It's procedure, but it's still news.
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The Blue Jackets extended qualifying offers to three pending restricted free agents today: defenseman Ryan Murray, and forwards Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand. This allows the Blue Jackets to retain their negotiating rights, and work toward new contracts for all three ahead of the July 1 free agency date.
What does "qualifying offer" mean? Here's an explanation, via CapFriendly:
A qualifying offer is an official Standard Player Contract (SPC) offer which shall be 1 year in length, and which can be subject to salary arbitration should the player be eligible.
Clubs have until the later of June 25th or the first Monday after the Entry Draft to submit Qualifying Offers. Qualifying Offers apply to Group 2 and Group 4 free agents.
Submitting a Qualifying Offers gives the prior club the right of first refusal to match any offer sheet submitted, or receive draft pick compensation.
If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they remain an RFA and their rights are retained by the team. If a player does not receive a qualifying offer, the player becomes a UFA.
Got all that? It's a lot, but helpful as the silly season gets started. The Blue Jackets could well end up in "bridge" contract territory for all three players, meaning a shorter-term deal that benefits both sides; it gives the team some flexibility in the interim, while the player gets a chance to prove himself and earn more on his next deal.
We should get more clarity on these players' statuses in the days and weeks ahead.
