Former Laval Rocket defenseman and current free agent Mattias Norlinder has declined the Montreal Canadiens’ contract offer, Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom reported.

The contract offer, which was made over the weekend, comes after the Canadiens let Norlinder walk to free agency in June.

Drafted by the Canadiens in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Norlinder spent the 2023-24 season playing for the Rocket where he collected two goals and seven assists for nine points in 50 games.

Since coming to North America during the 2021-22 season, Norlinder has seen six games with Montreal and 123 regular season games with the Rocket.

Norlinder’s former team (MoDo Hockey) – who lack the funds to sign the Swedish defender – launched a crowdfunding campaign on Monday to try and sign him. The campaign collected over 400,000 SEK (equivalent to $40,000 USD) over the first ten hours.