National Hockey League clubs finalized their restricted-free-agent decisions Monday, issuing qualifying offers ahead of the 5 p.m. Eastern deadline that preserves negotiating rights while freeing a wave of players for unrestricted free agency when the market opens at noon on 1 July. The San Jose Sharks tendered offers to forwards Thomas Bordeleau and Danil Gushchin and defenseman Jack Thompson but cut loose eight others, including winger Nikolai Kovalenko and goaltender Georgi Romanov. In Anaheim, former first-round pick Isac Lundestrom, along with Brett Leason and Josh Lopina, went unqualified, while goaltender Lukas Dostal and center Mason McTavish were retained. Philadelphia extended a single qualifying offer to blueliner Cam York, allowing winger Jakob Pelletier and prospects Elliot Desnoyers and Zayde Wisdom to test the market. Calgary protected six players, among them Morgan Frost and Connor Zary, but declined on goaltenders Connor Murphy and Waltteri Ignatjew. Carolina kept five of its restricted free agents yet bypassed defenseman Ty Smith and netminder Yaniv Perets, while Columbus qualified Dmitri Voronkov but opted against defenseman Jordan Harris, acquired only last summer. Elsewhere, Buffalo withheld an offer from Jacob Bernard-Docker, New York’s Rangers did the same with Zac Jones and Arthur Kaliyev, and the Islanders released Scott Perunovich, Samuel Bolduc and Aidan Fulp. Toronto’s Pontus Holmberg and Winnipeg’s Simon Lundmark also entered the UFA pool. Montreal took the opposite route, confirming offers for prospects Sean Farrell, Jayden Struble and goaltenders Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes. Players who were not qualified are free to sign with any club, though teams may still negotiate new contracts. The decisions set the stage for a crowded market as general managers seek roster and salary-cap flexibility entering the 2025-26 season.