Likely Offer Sheets in 2009

Every year since the lockout when Philly GM Bobby Clarke sent an offer sheet to Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler there has been speculation on who is going to be signed to an offer sheet, which team is going to be forced to overpay for a restricted free agent.

Two years ago we saw Kevin Lowe attempt to sign vanek to a huge 43.6 million dollar 6 year deal (matched by the sabres and ruff was clearly pissed off) and pulled of the dustin penner signing from anaheim (which brian burke repeatedly got pissed off about to the media). This summer we saw Vancouver strike st. louis with an offer sheet to david backes (st. louis matched it) and then st. louis sent one back for steve bernier but after this there was no other activity.
this summer marks the first real possibility off more than one player getting signed succesfully to an offer sheet from one team to another.
At the end of the season there are 3 teams that are under tight cap restrictions and with the possibilty of the cap either only marginally rising or even falling these three teams could have a hard time keeping there RFA’s on their team.
a quick note – this is providing the cap does not move up or down, which many hockey analysts claim is almost guarented to happen. this is also assuming a standard 22 – 23 man team

1. – Tampa Bay – THis summer the new owners forked over loads of money to try and make there team better right away but they may have handicapped themselves in the future.
At the end of the season (barring any trades and any signings of course) the lightning have 43.6 million dollars commited to 14 players. This leaves only 13 million dollars to sign 8 players (providing the cap dosent go up which is very likely), If Lukas Krajicek or Jussi Jokinen get an offer sheet the Lightning might have to let them go if it is any higher than a 3 3 or 4 million.

2. Pittsburgh – WIth the pens signing Malkin, Crosby, Whitney and Fleury to long term extensions as well as having Orpik and Gonchar to multi million dollar deals this team could be hard pressed to keep Staal or Goligolski
The Penguins have 41.3 Million dollars commited to 11 players next season and only have 15.4 million to sign 11 (or 12 ) players. If Staal gets an offer sheet of 4 – 5 million the penguins may be forced to let him go if they want to stay competitive. Sma egoes for goligoski if he gets a 3 or 4 million dollar deal.

3. New York – This team went and overpaid for naslund and redden this summer and may pay for it next summer. The Rangers have Gomez, Drury, Rozisval, Redden and Lundqvist signed to deals worth 4 million or more.
All together the rangers have 40.2 million dollars commited to only 9 players.
This leaves the Rangers only 16.5 million to sign 13 players. Many teams could see this and may attempt to sign Zherdev or Dubinsky of there production stays up to deals worht upwards of 4 or 5 million dollars. THis could speel troublr for the rangers and they would be
forced to let one of them or both of them go.

This summer could be an interesting one for many fans as they may for the first time see the true fear of offer sheets many teams fear.


40 Responses to Likely Offer Sheets in 2009

  1. mojo19 says:

    Kevin Lowe did it a couple years ago but no one made any big offers last year, i think the biggest was Bernier? Even though everyone was speculating on big names, its probably not gonna happen

  2. offside12 says:

    Here's something I've been wondering.  I know its a dink move but its still an option.  So the leafs have 7 million in cap room left open and if they trade away their bigger name guys they'll have more, right? so what would happen if the leafs went after the rfas on some of the teams with out wiggle room and offered them huge one year deals and then signed them to smaller extensions for a multi year contract after? they could offer staal a 6 million one year deal and then if they get him, try and get him to sign a multi year extension for around 4.. ho would that be? same with any others.. good or bad?

  3. Kramer says:

    The Leafs listened to me for a change. They drugged Brodeur and then scored 6 goals on him. The Leafs need to have a mickey ready before every game and then slip it into the goalie's water bottle when they head for a pee.

  4. wheresthesoda says:

    That would be interesting and very unconventional is something that already is. I don't see this happening though. You can't sign a young player to a 1 year deal and then after a year of them maturing and getting even better why would they want to take a pay cut?

  5. wheresthesoda says:

    You could even see that something was up with Brodeur because after he got sprayed in the shootout he was smiling.

  6. cam7777 says:

    yea, i think they'd smell bullshit and opt not to sign the offer sheet.  i believe the rfa's have the right to take less money for more years or what have you.

  7. offside12 says:

    I dont know. I know that they can reject offers too, but if they sign for big money and one year, they dont have to sign an extension and could get another offer, but it could be dumb too because the leafs would lose massive picks, but for good players so who knows?

  8. Bure96 says:

    The Bernier offer sheet was just a retaliation to the Backes offer sheet. Apparently the Canucks made St. Louis a pathetic trade offer for Backes and after the Blues said no the Nuck's put an offer sheet on Backes, and the Blues quickly matched.

    They didn't actually think they could get Bernier. It was only 4 days after Bernier was traded to the Nuck's for a 2nd rounder, the same return which the Canucks would have rechieved had they let Bernier walk.

    So Backes was probably the biggest offer sheet of the summer.

  9. Viceroy says:

    Actually there's good chances the cap will be going down next year. The CDN currency has taken a plunge and that means league revenues will take a hit. Some teams with a lot of salary tied up for next year might find it hard to sign their UFA's and RFA's.

    The Habs OTOH have plenty of cap space next year and I'd love for them to take a run at Jordan Staal next year. Howsabout a 8yr/40mil contract sound?

  10. Kramer says:

    There's no fights no more. Something needs to be done about this. There should be at least one major bench clearing brawl per week. Now we barely see any fights at all. I'm not happy one bit.

  11. cam7777 says:

    they don't really have much capspace if you consider they have to resign almost their entire team.  kovalev, koivu, tanguay, latendresse, higgins, plekanec, komisarek….

  12. hockeyhead says:

    boston’s phil kessel.

    he has shown he can play two ways since the benching in the playoffs last season.

    he has seen time on the PK and power play.

    he has great speed, moves and shot.

    a threat on the penalty shot.

    hopfully the bruins sign him but who knows what will happen.

  13. mojo19 says:

    Right. So there you go. I don't think RFA's and offer sheets are anything to look out for, ever.

  14. mojo19 says:

    That Hagman goal was diiiiiiiirty. Wow.

  15. Fromage_Blanc says:

    Agreed. The NHL needs another Hextall. No stupid defenseman that needs to protect their goalie.

  16. wheresthesoda says:

    yea i don't teams would take a chance like that to lose picks to have a player for only one season.

  17. ranger_fan says:

    Honestly I love Zherdev and Dubinsky but they aren't yet worth that much money. I'd gladly take the compensation and let Korpikoski and Anisimov play

  18. ranger_fan says:

    I dont think the cap with decrease. Attendance is up and more European revenue. Canada is not an elastic market.

  19. shine_bulge_twine says:

    Only question I have for HTR, why Gaborik not Ovechkin?

    AO embodies what hockey is all about.

  20. cam7777 says:

    The 6 canadian teams produced just over 35% of the revenue for the entire league last year.  If you think the dollar changing won't effect revenue, and thusly the cap, think again.

  21. cam7777 says:

    it's a trade rumor site, and no player should be getting more rumors tossed around about him this year than marian gaborik.  AO is pretty much the most secure player in the league in washington.

  22. mojo19 says:

    Because Ovechkin will never get traded. Gaborik will be in trade rumours all year. Why don't you people realize the banner of HTR is supposed to be a player involved in "trade rumours" hence the nature of the website.

  23. shine_bulge_twine says:

    What do you mean YOU people?

  24. Steve362 says:

    This is still a contridiction, because most of the posts that are created here are that of news , stats, injury's, opinion etc… if you want to be a trade rumor site the stick to the trade rumors… also stop being so ignorent and just answer the mans question without being a complete ass

  25. the_word says:

    Luring RFAs will cost the Leafs draft picks and for that reason alone shouldn't be considered. For a rebuilding team first round picks should be your only untouchable commodity. There isn't an RFA in the game worth 3 potential lottery picks.

  26. mojo19 says:

    You’re right word. Even for non-rebuilding teams the compensation for good players is generally too much based on the salary they’re offered. Hence last years “big” offer sheets were handed out to players like Backes and Bernier…. wow, big deal.

    I don’t know why people get worked up over RFA’s and think its a big deal. Its not. Name players never get offered. Who’s the biggest (maybe only?) player to have been lured away via offer sheet? Dustin Penner.

  27. mojo19 says:

    My articles ARE trade rumour articles and I was complaining before about how there were so many articles coming out that weren't 'trade rumours'. Somewhere along the way this site gradually shifted from article after article of trade rumours to opinions and news. But its still a place where I come to hopefully read and discuss some rumours.

    And what I meant by 'you people' I mean all the people who kept suggesting Ovechkin or Iginla or Crosby as the poster boy who don't seem to get it. HTR put Gaborik, Nylander, and I think Bouwmeester down as the options… you know, guys involved in trade rumours. Get it now? Sorry if I'm being a "complete ass" but some of you have to get with the program.

  28. repetitivnegativ says:

    All of those draft picks you must give up (depending on the price of the contract) are much too valuable in today's market for most sane GM's to throw around offer sheets to young players who aren't (yet, necessarily) worth the money they are signing for.

  29. Kramer says:

    I said the same thing. Why Gaborik?  Why not the Kramer face?

    If the ol' Kramer face was up there, HTR would get 1 million hits every day?

  30. wheresthesoda says:

    Sather can't even take a chance on this and sign those 2 before the season ends. Get both of them under contract and then in the offseason i think Roszival might have to get moved if someone will take on his hefty price tag.

  31. cam7777 says:

    So apparently Fletcher and Gainey were the most interested GM's in regards to acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk. 

    What would Atlanta be looking for that the Leafs would have though?
    (I only ignore the Montreal possibility for the fact that they can't do anything this year within the salary cap, unless they are giving up big salaried roster players, which they are unlikely to do )

    Would this work?:

    To TOR:
    Ilya Kovalchuk
    To ATL:
    Mikhail Grabovski, Jiri Tlusty, Carlo Colaiacovo and a 1st in 2010

    I don't know if I even want the Leafs to target Kovalchuk.  He's a prolific scorer, but he's not a leader.  In fact, in most games I watch with him he gets frustrated by his team rather easily, which is, I would imagine, the opposite of helpful.

    Then again, he does play for Atlanta, so perhaps it's justified…

  32. Pony says:

    Brendan Shanahan actually. Compensation was Scott Stevens.

  33. Fromage_Blanc says:

    Grabovski is way overrated, he's just an AHL Superstar.

  34. shine_bulge_twine says:

    That’s because Eklund pretty much stopped making shit up like so and so for this and that will happen (e4million), he was the source of most of the bullshit on the web. So now no one has a lot of actual rumours. Might as well just start making them up yourself.

  35. shine_bulge_twine says:

    Quoting Tropic Thunder.

    “What do you mean YOU people?”

  36. shine_bulge_twine says:

    AO is bank, people love AO. More AO = more hits.

    AO is a hit machine, nuthin’ says lovin’ like AO on hockey.

  37. cam7777 says:

    I don't disagree, but I don't think some GMs are beyond being fooled…

  38. mojo19 says:

    different era, not relevant. But very interesting fun fact! That was pretty fair too because Shanahan turned into Pronger for the Blues.

  39. mojo19 says:

    never saw it but i guess it was a black thjing? like robert downie jr.'s character became black right…. cool

  40. mojo19 says:

    Grabovski is Maxim Afinogenov

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