Former San Jose prospect Daniil Gushchin is headed for unrestricted free agency

The NHL free-agency cycle is set to open with another former San Jose Sharks prospect coming off the qualifying-offer list. Daniil Gushchin, who was traded to the Colorado Avalanche last summer, is expected to become an unrestricted free agent after failing to receive a qualifying offer from his most recent team ahead of Monday’s deadline.

Yahoo Sports reported that the qualifying-offer process, which decides whether certain players are retained under team control for the next season, affected multiple players who previously belonged to the Sharks’ organization. Gushchin was identified as the last such name to come through the pipeline on the eve of the deadline.

For Colorado, the development means the organization will lose negotiating rights tied to the qualifying-offer mechanism. The Avalanche will have to decide whether to re-sign Gushchin through open-market terms, rather than keeping the added leverage that usually comes with an original qualifying-offer status.

Gushchin’s path also illustrates how quickly NHL prospects and organizational depth can shift between teams. He was described as a former Sharks prospect in the report, and his trade to Colorado last summer placed him into the Avalanche’s roster planning during the most recent offseason.

The unrestricted-free-agency window is one of the league’s busiest roster-turnover periods. Players who reach it often draw interest based on role fit, skating profile, and how well they can adapt to different systems, but the exact market for any specific player typically becomes clear only after the initial negotiation period begins.

With Gushchin now headed to free agency, Colorado’s next step will be to evaluate how to cover the same style of minutes and roster need, either by re-signing him or by targeting a replacement with comparable strengths.

Over the next few days, watch for reports on whether any team makes a formal offer, and whether Colorado decides to match that interest to keep continuity within its forward group.