RFA Offer Sheets

Offer Sheets are part of the CBA, but the old school GM world is too stuck in the past to use them correctly. Why GMs don't start using them to their advantage is beyond me. The hard salary cap is in place in part to improve competitiveness so that high end talent is dispersed. GMs should force young talented teams to do what Chicago has done to themselves.

For instance:

Montreal should Offer Draisitl a 4 x 9M contract this summer. Montreal needs a number 1 centre with size and he fits the bill perfectly. It requires 2 x 1st a 2nd and a 3rd. If Edmonton matches then it forces them to have McDavid and Draisitl eat up about 20M minimum of their cap moving forward. The 4 year deal really makes it difficult on Edmonton.

Next year everyone in the Atlantic should look at an Offer Sheet for Nylander in Toronto. Say 7M per over 5 years. If Toronto matches then it drives up the price for Matthews and Marner the following summer. Get Toronto into a cap crunch before they start using bridge deals. If Toronto doesn't match it's a 1st, 2nd and 3rd, which is not much.

These types of moves also drive up the price of other guys coming off their ELC like Eichel, Larkin, etc...

Guys like Karlsson would benefit as well as it would put him in the 10-12M range where an elite talent should be. In essence, the way the cap is now, there should be a much bigger gap than currently exists. It makes me sick seeing Crosby make under 9M. The way Chicago has to keep making tough decisions because of Kane and Toewes is the way it's supposed to work, and it would be even better if they hadn't been able to give Keith a 12 year below market contract.

Just my opinion on the way it should work.

I think most GMs consider it a nuclear option that causes problems for everyone down the road.

spader wrote:I think most GMs consider it a nuclear option that causes problems for everyone down the road.

That is the problem, we need GMs that use all the available tools to build a roster.

Because it inflates player salaries. That NYlander contract sucks, for example. It would create a Dung financial environment for teams.

Also, the player has to sign the offer sheet. Most players don't want to leave their team so early.

Inflation of player salaries in a hard cap is good for competitive Balance.  As for Nylander, are you aware he would have been 2nd on the Sens in scoring and he just turned 21 last week.

Oglethorpe wrote:Inflation of player salaries in a hard cap is good for competitive Balance.  As for Nylander, are you aware he would have been 2nd on the Sens in scoring and he just turned 21 last week.

Doesn't really matter, that's an awful contract and no way will he get that as an RFA. Comparing other players' numbers to Sens players is irrelevant, a guy like Nylander would have had a LOT less points on a defensive team like the Sens. The Leafs played firewagon hockey, they had nothing to lose.

You are missing the point.  Obviously it's a little high, that is the point of an offer sheet, you either force the team team to lose a player or cap space.  In this case it drives up the cost of Marner and Matthews immediately which doesn't let the leafs use bridge deals.  The goal is to weaken another teams ability to take advantage of under market 2nd contracts to their top players.

I agree that the offer sheet should be used as a weapon. It is/was quite an effective tool in the NBA. If there is a player available that you want and you're willing to pay dearly for them, do it! If anything, it screws over the team who owns the rights to that player.

But I'd wait for the Marner/Matthews year to screw over Toronto. Matthews could easily make $10M per season and Marner closer to $7M. They are actually in a great situation cap-wise to re-sign everyone but you may as well drive the price up on them..