Ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline, the Hurricanes have extended qualifying offers to Greg McKegg, Lucas Wallmark and Valentin Zykov, as well as NHL defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk.
By doing so, Carolina retains the rights to the 4 pending restricted free agents. The group now remains property of the Hurricanes, though contracts must still be signed in order for them to return to the fold next season.
McKegg joined the organization at last season’s trade deadline from Pittsburgh in exchange for Josh Jooris. The 26-year-old was a scoring force with the Checkers, racking up 23 points (9g, 14a) in his 19 regular season games with his new club.
The Ontario native has split his six-season career thus far between the AHL and NHL, totaling 170 points (76g, 94a) in 291 AHL games with Toronto, Portland, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte and 13 points (7g, 6a) in 91 NHL games with Toronto, Florida, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh.
Wallmark turned in another strong season for the Checkers in 2017-18, leading the team in scoring despite only playing 45 games. In fact, no AHL player with more than 10 games played recorded a higher points-per-game average than Wallmark’s 1.22.
The 22-year-old Swede also added to his NHL totals last season, picking up one goal in 11 games to bring his career total with Carolina to three points in 19 games. With the Checkers, Wallmark has accumulated 101 points (41g, 60a) in 112 AHL games over his two seasons in North America.
Zykov is coming off a breakout season that saw him lead the AHL with 33 goals. The 23-year-old Russian also led the league with 17 power-play goals, set an all-time AHL record with a shooting percentage of 29.5 and was selected to the AHL All-Star Classic.
Originally a second-round pick by Los Angeles, Zykov has amassed 102 points (56g, 46a) in 174 AHL games with Ontario and Charlotte while logging eight points in 12 NHL games with Carolina, including seven in his 10 appearances last season.
Not receiving qualifying offers were defensemen Keegan Kanzig and Tyler Ganly and forward Sergey Tolchinsky, as well as NHLers Phil Di Giuseppe, Joakim Nordstrom and Klas Dahlbeck meaning they will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
Kanzig was acquired by Carolina in last summer’s deal that sent goaltender Eddie Lack to Calgary. The 23-year-old blue liner spent the entirety of the season in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades, where he logged five assists and 106 penalty minutes in 63 games. Prior to joining Carolina, Kanzig appeared in nine AHL games over parts of two seasons with the Stockton Heat.
Ganly, a sixth-round pick by Carolina in 2013, appeared in nine games for the Checkers last season and notched a pair of helpers, while logging 22 ECHL games with the Everblades and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Injuries have held the 23-year-old to just 37 AHL games and 48 ECHL games over his first three pro seasons.
Tolchinsky finished his tenure with the organization with 85 points (28g, 57a) in 175 AHL games with Charlotte and two assists in four NHL games with Carolina. The Russian forward was already set to join the KHL next season.
Despite not qualifying this group, the Hurricanes could still pursue any of them once free agency opens on July 1.
