Former Canuck headed to free agency after team chose not to qualify him

The San Jose Sharks are looking to take the next step in their rebuild in 2024-25 with prospects like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith ready to making the jump to the NHL. This summer will be big for Sharks General Manager Mike Grier as he needs to surround those two top prospects with players that'll help them succeed.

With the Sharks having a number of pending unrestricted and restricted free agents on their roster, Grier is still in the process of who he wants to bring back next season and sees as key to their rebuild. For a former Vancouver Canucks forward, his time with the organization is unfortunately over.

In a post on social media on Friday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now shared that former Vancouver Canucks forward Jack Studnicka won't be receiving a qualifying offer from the Sharks this week, which will make him an unrestricted free agent on Monday.

Studnicka, 25, joined the Canucks organization in a trade with Boston in October 2022. In his first season with Vancouver, he set new career highs in games played, goals, assists and points, but by the time the 2023-24 campaign rolled around, he wasn't able to stick as a full-time NHLer.

Two months into the 2023-24 season, Patrik Allvin shipped Studnicka to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenceman Nick Cicek and a sixth round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

The Windsor, Ontario native spent the majority of the year in the AHL with Abbotsford and the San Jose Barracuda, putting up 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists), 18 penalty minutes and was a minus-six. Studnicka also appeared in 22 games at the NHL level - five with Vancouver and 17 with San Jose - scoring one goal, added six penalty minutes and was a minus-12.

We'll have to wait and see what Monday brings for Jack Studnicka and if he's able to get an NHL contract right out of the gate or if he'll have to aim for a professional tryout contract (PTO) later in the summer.