Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Wings, proud member of the ECHL, three-time defending North Division Champions and National Hockey League affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils and the American Hockey League’s Albany Devils, announce the club’s ECHL qualifying offer list
Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2012-13 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.
Players who had already signed a contract by July 1 did not need to receive a qualifying offer.
The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1st at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.
A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1st. After August 1st, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.
If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by August 31st, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
The following are the players the K-Wings made qualifying offers to:
|
PLAYER
|
POS
|
HEIGHT
|
WEIGHT
|
DATE OF BIRTH
|
|
Charlebois, Joe
|
D
|
6-1
|
210
|
February 18, 1986
|
|
Gill, Riley
|
G
|
6-1
|
215
|
January 1, 1985
|
|
Helminen, Dwight
|
F
|
5-10
|
191
|
June 22, 1983
|
|
Matczak, Michael
|
D
|
5-11
|
200
|
April 6, 1988
|
|
Reid, Elgin
|
D
|
6-0
|
185
|
February 23, 1987
|
|
Sirota, Nicholas
|
F
|
5-11
|
190
|
January 28, 1984
|
|
Strong, Dean
|
F
|
5-8
|
190
|
July 17, 1985
|
|
Taylor, Justin
|
F
|
5-11
|
185
|
February 8, 1989
|
Season tickets for the upcoming 2012-2013 season of K-Wings hockey are currently on sale at the K-Wings front office. Fans can purchase their tickets during regular business hours of Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or by calling (269) 349-9772.
For more information about the K-Wings qualifying offers, please contact Mike Modugno, director of public relations/broadcaster at (269) 226-0384.
