Predators 2023 Free Agency Primer

The 2023 NHL Draft is quickly approaching, but there is another pressing matter at hand once Barry Trotz takes over as General Manager of the Nashville Predators on July 1: free agency.

Trotz has said he doesn't necessarily expect the Preds to be big players in the free agent market this offseason, but how will he approach Nashville's pending restricted free agents?

As the free agency period approaches, here's an overview of the process and what it means for the Predators in 2023:

What is a Restricted Free Agent (RFA)?

A player who is no longer considered to be entry-level, but does not qualify as an unrestricted free agent (UFA), becomes an RFA when his contract expires. A player may only declare himself to be a UFA if he is over the age of 27 or has played in the league for a minimum of seven years.

RFAs have rights that belong to a certain NHL team, and only that team can sign an RFA with a standard player contract. In order for a team to keep a player's RFA status, they must provide a qualifying offer. Stipulations for qualifying offers include:

If they do not provide a qualifying offer, the player becomes a UFA. Qualifying offers must be provided to the player by June 30 at 4 p.m. CT. They are open for acceptance beginning at 11 a.m. CT on July 1, and they expire on July 15 at 4 p.m. CT.

How do Offer Sheets Work?

Other teams are eligible to sign RFAs, but only via offer sheets. If an RFA receives an offer sheet from another team, the team that owns the player's rights must either:

Things to Consider

Predators Pending RFAs

Here's a look at the pending RFAs who suited up for the Predators in 2022-23 and their minimum qualifying offers:

• Cody Glass - $874,125
• Alexandre Carrier - $750,000
• Rasmus Asplund - $875,000
• Cal Foote - $950,000
• John Leonard - $750,000