WWYDW (On Friday): Would You Welcome An Offer Sheet?

Everyone has talked this summer about not only how vulnerable the Winnipeg Jets are to another NHL club either signing RFAs Kyle Connor or Patrik Laine to an offer sheet. From various media talking about just how it’s bound to happen to various team sites from non-conference foes and divisional rivals begging their favorite clubs to go ahead and do it. Yet nothing has happened. Just like nothing happened in the past when “sources” claimed it was only a matter of time before Jacob Trouba – a player who clearly didn’t want to play in Winnipeg – was signed to an offer sheet.

Not saying that it won’t happen at all, there is a distinct possibility of course as we just saw two weeks ago when the Montreal Canadiens signed Carolina Hurricanes RFA Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet.

The problem was it was such a pathetic attempt to sign an RFA away from another club – former Thrashers GM and current Canes General Manager Don Waddell stated rather publicly he expected a bigger offer – many wondered why the Canadiens even bothered to attempt in the first place. The Hurricanes had the Salary Cap room to match the small offer and the contract itself was pretty reasonable for the dynamic 21 year old forward.

For the first offer NHL sheet signed in six years, we expected a little better, which is maybe why fans and media alike are still speculating on a possible second offer sheer this summer. Meanwhile the Winnipeg Jets still haven’t signed their two key big name RFAs which means the speculation had over offer sheets will continue to center around Connor and Laine until they are taken care of.

For all the talk of how “scary” offer sheets can be for teams that may see their young stars stolen away from them, one has to wonder… Would it really be so bad? Let’s review the top four ‘tiers’ of offer sheets and what the compensation would be to an NHL club that decides not to match said offer sheet.

If there is an NHL club that is crazy enough to sign either Laine or Connor – who both have serious question marks to their individual games – to a deal worth over $10.5-million, one would have to think the Jets take the four first round picks and move on. That second highest tier might also be a contract offer that the Jets are willing to walk away from.

Where it gets tricky is that third tier where one would expect a Laine or Connor contract to fall into, especially if a deal is closer to the $8.4-million side of the things. It would be a bit of an overpay for either player at this point making things difficult for the Jets to continue managing the Cap going forward, but the compensation of a first, second and third round pick also wouldn’t feel like much of a better return in exchange for walking away.

A club signing either player could try to front load the deal with a lot of money paid up front – like the Canadiens did in the case with Aho – which would also make things a bit awkward for a club like the Jets but could be handled given their solid financial status with ownership.

Let us know your thoughts and what trades you’d make in the comments below or on either our Twitter feed or Facebook page!