The Chicago Blackhawks did not extend qualifying offers to pending restricted-free-agent forwards Dylan Strome or Dominik Kubalik, making them unrestricted free agents on July 13.
The deadline for NHL clubs to make offers to their restricted free agents was Monday at 5 p.m. ET. Those not qualified can begin officially signing with new teams at noon on Wednesday.
Strome's qualifying offer would have come in at $3.6 million. Kubalik's would have been $4 million. Chicago is projected to have $18.5 million in cap space heading into next season.
The Blackhawks' decision to move on from Kubalik and Strome in particular was surprising.