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Panthers GM Bill Zito (Photo by Bruce Bennett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Heading into this offseason, there was a heightened expectation that this would finally be the offseason when NHL general managers used the offer sheet weapon more. However, as of late Thursday night, not one eligible NHL restricted free agent had received an offer sheet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the St. Louis Blues successfully signed forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg <\/a>away from the Edmonton Oilers with an offer sheet last August 20, the increased salary cap, so far, has not opened up the floodgates for offer sheets this offseason. Even with the NHL salary cap rising from $88 million to $95.5 million, and expected to increase dramatically throughout the recently signed extension of the collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, NHL GMs have still resisted throwing down the offer sheet gauntlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n To understand why, RG spoke to an NHL player agent on the topic. Per the agent\u2019s request, this agent will remain anonymous.\u00a0<\/p>\n Interview With NHL Player Agent<\/p>\n Why haven\u2019t there been any offer sheets yet?<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I\u2019ve obviously given this a ton of thought over the past two years, really, but this year I think it\u2019s really hit home just because there was so much talk about it early,\u201d the agent acknowledged.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo here\u2019s my theory, if you will: I think in order to make an offer sheet, you have to overpay the player by definition because otherwise, why would you even get the player?\u00a0<\/p>\n So I think what happens is, fans and media. \u2026and sometimes even the team management themselves are saying: \u2018If I believe in a player – kind of like what happened with the Oilers and Blues last summer – I\u2019m willing to overpay him because I think I\u2019m going to get the value in the end\u2019 but what ends up happening is I think the management team has to explain themselves to ownership before they issue the offer sheet. I think the owners are competitive against each other for sure, but they\u2019re more interested in keeping guidelines on salaries than they are on one-upping each other.<\/p>\n So the owner then says to the general manager:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Look, if they match it, then all we did is drive up the market, and I don\u2019t want to be that guy that\u2019s accused of doing that because then my buddy who owns that other team will call me and give me (expletive) about it and say the same to other owners\u2019<\/p>\n That\u2019s the only thing that makes sense to me because if it were truly about competition, these offer sheets would be happening all the time. They\u2019re a great tool, as we\u2019ve seen play out multiple times. They\u2019re a great tool if you get the player, and they\u2019re a great tool if you don\u2019t get the player, because you weaken the team you targeted. If that wasn\u2019t the case, then I think we\u2019d see a lot more offer sheets.\u201d<\/p>\n On how more cap space is affecting this with a prime example being the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> – who currently have $21.3 million in salary cap space<\/a> – and RFA forward Mason McTavish, who so many speculated would get an offer sheet:<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s a huge piece of it, yes,\u201d the agent said. \u201cWhen you go to your owner and you say, \u2018Hey, I want to do this, and I think if I load it up front with signing bonuses, and let\u2019s double what I think they\u2019re willing to offer,\u2019 I think that\u2019s a ballsy thing for the GM to say to his owner because if that cap space like Anaheim has exists, then the owner\u2019s going to say \u2018OK, well then you better be sure they\u2019re not going to just laugh and match it because if they match it, then we look like complete idiots and all we did was just increase the market for no reason\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n But, like I said, even if they don\u2019t match, I think the owners still get pissed at each other, and no one wants that. I\u2019m not obviously privy to it, so this is just my guess from my position, but I think there\u2019s still that \u2018Old Boys’ network going on. Again, I\u2019m not on that side of it, but if this isn\u2019t the case, why haven\u2019t we seen any offer sheets yet?\u201d<\/p>\n