The Minnesota Wild will not be extending a qualifying offer to 2012 2nd round draft pick (46th overall) Raphael Bussieres, reports the Star Tribune’s Michael Russo.
Bussieres spent the last three seasons playing with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Over the last two he spent a significant amount of time playing with ECHL affiliates the Alaska Aces and Quad City Mallards. In those seasons he saw just 14 AHL games and didn’t score a goal, finishing with two assists, four penalty minutes and a minus-4 rating.
He had clearly fallen out of favor, as he continued to lose opportunities with the AHL club to other players.
With a load of young players entering the pro ranks in the coming year — Alex Tuch, Adam Gilmour, Sam Anas, Mario Lucia and possibly Pavel Jenys — Bussieres’s time is up with the club. He is set to become a free agent on July 1.