Is offer-sheet mania coming to the NHL? GMs and agents on whether Blues-Oilers could just be the start

The mystique of the offer sheet in NHL history comes very much from the fact that they are rare and, well, rarely work.

Heck, an entire documentary was released earlier this year looking back at the offer sheet Joe Sakic got from the New York Rangers in 1997, which the Colorado Avalanche matched but not without some major drama.

Advertisement The seven days in the lead-up to that decision were sure fun to cover and are even more interesting to dive into in hindsight, as the film does.

And I mean, pure theatre is what we got between Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe with the Dustin Penner offer sheet.

I had way too much fun writing about that when it was happening.

Even the Carolina-Montreal dust-up was entertaining.

But as I wrote a few weeks ago after speaking with St.

Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and his Edmonton Oilers counterpart Stan Bowman, this summers double-offer-sheet success by the Blues was a rather business-like transaction, devoid of the usual rancor and bitterness of the process.

Of course, the Oilers didnt like it, but theyre not promising revenge or frothing at the mouth.

Nor did it create much criticism from other clubs who normally thumb their nose at most offer sheets.

I dont know if thats because the offer sheets came from Armstrong, one of the winningest GMs in NHL history, who carries so much respect among his peers.

But whatever the case, it begs this question: Will it open the door for an uptick in offer sheets moving forward? Will it happen more often? Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland told The Athletic .

Thats tough to say, but I do think the analysis that all clubs do will certainly be fresh in everyones mind.

Every year, teams do their homework on these types of scenarios, examine everyones situation and assess it from many different angles, including the player and fit, hows their own roster look, amongst other variables, and then make a decision on whether to try to work out a deal or file the sheet itself, as all clubs know its an avenue in the CBA and teams have to make their independent judgments from a variety of vantage points.

Said New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: Its part of the CBA! Its a tool to improve your team! Uptick? Not sure.

Every situation is different.

Depending on the caliber of the player, teams may have the replacement in-house and prefer not to match and get the futures.

As the cap goes up, teams should be able to match if they want.

Again, its a tool in the CBA.

Advertisement On the other side of the aisle, its no surprise that player agents would have their own takes.

I reached out to two of the most veteran agents in the business to ask if they thought Armstrongs double offer sheets might lead to more around the league.

The double offer sheet was an interesting scenario but not totally shocking, J.P.

Barry said.

As this CBA term has progressed, the salary numbers for sheets have risen to the point where the applicable draft pick compensation has become quite reasonable.

With so many teams at or over the cap using (long-term injured reserve), I do expect another one next summer if a team is similarly exposed.

Allan Walsh went even further.

I have always believed offer sheets to be an effective tool for NHL teams to add good players, he said.

Especially in the range of $1.5 million to $4.5 million, the threshold compensation of a third-round pick and then second-round pick would lead one to believe offer sheets should have always been a more common occurrence.

The NHL is a copycat league and the fact a universally respected, longtime general manager like Doug Armstrong successfully signed two players to offer sheets will have an impact on the system.

Ive been told some owners asked some very tough questions of their managers on why they didnt suggest offer sheets on available players.

Make no mistake, the barn door has been opened.

The world did not come to an end, and the Blues offer-sheet strategy allowed the club to successfully sign two young players that filled a critical need.

In a hard-cap system, with over 10 teams at or above the upper limit, I expect well see more teams targeting specific players using offer sheets.

I dont know if offer sheets will become commonplace or routine, but well certainly be seeing more of them going forward.

Advertisement Easier for an agent to argue, perhaps, than a GM who finds himself in the crosshairs for doing it, or at least doing it when it feels like a waste of time.

I dont think it will have an overall huge effect on the number we see going forward, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin said.

Teams need to do what they feel is right for them.

If its an offer sheet, then so be it.

Youre trying to make your team better, not make another worse.

Said Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis: They are in the CBA and have been for a while so I dont think that what happened this summer will necessarily lead to a lot more.

Well give the last word to two-time, reigning NHL GM of the Year Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars .

We all know its part of the business and its up to us as managers to manage that, Nill told The Athletic .

You dont see it a lot because its hard to do.

A lot of things have to fall into place.

You got to have cap room to do what you want to do.

You have to have the picks available.

Even Army had to go back and do some stickhandling there ( a trade with Pittsburgh to acquire the necessary draft-pick compensation).

The players have to agree.

Maybe youve got a team who wants to do it but the player doesnt want to go there.

So a lot of things have to fall into place.

I dont think well see it a lot, but ...

its hard to predict.

Heres what Im willing to say: I do believe that when a GM of Armstrongs experience and reputation does what he did and pulls it off without a gong show or war of words, it absolutely opens the door at least a crack toward normalizing what has always been taboo.

The reason I dont think well see a multitude of offer sheets despite that has more to do with the fact that the salary cap will keep going up, which should allow cap teams to breathe a little more and not find themselves as much at risk as the Oilers were this summer.

Advertisement So I guess my point, and you can agree or disagree, is that Armstrong will have had an effect on the mentality surrounding the offer-sheet process, but that doesnt necessarily create many more scenarios that make sense given the precise conditions needed to pull one off.

Although lets be honest, we all want more offer sheets!.

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