The Canadiens are not expected to tender winger Denis Gurianov a qualifying offer this summer, reports Arpon Basu of The Athletic.
The 26-year-old was acquired from Dallas just before the trade deadline with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him rediscover his scoring touch. While Gurianov did manage five goals in 23 games following the swap (after scoring just twice in 43 games in Dallas), he was held without a point in his final ten games which isn’t the best result when you’re trying to earn a qualifying offer.
That offer is worth $2.9M and salary arbitration eligibility and it appears that Montreal won’t be giving him that opportunity. However, Basu adds that they are open to bringing him back at a discounted rate if there isn’t strong interest in him in free agency, similar to what they did with Rem Pitlick last summer, non-tendering him before handing him a two-year contract days later.
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