According to Richard Labbé, La Presse has confirmed that the Montreal Canadiens have submitted qualifying offers to six players, including Alex Galchenyuk and Jarred Tinordi.

All six players who have the (possible) status of free agents received qualifying offers from Marc Bergevin. Besides Galchenyuk and Tinordi, Brian Flynn, Magnus Nygren, Christian Thomas, and Michael Bournival all have received the same kind of offer from the club. A seventh player, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, got the same treatment before he agreed to a two year contract.

The qualifying offer allows the Habs to retain its rights to the players in question if they would be a subject to a speedy offer from another team after the opening of the free agent market on July 1st. It should be noted, however, that fast biddings are a rarity in the National Hockey League.

Meanwhile, Galchenyuk, Tinordi, Flynn, Nygren, Thomas, and Bournival can pursue negotiations for a new contract, which will most likely be in the six cases, a short-term contract. Bournival should expect to discuss his possible two-way offer at training camp in Brossard in September.

Of the six players targeted by the Habs, none are really in a position of strength at the negotiating table. This includes Galchenyuk, who recently separated from his longtime agent, former player Igor Larionov, who was eventually replaced by agent Pat Brisson. The association between Galchenyuk and his new agent was confirmed yesterday afternoon. Still, the young striker will most likely settle for a short-term transitional contract.

The Canadiens organization relies on two other free agents who, for the moment at least, have still not received a qualifying offer from the management and could try their luck on the free agent market as of July 1st.

This includes forward Eric Tangradi, who played seven games with the team last season, and forward Drayson Bowman, a third round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2007. Bowman took part in three games last season in a Canadiens sweater.

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