• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Carolina Hurricanes

Francis’ Next Option? Offer Sheets

By Leah Dyck October 29th, 2016

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Ron Francis is uniquely qualified to help the Carolina Hurricanes make the playoffs and that’s just one reason why so many fans have placed their faith in him. As a former professional hockey player ranking second for most assists in the NHL (Wayne Gretzky ranks first), Francis has become a high-profile general manager. His track record for assisting teammates speaks volumes about his character, which is also one of the biggest contributing factors to winning a Stanley Cup Championship.

It’s become quite clear the Carolina Hurricanes are in need of some elite scorers if they want to take a run at the Stanley Cup. Fans know this. Under the circumstances, it makes sense for Francis to spend a good portion of the 2016-17 season prowling for potential candidates to fill this desperately needed role.

Hurricanes Rebuild Tactics

(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Having used the majority of high-end draft picks on defensemen over the last few years, Francis has successfully secured defensive prowess in the club’s younger players and prospects. Now, the club must forego a different means of retaining assets.

With a little over $31.5 million in projected cap space next year, Francis has five restricted free agents whose contracts expire at the end of the 2016-17 season. Of course, we can expect some trades to happen since none of their forwards have the elite scoring abilities needed for the playoffs. Among the list of reasonable players available for trade, Francis still has another option. That is the option of an offer sheet.

Offer sheets in the NHL today are few and far between. The last time one wasn’t matched was in 2007 when the Edmonton Oilers gave one to Dustin Penner, who was playing for the Anaheim Ducks at the time. The Oilers signed Penner to a $21.5 million contract for five years. Anaheim was compensated with a first, second and third-round pick in the 2008 Draft but, unfortunately, what they did with these picks was wasteful. Anaheim quickly traded them for what eventually turned into two third-round picks, a fourth-round pick, and a non-drafted player.

http://gty.im/74043313

Although offer sheets are rare and for that reason unlikely, they have some benefits that can’t be denied. The first is the immediate impact the player can have on his new team. The second being that the player has a decent amount of years left in their NHL career, meaning they can still have an impact for many years to come.

Offer Sheet Candidates for 2017

In 2016, the offer sheet compensation values indicated that no contract worth less than $3,755,233.00 would result in a first-round draft pick. Although this amount changes every year, it can still give us a good understanding of how much an offer sheet could potentially cost. Below is a list of top forwards becoming restricted free agents after the 2016-17 season:

2017rfaMikael Granlund has been steadily decreasing his point production over the last three seasons. Tyler Toffoli and Mika Zibanejad are the only players who’ve steadily increased their point production over the same period. Ryan Johansen and Evgeny Kuznetsov had excellent point-producing seasons last year, while Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have been quite sporadic with their point production.

Considering the improvement we’ve seen in Toffoli over the course of his hockey career and how many points he produces right now, he’d be an excellent addition to the Hurricanes’ roster. For the Kings, a first, second and third-round draft pick would be a Godsend.

Although their reputation for thinking long-term allowed them to win a couple Stanley Cups, they’ve constantly had to balance present demands as well, which meant trading away youngsters and paying top dollar to hold onto their elite goal scorers. Perhaps an offer sheet for Toffoli is exactly what the Kings AND the Canes need right now.

  • Tags
  • Ron Francis
  • Top Story
  • Tyler Toffoli
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 20th 6:10 PM
Column

Red Wings News & Rumors: Protocol, Rasmussen, Howard & More

Jan 20th 6:00 PM
Nashville Predators

Predators’ Forward Depth Leading to Wins

Jan 20th 5:35 PM
Column

Islanders Weekly: Shutouts, Injury Scares & Scoring Concerns

Jan 20th 4:33 PM
Archives

2010 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks

Jan 20th 4:15 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

3 Pros and 3 Cons to Golden Knights’ Goalie Split

Jan 20th 4:05 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Offense Flourishes but Goaltending & Special Teams Need Work

Jan 20th 3:15 PM
Column

Red Wings Wednesday Weekly: Hockey is Back Everyone!

Jan 20th 2:35 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Seeing Hot Starts From Some but Serious Concerns Linger

Jan 20th 2:20 PM
NHL Entry Draft

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Top 75 Rankings

Jan 20th 1:50 PM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Goaltending & Defense Among Standouts Through Week 1

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information