He's just confirmed what we already knew lol.

I’ve confirmed this before tho ?

It just wasn't considered

@Icegirl email

Can it be?
Say I decide not to use my one UFA signing prior to July 1st this year. Can I extend Pacioretty and have it count as this year's UFA signing?

I need to get my contracts in order for tomorrow, so want to know what my options are before I make final decisions.

Wouldn't you be able to extend him next year?

Yes, but I don't get to use this year's UFA signing.

The "good players" aren't hitting UFA this year.
They won't hit UFA next year either (plus expansion).
So that will be 2 seasons with little to no possibility of signing a decent UFA.

Best I can hope for is to not improve through UFA this season, and lose to UFA next season. Net negative in the UFA department. At least with an extension available this season I can maintain what I have and hope to acquire rights for next season.
Otherwise it looks like the only UFA action I'll see over the course of two years is re-signing Patches.

If that's the case, so be it. I just want the ability to count an early extension towards this season's limit to be taken into consideration, before I resign myself to a pretty boring UFA process.

Can I trade my 1 UFA signing to someone?

Why can't you sign UFAs from other teams though?

I can, but the exclusive signings prevent the majority of quality players from hitting the market. Sitting on about $15M with nobody worth spending it on.
Some teams are getting to keep a big name UFA with no competition. I'm just suggesting teams are given the option of one UFA or one extension to compensate for that exclusivity.

Well if you can't resign Pacioretty this year, what difference does it make if you do it next year? You're not required to resign a UFA this year.

This is how it works in the real world though.
Each team holds the exclusive right to sign any player on their roster who is set to become a UFA right up to Midnight June 30th.
That means every team could elect to sign and keep all of their own players before they hit the open market.
The difference in our game is we are allowing only 1 UFA to be signed prior to free agency starting.

Looking to move Xavier Ouellet for fairly cheap relatively soon. Unless the offers are porous, best offer wins. Looking for either a) pick(s); or b) Ouellet ++ for a top 4 defenceman

Chicago is shopping Alex Debrincat.
In other un-related news, also looking to acquire an early to mid 2nd round selection in the 2018 draft.

Mostly it means I can't trade for a rental with any prospect of keeping them. Takes me out of the trade market for those players if I plan to re-sign Pacioretty.

All I wanted was for teams with no noteworthy free agents to have the option of an extension this season instead, so everyone gets to lock up 1 such player per season.

I thought it should at least be considered. That's all. I didn't think there would be opposition to the idea. I guess I just see things differently.

Just so we're all aware, the one UFA signing is an extension. So after July 1, 2018, you could extend Pacioretty for the 2019-20 season and beyond. But come May/June 2019, you wouldn't be able to extend any other UFAs for the 2019-20 season even if you acquire their rights. The current UFA extensions is for guys who are being extended for 2018-19 and beyond.

@ricochetii

That's what I was asking to be considered. Dating one July 1st extension for this season (provided you don't keep one of your current UFAs) as opposed to having it count against next seasons.

Never mind

Just allowing the one per year to maintain consistency for all teams.

Np. All I asked was for it to be considered.

He's not suggesting adding more, he's suggesting letting a UFA extension for the NEXT season count for THIS season if he does it THIS offseason.

I think he understood, it was just worded poorly. Thanks for clarifying anyway.

Looking for UFA rights to someone of quality.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still available. Looking for a young winger who is not eligible for the expansion draft + a 1st rounder + center prospect. This price is negotiable and I am also willing to add pieces depending on your offer.