Habs Relinquish Rights to Joe Vrbetic

June 1st at 5 PM ET is a time of some significance in the NHL as it results in teams losing the rights to some of their unsigned prospects.  This was the case for the Habs who have officially relinquished the rights to goaltender Joe Vrbetic.

Montreal drafted Vrbetic in the seventh round back in 2021, going 214th overall.  That was the COVID year and the OHL didn’t play, meaning the Habs were basing the selection on his rookie year with North Bay the following season.  The fact he was 6’6 also likely played a role in the decision with the Habs in the midst of a trend of taking project goaltenders.

Vrbetic spent the 2021-22 campaign with the Battalion before turning pro the following season.  In doing so, he extended his signing rights from two years to four seasons which just expired today.

Unfortunately for Vrbetic, the majority of his pro career has been spent at the ECHL level, aside from a four-game stint in Laval in 2022-23.  He started this season without a contract before joining ECHL Indy where he got into a dozen games before being traded back to Montreal’s affiliate in Trois-Rivieres.  Since then, he has played just twice.  On the season, he had a 2.72 GAA and a .871 SV%.

Originally, there was one other prospect the Habs were initially set to lose the rights to but didn’t.  2023 fourth rounder Quentin Miller would have been here but he was waived out of the QMJHL this season due to his injury.  He resurfaced with BCHL Chilliwack and has now committed to the University of Denver moving forward.  Simplistically speaking, since he didn’t last two years in major junior after being picked, his signing rights have now been extended under CBA Sec. 8.6 (b)(ii) which reads as follows:

If a Player who is drafted as an 18-year-old ceases to play in the Juniors in the second League Year after he has been drafted and the Club has tendered to such Player a Bona Fide Offer pursuant to 8.6(a)(ii), his drafting Club shall have the exclusive right of negotiation for his services until the fourth June 1 following his initial selection in the Entry Draft.

The fourth June 1 following Miller’s initial selection is 2027 so Montreal should hold his rights for two more years.