"If Nikita Filatov really does have a desire to get back to the NHL next season, it will either be as a Senator or to a team that is generally managed by a Bryan Murray trading partner.

Upon announcing that he is allowing the 21-year-old Russian's return to the KHL's CSKA Moscow, Murray said he would make a qualifying offer to Filatov when he becomes a restricted free agent in July.

"We won't retain his rights if we don't," said Murray. "I'm saying today we will retain his rights."