Fuel Extend Qualifying Offers to Eight Players

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs, have tendered qualifying offers to eight players ahead of the 2021-22 ECHL season.

Receiving qualifying offers are forwards Peter Krieger, Cedric Lacroix, Nic Pierog, Matt Marcinew, Brent Gates, Spencer Watson and defensemen Willie Raskob and Alec McCrea. 

Players who had already signed a contract by July 23 did not need to receive a qualifying offer. 

Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2021-22 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. 

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 9 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, or to a goaltender who has played more than 180 regular-season games, will retain the rights to that player until August. After August 9, if the veteran player or goaltender is not signed to a contract by the team, the player 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 16, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.

Opening Night of the 2021-22 Indy Fuel season arrives on October 23, and Ticket Plans are now on sale! Lock up your seat for every second of the action with a Fuel Ticket Plan.  Grab yours by heading to IndyFuelHockey.com or by calling the Fuel front office at 317-925-FUEL. Don’t forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (IndyFuel) for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the 2021-22 season.

--IndyFuelHockey.com--