Due to the flat salary cap, a strange but growing phenomenon has been developing in the NHL last year that we will probably see continue again this off-season. What once was a little thought of procedural move to give a restricted free agent a qualifying offer has suddenly become an area where teams either don’t want to or can’t afford to keep the rights of players who have performed well and would otherwise normally be retained without much second thought.
Consider that Anthony Duclair scored 23 goals and 40 points for the Ottawa Senators in 66 games in 2019-20.