qualifying Offers

Historically, teams in the National Hockey League have been very reluctant to cut loose players before they absolutely must. With the salary cap forcing harder financial decisions, teams have been more willing to not tender qualifying offers to some restricted free agents, so that they are no longer tied to a contract for that player next season.

That willingness to cut ties has suddenly put some interesting players into the unrestricted free agent market this summer. Here are 10 players that did not receive qualifying offers as restricted free agents, and will hit the open market on Wednesday (stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick).

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Dylan Strome, C, Chicago (22 G, 26 A, 48.3 Corsi for %, 48.9 Expected goals for %, 69 GP)

While the Chicago center has experienced several ups and downs in his career, he did seem to find a good role down the stretch, scoring 27 points in his last 28 games.

His skating is not ideal but as a skilled playmaker, he can provide secondary scoring.

Ilya Samsonov, G, Washington (23-12-5, .896 SV%, 3.02 GAA, -12.5 Goals saved above average)

A 25-year-old netminder coming off the worst of his three NHL seasons, Samsonov should be an attractive option for a team willing to take a chance on his upside.

The fact that goaltenders are notoriously difficult to predict and that many tend to fluctuate from good seasons to bad should offer some hope that Samsonov could rebound in the right situation in 2022-2023.

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Sonny Milano, LW, Anaheim (14 G, 20 A, 52.0 CF%, 52.8 xGF%, 66 GP)

It took a long time for the 2014 first-round pick to hit his stride in the NHL and it looked like he did in 2021-2022, the best season of his career. The Ducks were not interested in qualifying him, however, so Milano will have an opportunity to find another team that is interested in the skill that he brings to a scoring line.

It’s at least worth figuring out if he can build on the relative success of last season.

Ondrej Kase, RW, Toronto (14 G, 13 A, 50.8 CF%, 48.8 xGF%, 50 GP)

The 26-year-old winger has major durability issues — he has played more than 50 games in a season once in his NHL career — but when he is in the lineup, he battles for pucks, drives play, and can score a little bit, too. A useful piece in the middle six.

Danton Heinen, LW, Pittsburgh (18 G, 15 A, 54.1 CF%, 56.8 xGF%, 76 GP)

A quality contributor for the Penguins last season, Heinen scored a career-high 18 goals and had strong possession numbers in a depth role.

Heinen is not the grittiest winger, but he is skilled enough to fill a complementary scoring role.

Dominik Kubalik, LW, Chicago (15 G, 17 A, 45.2 CF%, 44.7 xGF%, 78 GP)

Even if his production tailed off some last season, the 26-year-old winger scored 30 goals in the shortened 2019-20 season and has established that he can be an offensive contributor. Like many of the wingers on this list, Kubalik can be a solid middle-six addition if he finds the right fit.

Ryan Donato, LW, Seattle (16 G, 15 A, 48.7 CF%, 46.7 xGF%, 74 GP)

After bouncing around from Boston, Minnesota, San Jose, and Seattle, the 26-year-old winger is going to be looking for a new home. He is a decent shot generator and one of the better shootout threats in the league right now — there are 10 active players that have taken at least 10 shootout attempts and scored at a better rate than Donato’s 47.4% (and none of them are free agents). 

Jonathan Dahlen, LW, San Jose (12 G, 10 A, 46.7 CF%, 50.0 xGF%, 61 GP)

Dahlen is a skilled 24-year-old winger who started quickly last season before fading. He managed just eight points in his last 38 games and has already moved through the Ottawa, Vancouver, and San Jose organizations.

New Sharks GM Mike Grier made it clear that Dahlen did not play the kind of hard game that the new Sharks management has in mind.

Sam Steel, C, Anaheim (6 G, 14 A, 45.8 CF%, 44.2 xGF%, 68 GP)

Despite being a junior scoring sensation in the Western Hockey League, Steel has scored exactly six goals in each of his four NHL seasons. Something has not clicked for him in the NHL and while it is understandable that the Ducks are going to seek out other alternatives, there might be some value in attempting to resurrect the 24-year-old’s career.

Skills coach Darryl Belfry devoted a recent podcast to breaking down Steel’s game so there may be a reasonable path to better NHL production.

Rem Pitlick, LW, Montreal (15 G, 22 A, 43.1 CF%, 42.3 xGF%, 66 GP)

Behind Strome, Pitlick is the second highest-scoring restricted free agent not to receive a qualifying offer. He split the season between Minnesota and Montreal and played much more for the Habs (17:17 per game) than he might reasonably expect with a new team.

The 25-year-old showed that he could contribute at the NHL level if given the opportunity.

Bonus: Brendan Lemieux, LW, Los Angeles (8 G, 5 A, 57.0 CF%, 56.4 xGF%, 50 GP)

While Lemieux does not score much, the puck moved the right way when he was on the ice for the Kings last season. More importantly, he is an aggressive, physical forward who does not take long to find trouble on the ice.

Given the landscape in the NHL, Lemieux should find suitors for his particular brand of fourth line shift disturbing.

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