When Will Teams Use the Offer Sheet?

Expect Teams To Use the Offer Sheet Later in the Summer

Outside of the CBA and the playoff races, the topic of conversation this summer will be the offer sheet. As NHLRumors.com has documented, Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs could be offered a contract by a team this summer.

Last year, the St. Louis Blues successfully used the offer sheet to get Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Both players have made an impact on the Blues this season. Many wonder if the unwritten rule has been thrown out the window, and teams will use this tool in the toolbox more.

NHL Rumors: There Could Be More Offer Sheets Coming This Offseason

Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal earlier in the week and was asked about offer sheets and when we could potentially see them utilized this offseason.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Host: “You think with the success the St Louis Blues have had with their offer sheets this past summer, that this may start becoming the norm in the National Hockey League?”

Dave Pagnotta: “It’s going to be very situational, based on when those operations come into play. I don’t think we’re going to see many, if any, in the first bit of July, everybody’s got an extra $7.5 million dollars to play with, with the cap going up. So that’s everybody’s kind of bumper zone, for the most part right out of the gate.

Now, similarly to what happened with the Oilers and St. Louis pouncing on them, they waited a little bit until they knew that they were they were in big cap trouble, and that’s ultimately what prevented the Oilers from matching both of the offer sheets to Holloway and Broberg. If we get to that point at the end of July, going into August, or something like that, then I think that’s when offer sheets are going to be a little bit more realistic as potential threats for some teams.

NHL Rumors: Could Matthew Knies Get an Offer Sheet?

I don’t think it’ll be right out of the gate, though. I think you’ve got to do this in such a strategic way. And the unwritten BS rule of, you don’t offer sheet a guy, you don’t go down that path and this and that out the window. Doug Armstrong went after those players and had the successful offer sheets. He said, Look, I would offer a sheet somebody against my own mother, just to get a player to help my team. He doesn’t buy into that.

I think a lot of the younger GMs as well, do it in a respectful way, certainly. But I think it’s going to be something to keep tabs on. I just think it’s going to be more opportunistic for teams to approach an offer sheet towards alter part of July, when a lot of teams have already gotten a lot of their work done, but we’ll see how things kind of play out this summer.”

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