The Montreal Canadiens are the only team to have used the offer sheet option in recent years in the NHL.
Two years ago, on July 1, 2019, they signed Carolina Hurricanes centre Sebastian Aho to a five year contract with a cap hit just under $8.5 million. The Canes had seven days to either match the contract and keep their player, or let him go to Montreal and be compensated for losing the young star.
They elected to match, claiming it was one of the easiest decisions they ever had to make as hockey executives.
Aho was eligible to be signed to an offer sheet because he was a restricted free agent. Basically, any player less than 27 years old or having played less than seven NHL season is eligible for an offer sheet. If his contract runs out, other teams are free to try and negotiate a deal with him, but they don’t get the player for nothing. The amount of compensation depends on the average annual cap hit of the contract.
For the upcoming season, the compensation tiers are as follows:
Less than $1,356,540 – No compensation required
Between $1,356,541 and $2,055,364 – 1 third round pick
Between $2,055,365 and $4,110,732- 1 second round pick
Between $4,110,733 and $6,166,096 – 1 first round pick and 1 third round pick
Between $6,166,097 and $8,221,463 – 1 first round pick, 1 second round pick, 1 third round pick
Between $8,221,464 and $10,276,829 – 2 first round pick, 1 second round pick, 1 third round pick
More than $10,276,830 – 4 first round picks
The offer sheet is rarely successful in luring a player to another team. The last time it worked was in 2007 when the Anaheim Ducks were up against the salary cap after winning the Stanley Cup. The Edmonton Oilers signed Dustin Penner to an offer sheet and the Ducks were unable to match.
Since then, we have seen David Backes, Steve Bernier, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Shea Weber, Ryan O’Reilly and Aho sign offer sheets but all of them were matched by their original teams.
Though the Canadiens were unsuccessful last time, it doesn’t mean they won’t try again. There are many interesting players about to hit the market as RFAs that could greatly help the Canadiens lineup if they were acquired.
Let’s take a look at three players Bergevin could consider giving an offer sheet today.