Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 reasons why there’s no need to worry about offer sheets
Teams usually match the offer
You have to look back to 2007 as the last time a team didn’t match an offer sheet for an RFA when the Anaheim Ducks declined to keep Dustin Penner after the Edmonton Oilers signed him to a five-year $21.25 million deal.
Unless the team doesn’t have the cap space to get a deal done or doesn’t want the player around, they’re going to match the offer especially in the Leafs case with Nylander. NHL teams aren’t going to let those players walk if they’re an integral part of the future or the compensation from the offer sheet isn’t enough to justify.
Given the Leafs’ position as a contending team, they would be better off getting assets that can help them compete now rather than take the draft picks in an offer sheet. They can get Nylander back into the lineup and continue to score at will with their offence or look at a trade for a defenceman who can be an immediate contributor.
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That’s a better scenario than to just let a player walk for a couple of draft picks that won’t have an immediate impact especially if it’s a team that’s not in the top 15. Now if a team were to try and sign Matthews to an offer sheet, there’s no doubt the Leafs would match it even if they were to get four first-round picks to decline it.
Considering the impact Matthews is having this season and where he is projecting, the Leafs would be foolish to let a player like him walk. Also, it’s rather unlikely that a team isn’t going to offer him the max salary of $15.9 million (20 per cent of the cap) even if it is just to force a team to match the offer.
This is a strategy which has been used in the past but the Leafs have been careful with the deals they’ve made so they’re not going to allow a team to put them in that situation. Also, the players know all too well that if they want to win they can’t be asking for the max and still expect to have a competitive team around them.
Next. Is William Nylander trying to avoid a trade?. dark
What are your thoughts on offer sheet? Should the Leafs be worried about the possibility or is there nothing to be concerned about them? Let us know in the comments below.