Every off-season, almost every National Hockey League team loses the rights to some of its young prospects and former draft picks.
In effect, each NHL team releases some of the players on its reserve list after determining they are not worth a contract.
When their deadline arrives, these players are formally released from their NHL franchise.
This is a natural cycle, given that NHL teams can only have 50 active contracts, forcing them to make decisions.
Teams determine that some of their prospects are not worthy of one of these 50 positions.
Montreal Canadiens prospects Rhett Pitlick, Cédrick Guindon, Miguël Tourigny, and Petteri Nurmi did not receive contracts this summer, indicating a regular cycle.
Ty Smilanic is not expected to receive a contract offer from the Habs, thus the list could become much longer.
The prospect acquired in the transaction that sent Ben Chiarot to Florida in 2022 could leave the organization in the coming days.
The Habs have until August 15, i.e. next Thursday, to make a contract offer to Smilanic, and they should not keep his rights.
Smilanic was drafted in the third round (74th overall) by the Florida Panthers in 2020. However, he has unable to establish himself in any of his previous roles.
Indeed, he did not break any NCAA records, and he never established himself in the ECHL with the Trois-Rivières Lions.
Smilanic has struggled with mental health in previous seasons.
The 22-year-old attacker hasn’t had it easy, and it’s going to cost him his professional career.
Smilanic has never been one of the Habs’ top prospects, and with so many high prospects coming up in the next few years, the Habs couldn’t afford to sign a depth prospect like Smilanic to a three-year contract.
The Habs now have 44 active contracts out of 50, and Kent Hughes is likely to want to save them for the future.
