Kent Hughes made a quiet but pointed move Monday, choosing not to tender a qualifying offer to Joe Veleno, making the 26-year-old forward an unrestricted free agent.
The decision was unexpected.
Jeff Gorton had suggested publicly that all restricted free agents in this group would receive offers.
He was careful enough to leave himself an out, and it turns out he needed it.
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Veleno's numbers tell a hard story.
In 61 regular-season games with the Canadiens, he posted 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points, going minus-12.
Over his last 10 games, he managed just 2 assists. His last 5? No points, no goals, a -3 rating.
That's not a player you build into a top-six. That's a player you quietly move past when the calendar gives you the opening.
At a $2,275,000 cap hit, the math did not work anymore.
Hughes qualifies Dach, Bolduc and Xhekaj while cutting Veleno loose
What makes this stand out is who did receive qualifying offers.
Kirby Dach, Zachary Bolduc, Arber Xhekaj, Brett Berard, Jared Davidson, Maksymilian Szuber, Sean Farrell, and Hunter McKown were all tendered offers.
Several of those names arrived in Montreal recently. They got the nod.
Veleno, who had raised as a Habs fan, did not.
That ordering says something about how Hughes and Martin St-Louis see the forward group going forward.
The Canadiens finished the season 48-24-10 with 106 points, scoring 283 goals.
They are not a team just filling out a roster anymore. Roster spots carry real weight now.
Veleno did post a game-winning goal this season, one of his few individual highlights. In 9 playoff games he had 1 assist.
That body of work did not earn him another contract in Montreal.
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As an unrestricted free agent, he can sign anywhere starting July 1, and at 26 years old there will be teams willing to give him a shot in a different system.
Whether a change of scenery unlocks something in him is an open question. The Canadiens clearly decided they did not want to wait around to find out.
Was Kent Hughes right to let Joe Veleno walk without a qualifying offer?
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