The St. Louis Blues upended the status quo of how NHL teams acquire talent last summer by signing two offer sheets with Edmonton Oilers players. The cap strapped Oilers reluctantly agreed to take the draft pick compensation rather than match a $4.58 million cap hit for restricted free agent defenseman Philip Broberg and a $2.29 million contract for forward Dylan Holloway.
NHL teams have historically been reluctant to poach one another’s “restricted” free agents, putting emphasis on the first word of the term to the extreme. Offer sheets have been fun in concept, but rarely put into practice in the real world.