Nailers Extend Qualifying Offers to Eight Players

WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have announced their list of players who received qualifying offers for the summer of 2017. Eight players were tended qualifying offers for Wheeling.

Each team is entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2017-18 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.

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 eight qualified players for the Wheeling Nailers are:F Derek ArmyF Alexandre CarrierF Jordan KwasF Garrett MeursF Gage QuinneyF Nick SorkinD Brett SternF Cody Wydo

Players who have already signed a contract for the 2017-18 season do not need to be tendered a qualifying offer. Those announcements will begin in the coming days.

The 2017-18 season of Wheeling Nailers Hockey will begin on the road, when the team visits Greenville for a two-game series on October 13th and 14th. The home opener takes place on October 21st, when the Nailers host the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7:05. For more information, call (304) 234-GOAL.