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Here are this year's critical dates for the off-season for RFA's and UFA's:
June 15 – 30
- League-wide moratorium on new player contracts: Meaning a team cannot re-sign any of their own free agents, restricted or unrestricted, during this period.
- Buy-Out Period (June 15-30) *Clubs with salary arbitration cases [July 20 – Aug 4] have a second opportunity to buy-out contracts. Deadline in those cases is 48 hours after the Club’s last salary arbitration award or settlement.
June 24-25
NHL Entry Draft – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
June 27
Deadline for clubs to make qualifying offers to their restricted free agents. Qualifying offers must be received by this date. Players, however, cannot accept those Qualifying Offers officially until July 1. Players have until July 15th to accept their QO. Any impending RFA who does not receive a Qualifying Offer can become an unrestricted free agent if their Club also does not opt for Club-Elected arbitration.
June 28
Impending restricted free agents are free to open talks with any NHL team, including the team holding their rights. However, no official offers can be made, new contracts, offer sheets, etc, until July 1. (This does not apply to players with fewer than three years experience who have received a qualifying offer. In that case, the qualifying offer gives the Club exclusive negotiating rights to a player with less than three years pro experience.)
June 30
Upper/Lower Limits on 2011-12 Salary Cap are set
July 1
Noon eastern: Free agency period begins. (Also the first day the Hawks and Patrick Sharp can begin negotiating a contract extension beyond 2011-12)
July 5
Deadline for Player-Elected Salary Arbitration: 5pm eastern
July 6
Deadline for Club-Elected Salary Arbitration: 5pm eastern