In the summer of 2010, San Jose Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson signed then-Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14 million offer sheet. The offer sheet came just six weeks after Chicago swept San Jose in the Western Conference Finals, and was a win-win for Wilson. If Chicago matched, they’d have less salary cap space to retain pieces from their Cup-winning squad, and they’d lose a young, top-four defenseman if they didn’t.
Seven years later, Wilson has a chance to do something similar to another rival that eliminated the Sharks in the postseason. The Edmonton Oilers did not win the Stanley Cup, nor do they face exactly the same salary cap crunch as the Blackhawks.