Canadiens submit qualifying offers to six players

MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Friday that the team has submitted qualifying offers to six players.

The offers were made to forwards Alex Newhook, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylönen, Lucas Condotta and Mitchell Stephens, as well as to defenseman Nicolas Beaudin.

In 82 games with the Colorado Avalanche, Newhook registered 14 goals and 16 assists, in addition to serving 22 penalty minutes. The left-shot centerman also recorded one assist in seven playoff contests.

On his part, Harvey-Pinard scored 14 goals and added 6 assists in 34 games with the Canadiens in 2022-23. The Saguenay, QC native also registered 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 40 games with the Laval Rocket in the AHL.

Ylönen played 37 games with the Canadiens in 2022-23, a career high for him in the NHL. The 23-year-old forward scored six goals and added ten assists with Montreal, in addition to recording 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games with the Rocket.

Condotta played 72 games with the Rocket last season, registering 16 goals and 15 assists while serving 61 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-1, 223-pound center scored a goal in his NHL debut on April 13 against the Bruins.

In his first season with Laval, Stephens appeared in 66 games, finishing third in team scoring with 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists), including two game-winning goals.

Acquired from Chicago on October 26, 2022, Beaudin scored two goals and led Rocket defensemen with 24 assists. The Châteauguay, QC native finished first on the team with a plus-16 differential.

Two restricted free agents were not tendered offers: Joel Teasdale and Denis Gurianov.