The offer sheet has been the talk of the NHL as of late, due in part to how rare it has been used since the introduction of the salary cap in 2005. But this year, the Philadelphia Flyers shocked the world by signing Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year offer sheet, where he would earn $18 million per year, thus making him the richest player in the NHL. The Ducks either had to match the offer sheet, or receive four first-round picks in exchange from the Flyers. Anaheim opted to match the offer sheet to keep Carlsson on the richest deal in the NHL.
There was another offer sheet that flew under the radar this offseason, and that was the New Jersey Devils signing Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton to a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet. The Mammoth ultimately matched that offer.
While the Flyers and Devils are receiving all of the attention when it comes to offer sheets, let's not forget that the St. Louis Blues were the last team to use it, as they were able to get both center Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers. All it took was for the Blues to send over a second- and a third-round pick in 2025 in exchange.
But some new fans may not know that the Blues were basically the pioneers of the offer sheet, as they were involved in 11 offer sheets in history.
Blues were the offer-sheet pioneers
The offer sheet was introduced back in 1984 as part of the collective bargaining agreement. There were some offer sheets afterwards, but the Blues made the biggest splash.
In 1990, the Blues signed defenseman Scott Stevens, then of the Washington Capitals, to a four-year, $5.1 million offer sheet. The Capitals opted against matching the offer, and the Blues sent over five first-round picks in exchange. After all of that, the Blues traded Stevens to the New Jersey Devils after one season, albeit unwillingly.,
Ironically, in 1991, the Blues sent over an offer sheet for Brendan Shanahan, valued at $3.015 million over three years. The issue was the Blues didn't have five first-round picks as compensation. So, that led to drama between the Blues and Devils.
Some other players the team brought over on successful offer sheet attempts include Petr Nedved and Shayne Corson. The Blues had failed attempts at offer sheets, including Michel Goulet,Matt McSorley, and Stevens (in 1994).
The NHL eventually pushed back on Blues' offer sheet strategy
The Blues' fight over Shanahan became one of the biggest stories in the NHL, and was one of the most consequential in the league's history.
As mentioned before, the Blues didn't have five first-round picks to give the Devils for Shanahan. So, St. Louis tried to offer center Rod Brind'Amour and goalie Curtis Joseph to the Devils, but they were not interested. They wanted Stevens in exchange. This dilemma resulted in an arbitration hearing for both parties. But, as Blues fans know, the arbitrator ruled in favor of the Devils, and thus, received Stevens.
The Blues would get some revenge over the Devils, as they once again signed Stevens to an offer sheet, which was worth $17 million over four years. The Devils matched the offer sheet, and ultimately began their dynasty run in the 1990s and early 2000s.
After the 2004-05 lockout, offer sheets became less common, due to the introduction of the salary cap. That meant that teams had to be much more frugal when it came to how much money they spread across their roster, as there was a salary cap floor and ceiling. Due to this, offer sheets became much more rare, and teams opted to ensure their players never hit restricted free agency. Since the return from that lockout, there have only been 14 offer sheets signed.
Doug Armstrong revived an old Blues tradition
Following the NHL lockout, the Blues were involved in two offer sheets — retaining David Backes on a three-year, $7.5 million contract and watching their offer sheet for Steve Bernier get matched by the Vancouver Canucks. But when Doug Armstrong took over as general manager, he did have to this day the most successful offer sheets in history.
As mentioned earlier Holloway and Broberg were both restricted free agents for the Oilers. After Edmonton's failed attempt to win the Stanley Cup in 2024, the Blues signed each to an offer sheet. But it was far from easy. The Blues had to get their 2025 second-round pick back from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who received it in the Kevin Hayes trade. But the two sides agreed to terms, and the Blues got their second-rounder back and included it in their offer for Broberg.
To this day, the Blues have the last successful offer sheet in terms of prying away a player from another team. Armstrong was in need of a center and a defenseman, and used the rare offer sheet method to fill both positions.
Flash forward to this offseason, with a weak free agency class, we've seen the Flyers and Devils sign players to offer sheets to try and get difference-making players in return, but neither were successful. It goes to show that if a free agency class is weak and with the salary cap ceiling rising by the year, we may see teams get more willing to sign a young player to an offer sheet in an effort to improve their roster.
As history has shown, the Blues were more than willing to use this method to bring in difference-making players.
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