List of NHL players who have signed offer sheets

This is a list of National Hockey League players who have signed offer sheets.

In the NHL, players who are restricted free agents can be, after being qualified by their current team, signed by another team to an offer sheet with salary greater than the qualifying offer. Teams have seven days to match the offer, and if the offer is not matched, the team making the offer sheet must give up compensation (see here for details). Currently to be tendered an offer sheet, a player must qualify as a Group 2 Restricted Free Agent (Group 2 RFA). To be considered a Group 2 RFA, a player must:

  1. Reach the required number of professional seasons depending on the age of the player when he first signs his Standard Player Contract. (3 professional seasons for ages 18-21, 2 professional seasons for ages 22-23, and 1 professional season for ages 23 and older)
  2. Have at least one NHL contract expire.
  3. Be without a contract for the upcoming season.
  4. Be tendered a qualifying offer by the current team by June 25 or the Monday after that year's NHL Entry Draft (whichever is later)

If any of those conditions has not been met, the player will not become a Group 2 RFA.

1988–1994 Restricted free agent classification

The 1988–1994 NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) introduced restricted free agency and operated under different rules than subsequent CBAs.[1] Unrestricted free agency would not be introduced until the 1995 CBA. The 1988–1994 NHL CBA had four groups of restricted free agents who were eligible to sign an offer sheet. Since 1995, Group II restricted free agency was the lone carryover with adjusted age and experience criteria.

Classification Compensation
Group I Under 25 years old with less than five years of pro experience[2] Original team was not permitted to match the offer sheet. Teams were given a week to complete the equalization process in which the original team would be compensated with current NHL players, prospects, and/or draft picks. If an agreement could not be reached, the two teams would present their offers before an arbitrator who would choose between the two.
Group II Between the ages of 25 and 31 (later amended to 30) Original team was permitted to match the offer sheet. The original team was given a week to decide whether to match. The CBA set a predefined amount of draft pick compensation linked to the dollar amount of the offer sheet.
Group III 31 years or older (later amended to 30)[3] The player could specify whether his original team could match. If the player did not allow the original team to match, his new club would begin the equalization process with his original team. If given the option to match, a team received no compensation if it declined.
Group IV European draft pick who remained unsigned after two years from being drafted[4] Original team was permitted to match the offer sheet. The original team received no compensation if they did not match.

Signed offer sheets

Player Date Offer Amount Original Team Offer Team Result Compensation
Gary Nylund August 1986 [5] 3 years plus option, ~$620 000 [6] Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks Not Matched Ken Yaremchuk, Jerome Dupont, 4th round draft in 1987
Geoff Courtnall August 1988 [7] unknown Edmonton Oilers New York Rangers Matched The Washington Capitals matched the New York Rangers's offer after the Oilers traded their right to match to Washington for Greg Adams.
Guy Lafleur July 15, 1989 [8] undisclosed New York Rangers Quebec Nordiques Not Matched Group III offer sheet. Quebec agreed to send $100,000 and a 5th round pick in the 1990 Draft in exchange for the Rangers declining their option to match.
Larry Robinson July 25, 1989[9] 3 years, 1.6 million Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings Not Matched Group III offer sheet, Montreal received no compensation due to having option of matching offer sheet.[10]
Scott Stevens July 16, 1990 [11] 4 years, $5.1 million[12] Washington Capitals St. Louis Blues Not Matched Five 1st round draft picks
Dave Christian July 21, 1991 [13] 3 years, $1.775 million Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues Dropped –
Glen Featherstone July 25, 1991 [13] 2 years, ~$500 000 St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins Not Matched Dave Christian, a 3rd round pick in 1992, and seventh in 1992 or sixth in 1993 (plus Tomlinson)
Dave Thomlinson July 25, 1991 [13] $200 000 St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins Not Matched Part of Featherstone accepted compensation.
Brendan Shanahan July 25, 1991 [11] 3 years, $3.015 million New Jersey Devils St. Louis Blues Group I – not allowed to match Scott Stevens awarded as compensation. During the Group I equalization process, the Blues offered G Curtis Joseph, C Rod Brind'Amour and two draft picks, but the Devils declined, asking instead for Stevens. The case was referred to arbitration, and arbitrator Edward Houston awarded Stevens to the Devils.)
Michel Goulet July 1991 [12] 4 years, $2.9 million (three years plus option year) Chicago Blackhawks St. Louis Blues Matched –
Troy Crowder August 27, 1991[14] undisclosed New Jersey Devils Detroit Red Wings Group I – not allowed to match Dave Barr and Randy McKay awarded as compensation by arbitrator. New Jersey had requested Bob Probert.[15]
Adam Graves Sept 3, 1991 [16] 5 years, $2.44 million Edmonton Oilers New York Rangers Group I – not allowed to match Troy Mallette was given to Edmonton as compensation for the Group I offer sheet as per arbitrator's ruling. Edmonton had requested Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk.
Kevin Stevens Sept 25, 1991 [17] 5 years, $5.375 million Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Bruins Matched –
Dave Manson June 26, 1992 [18] 3 years, $3.4 million, third year optional at $1.2 million Edmonton Oilers Washington Capitals Matched –
Sergei Makarov July 28, 1992[19] 4 years, 2 million[20] Calgary Flames San Jose Sharks Matched Group III offer sheet, Calgary would not have received compensation had they declined to match.
Teemu Selanne 1992 [21] $2.7 million Winnipeg Jets Calgary Flames Matched Group IV offer sheet for unsigned European draft pick
Craig Simpson July 16, 1993 [22][23] 3 years, $3.09 million Edmonton Oilers San Jose Sharks Invalidated The San Jose Sharks had structured Simpson's offer sheet so that most of the money was a signing bonus; Simpson's first year salary would have been less than $200,000 as a result. Earlier in the offseason, Simpson had rejected an offer from Edmonton of $690,000 because it was below the 15 percent raise required to keep him restricted. After the Sharks deal was rejected, Simpson then sought to sign an offer sheet from the Buffalo Sabres, but Edmonton would trade him there before he could do so.[23]
Kelly Miller July 18, 1993 [24] 2 years, $2.65 million Washington Capitals San Jose Sharks Matched –
Marty McSorley August, 1993 [25] 5 years, $10 million Los Angeles Kings St. Louis Blues Matched Group III offer sheet. Kings matched and immediately traded McSorley to Pittsburgh for Shawn McEachern
Petr Nedved March 4, 1994 3 years, $12 million Vancouver Canucks St. Louis Blues Group I – not allowed to match Group I offer sheet. During equalization process, Vancouver requested Brendan Shanahan but arbitrator chose St. Louis' offer of Craig Janney + 2nd round draft pick- After Janney refused to report, Vancouver dealt him back to the Blues for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan Lafayette.
Scott Stevens July 4, 1994 [26] 4 years, $17 million New Jersey Devils St. Louis Blues Matched Blues ordered to compensate Devils $1.425 million + 1st round draft pick for tampering.
Stevens' second career offer sheet.
Mike Craig July 29, 1994 [27] 4 years, $2.4 million Dallas Stars Toronto Maple Leafs Not Matched Peter Zezel and Grant Marshall
Steven Rice August 30, 1994 [28] $1.7 million Edmonton Oilers Hartford Whalers Not Matched Bryan Marchment; the Whalers originally offered the Oilers forward Robert Kron as compensation, but an arbitrator ruled in favour of the Oilers, who argued that Marchment represented fairer compensation for the loss of Rice.
Shayne Corson July 28, 1995 [29] 5 year, $6.975 million Edmonton Oilers St. Louis Blues Not Matched First round picks in 1996 and 1997
Traded back to St. Louis for Curtis Joseph and Mike Grier
Stu Grimson August 17, 1995 [30] 5 year, $2.5 million Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers Matched –
Keith Tkachuk 1995 [11] 5 years, $17.2 million Winnipeg Jets Chicago Blackhawks Matched –
Ron Tugnutt July 10, 1996 [31] < $400 000/year Washington Capitals Ottawa Senators Not Matched No compensation due to contract value
Arturs Irbe July 22, 1996 [32] 1 year, $400 000 plus incentives San Jose Sharks Dallas Stars Not Matched No compensation due to contract value
Joe Sakic 1997 [11] 3 years, $21 million Colorado Avalanche New York Rangers Matched –
Chris Gratton 1997 [11] 5 years, $16.5 million Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Not Matched Compensation was set as four 1st round picks, which were traded back to the Flyers for Mikael Renberg and Karl Dykhuis with Flyers picking up part of Renberg's salary.[33]
Mattias Ohlund 1997 [34] 5 years, $10 million & $7.5 million signing bonus Vancouver Canucks Toronto Maple Leafs Matched. As a 1994 draft pick, Ohlund was grandfathered to the previous CBA which allowed him to sign the Group IV offer sheet that had been removed in the 1995 CBA.
Sergei Fedorov Feb 1998 [11] 6 year, $38 million Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes Matched In an attempt to dissuade the Red Wings from matching, Carolina's contract was unusually front-loaded, and included a $12 million bonus if Fedorov reached the conference final, a far greater likelihood with the perennially contending Red Wings than the struggling Hurricanes. Detroit did match the offer sheet and Fedorov was paid $28 million for the season.
Ryan Kesler Sept 12, 2006 [11] 1 year, $1.9 million Vancouver Canucks Philadelphia Flyers Matched –
Thomas Vanek July 6, 2007 [35] 7 years, $50 million Buffalo Sabres Edmonton Oilers Matched –
Dustin Penner July 26, 2007 5 years, $21.5 million Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers Not Matched 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in 2008
David Backes July 1, 2008 3 years, $7.5 million St. Louis Blues Vancouver Canucks Matched –
Steve Bernier July 8, 2008 1 year, $2.5 million Vancouver Canucks St. Louis Blues Matched –
Niklas Hjalmarsson July 9, 2010 4 years, $14 million Chicago Blackhawks San Jose Sharks Matched –
Shea Weber July 18, 2012[36] 14 years, $110 million Nashville Predators Philadelphia Flyers Matched[37] –
Ryan O'Reilly February 28, 2013[38] 2 years, $10 million Colorado Avalanche Calgary Flames Matched –
Sebastian Aho July 1, 2019[39] 5 years, $42.27 million Carolina Hurricanes Montreal Canadiens Matched[40] –
Jesperi Kotkaniemi August 28, 2021 1 year, $6.1 million Montreal Canadiens Carolina Hurricanes Not matched[41] 1st and 3rd round picks in 2022
Philip Broberg August 13, 2024[42] 2 years, $9.16 million Edmonton Oilers St. Louis Blues Not matched[43] 2nd round pick in 2025
Dylan Holloway August 13, 2024[42] 2 years, $4.58 million Edmonton Oilers St. Louis Blues Not matched[43] 3rd round pick in 2025

In August 1994, the Hartford Whalers reportedly wished to sign Glen Wesley to an offer sheet, however they already had an outstanding offer for Steven Rice at the time. Instead, Wesley was signed by the Boston Bruins and immediately traded for three 1st round draft picks in the 1995, 1996, and 1997 drafts.[44] The contract was reported to be $1.7 million per season for 3 seasons.[45]

References

  1. ^ "Free Agency Before 1995 – on "Equalization"". 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Graves signing was transaction for the ages".
  3. ^ Dave Sell (1993-08-31). "CAPITALS LEFT WITH MANY OPTIONS". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  4. ^ Dave Sell (1993-06-28). "CAPITALS SET TO GAMBLE 'WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT'". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  5. ^ Matsumoto, R., "Leafs get Yaremchuk, Dupont for Nylund", The Toronto Star, September 8, 1986, pg B2.
  6. ^ Houston, W., "Hawk dollars lured Nylund across border", The Globe and Mail, August 29, 1986, pg D11.
  7. ^ Matsumoto, R., "Arbitrator ruling has Eagle screaming", The Toronto Star, August 23, 1988, Sports C.6.
  8. ^ Sexton, Joe (15 July 1989). "Rangers Send Lafleur Back Home in Deal with Nordiques". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Kings Offer $1.6-Million Deal to Robinson : Canadiens Must Match Amount if They Want to Keep 38-Year-Old Star". Los Angeles Times. 26 July 1989.
  10. ^ "League Jumps into Mercenary Age". 30 July 1989.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Brehm, M., "The Vanek Offer in Context" USA Today, July 5, 2007 (sidebar). Accessed August 1, 2007
  12. ^ a b Gordon, J., "Blues are plunging into the free-agent pool", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 21, 1991, pg 1F.
  13. ^ a b c Gordon, J. "Bruins Yield; Christian free to join Blues, Boston gives 2 draft picks for signing Featherstone", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 31, 1991, pg 1D
  14. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO HOCKEY; Shanahan Case Goes to an Arbitrator". The New York Times. 28 August 1991.
  15. ^ Yannis, Alex (10 September 1991). "HOCKEY; Devils Awarded Barr and McKay". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Fisher, R., "NHL free agency a risky business", The Gazette, September 8, 1991, pg C1.
  17. ^ Dupont, K., "Penguins hold onto Stevens; they match offer – and cost Bruins", The Boston Globe, September 26, 1991, Sports pg 65.
  18. ^ Associated Press, "Capitals Make Offer for Manson", New York Times, June 27, 1992. Accessed August 1, 2007.
  19. ^ "Flames match offer and retain Makarov".
  20. ^ "WHALERS ACQUIRE MAKAROV – Hartford Courant". www.courant.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  21. ^ Gordon, J., "NHL Rookies Shooting for Big Numbers", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1992, pg 5D.
  22. ^ Kettman, S., "NHL Commissioner Kills Sharks' Simpson Deal", San Francisco Chronicle, July 27, 1993, pg B2.
  23. ^ a b 1985 NHL Entry Draft – Craig Simpson
  24. ^ Sell, D., "No way, San Jose: Capitals will keep Miller", The Washington Post, July 28, 1993, pg F.01.
  25. ^ Wigge, L., "Without McSorley, Penguins would be ailing Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine", The Sporting News, November 8, 1993. Accessed August 1, 2007.
  26. ^ Popper, S., "Devils Get $1.4 Million and Draft Pick in Tampering Case", The New York Times, January 5, 1999
  27. ^ Cox, D., "Leafs sign Craig but must give up compensation", The Toronto Star, July 30, 1994, pg E.4.
  28. ^ Gordon, J., "Big Deal(s): NHL sizes up Vancouver's success", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 24, 1994, pg 3D.
  29. ^ Cox, D., "Whealing, dealing Blues get Corson, give up Joseph", The Toronto Star, August 5, 1995, pg E1.
  30. ^ Diamos, J., "Hockey", The New York Times, August 25, 1995, Section B, pg 9.
  31. ^ Casey, T., "Free agent Tugnutt signs Senators contract-offer", The Ottawa Citizen, July 11, 1996, C5.
  32. ^ "Sharks Let Irbe Go to Dallas". 23 July 1996.
  33. ^ Kaufman, I., "Bolts salvage deal for Gratton; Lightning acquire Renberg, Dykhuis", The Tampa Tribune, August 21, 1997, Sports p1.
  34. ^ Van Dienst, D., "Penner by the pound?", Edmonton Sun, July 27, 2007.
  35. ^ Allen, K., "Sabres keep Vanek by matching Oilers' $50M offer", USA Today, July 5, 2007. Accessed August 1, 2007
  36. ^ BLUELINER WEBER SIGNS 14-YEAR, $110M OFFER SHEET WITH FLYERS July 19, 2012. Accessed July 19, 2012
  37. ^ AP (2012-07-24). "Predators match Flyers' 14-year, $110M offer sheet for Weber". TSN. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  38. ^ Calgary Flames sign Ryan O'Reilly to offer sheet, source says – ESPN February 28, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2013
  39. ^ Canadiens announce offer sheet July 1, 2019. Accessed July 1, 2019
  40. ^ July 2, 2019. Accessed July 2, 2019
  41. ^ "Canadiens not matching offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi". 4 September 2021.
  42. ^ a b "Blues tender offer sheets to Oilers' Broberg and Holloway". Sportsnet. August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  43. ^ a b "Blues acquire Broberg, Holloway from Oilers". August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  44. ^ Conroy, S., "B's deal Wesley, Whalers surrender 3 first-round picks", Boston Herald, August 27, 1994, pp 044.
  45. ^ Dupont, K., "Wesley Now A Whaler Bruins Land Three Picks In The Trade", Boston Globe, August 27, 1994, pg 33.