CHECKERS EXTEND QUALIFIERS 

General manager and head coach of the Charlotte Checkers, Derek Wilkinson announced that the team has made qualifying offers to eight players.

Notable players that were qualified include Michel Leveille who led the team in points during the playoffs. In 40 regular season games with the Checkers, Leveille scored 15 goals and tallied 22 assists for 37 points. Rookie Matt Ford was also qualified after spending time in the ECHL with the Checkers as well as the American Hockey League with Hartford Wolf Pack and the Lake Erie Monsters. In 28 regular season games with the Checkers, Ford scored 21 goals and tallied 17 assists totaling 38 points placing him third in points during the 2008-09 campaign.

Other players that were qualified include: goaltender Jeff Jakaitis, center Mitch Carefoot, defenseman Jared Nightingale, center Peter Tsimikalis, defenseman Kevin Schaeffer and forward Marty Guerin.

Of these eight (8) Qualified Players, no more than four (4) of the Qualified Players shall be Veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2009-10 season). Players will have until August 1 to accept a qualifying offer. Players on open Qualifying Offers cannot be traded.

Teams were not required to protect players who signed a Standard Players Contract prior to July 1. Players that were not signed by July 1 or extended a qualifying offer by July 1 became unrestricted free agents. Each team was entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the season ending roster list of 20.

Teams are not allowed to sign more than 24 players to contracts during the summer.

A Member extending a valid Qualifying Offer to a Veteran retains the Rights to that Veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the Veteran is not signed to a Standard Player Contract by the Member, the Veteran shall be deemed a Restricted Free Agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other Members. Restricted Free Agents may not be traded.

When a Restricted Free Agent receives an offer to sign a Standard Player Contract from an Offering Member other than the Member with Rights and the Restricted Free Agent desires to accept the Offer, the Restricted Free Agent and the Offering Member must, within 24 hours, deliver a completed Offer Sheet to the Member with Rights, the League Office and the PHPA. The Member with Rights shall then have seven (7) days after the date it receives the Offer Sheet to exercise its Right to Match. The Right to Match shall expire seven (7) days from the date the Offer Sheet was received but not counting the day of receipt.

If a Restricted Free Agent is not signed to either an Offer Sheet or a Standard Player Contract by a Member by August 31, he shall be deemed an Unrestricted Free Agent.