The Ottawa Senators ultimately declined to extend qualifying offers (QO) to former Arthur Kaliyev and goaltender Samuel Ersson.
Those decisions should surprise no one.
Let’s start with Kaliyev. On Monday, we discussed the likelihood of Kaliyev returning to the Senators. As insider Elliotte Friedman noted, Kaliyev would not be coming back to the Nation’s Capital.
That situation is likely more in line with Kaliyev’s contract demands than the organization's reluctance to keep him. While his QO would not have been prohibitive, keeping his rights would have meant a potentially burdensome process of trying to trade him.
Instead, the organization did the right thing by allowing Kaliyev to walk. If he gets what he wants on the open market, so be it. If he doesn’t, the door might be open for a return to Ottawa next season.
Senators pass on Ersson’s QO
Passing on Ersson’s QO was mildly surprising. The value of his QO was somewhere in the $1.4 million range. As such, that seemed a little too high for the Senators.
That situation also makes the 26-year-old netminder an unrestricted free agent. While it isn’t set in stone that the Senators don’t want Ersson back, the situation here is that the organization feels they could sign him, but at a lower price point.
Perhaps something more like a two-year deal in the $2 million range might be more in line with Ottawa’s thinking. While it’s unlikely the Sens would want to sign Ersson to a league-minimum deal, they didn’t pay a fifth-round pick just to let him walk.
There’s a good chance the Sens and Ersson will come to an agreement at some point. But it wouldn’t even be surprising to see the former Philadelphia Flyers prospect agree to a one-year deal loaded with incentives.
It could be the sort of show-me deal that could lead Ersson to one more multi-year contract down the line.
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