Will the Montreal Canadiens make another offer sheet?
By Omar L
The Habs signed Aho to a five-year $42.27 million, which carried an $8.45 million cap hit. The compensation for the offer sheet fell just within the range to only be a first, second and third-round pick, and that’s exactly why it was shocking. The offer wasn’t scary enough for the Carolina Hurricanes to even hesitate the decision to match.
Montreal walked away, looking used by Aho’s camp and helping the Hurricanes out while heading into a relatively quiet offseason signing Keith Kinkaid and Ben Chiarot.
The NHL has released the new compensation rates for offer sheets, and with the Montreal Canadiens having 12 draft picks, the same question appears: will they try to offer sheet someone.
The pool of RFAs isn’t as big as last year’s, but there are still some big names on the board. Mathew Barzal and Pierre-Luc Dubois are the two that stick out.
Columbus has seen Dubois grow into a gritty number one centre over the years. He really came alive these playoffs with big games against the Leafs and Lightning, including a playoff hat-trick. Cap space isn’t an issue, though, as the Blue Jackets have a ton of it and are determined to get Dubois signed.
The New York Islanders are another story. Barzal is an 80-point player who saw his numbers reduced after buying into a new defensive system via Barry Trotz. Despite that, Barzal has never looked more dangerous than he does now, and he could be entering those years of offensive stardom in the NHL. Unfortunately, the Islanders have a little over $8 million in cap space with other RFAs in Ryan Pulock, Devon Toews and defence Sebastian Aho to sign.
The Islanders could try to bridge him similarly to what the Lightning did with Point signing him to a three-year deal worth $6.75 million. However, Barzal is well within his write to follow in the steps of Mitch Marner and demand every penny from Lou Lamoriello.