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The Philadelphia Flyers did what every other financially stable organization should've done on July 18th, signing arguably the best defenseman in the National Hockey League -- Shea Weber -- to a front-loaded offer sheet, forcing the Nashville Predators into dire financial straits.
Some organizations shy away from offer sheets for a variety of reasons, but they remain a useful weapon and an integral part of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. On Thursday,
I lauded Paul Holmgren for his effective usage -- and perhaps, manipulation -- of the offer sheet with respect to Shea Weber.
Now, the rest of the hockey league is presumably awaiting Nashville's decision. See, if the Predators match the offer sheet -- well, no harm, no foul for Philadelphia. Nashville retains their elite blue liner, but at a pretty serious early-term cost.
However, if the Predators decide the price is too steep, the Flyers will have to send a pretty healthy compensation package -- including four first-round picks -- to the Predators.
But, there's more. The Shea Weber deal -- when added to the team's
current collective salary -- would place them at the upper-most threshold with respect to the salary cap. There wouldn't be much of any wiggle room -- and therein lies the beauty of doing business in the National Hockey League.
See, Paul Holmgren may be a bit more adversarial than other GMs, but he's not the only smart man in the business. And, other suits around the NHL have to be cognizant of the on-going negotiations -- or, lack thereof -- between talented twenty-two year old winger Jakub Voracek and the Philadelphia brass. Voracek joins M.A. Bourdon as one of the two names left in need of a new deal.
And, if both
Bill Meltzer and Petr Svoboda are to be believed, the two parties aren't exactly close on terms right now.
Forward Jakub Voracek and defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon both remain unsigned as of now. The Voracek negotiations are, by far, the dicier of the two
Voracek's agent, Petr Svoboda, is looking for a substantial raise on the $2.25 million that his client earned last season on a one-year contract. Based on other recent signings such as Teddy Purcell's deal with Tampa Bay, is believed that the current asking price on Voracek on a multi-year deal is close to the $4 million range. At this point, if there is to be a multi-year agreement, the Flyers would be paying the soon-to-be 23-year-old Voracek based more on his potential continued development than his track record to date.
Did I mention he's a Restricted Free Agent?
Considering Voracek's production over the past three years, including 48G and 97A(a 50P yearly avg. // 82 GP), he's already established himself as a top-six winger. Although he's logged a respectable number of games at the professional level, there's reason to believe he has even more room to grow -- especially in an up-tempo, puck-possession system. The kid has wheels and a strong hockey intelligence. That's not hyperbole, either -- when Voracek's on the ice, he's often a step ahead of the opposition.
Below, the compensation requirements for an offer sheet signing:
$1,110,249 or below - No Compensation
Over $1,110,249 to $1,682,194 - 3rd round pick
Over $1,682,194 to $3,364,391 - 2nd round pick
Over $3,364,391 to $5,046,585 - 1st round pick, 3rd
Over $5,046,585 to $6,728,781 - 1st round pick, 2nd, 3rd
Over $6,728,781 To $8,410,976 - Two 1st Round Picks, 2nd, 3rd
Over $8,410,976 - Four 1st Round Picks
Organizations with all of their future draft picks still in stock can pretty much decide how they want to maneuver this kind of offer sheet. In my opinion, Voracek can be had if teams offer somewhere in the $3.3M -- $5.0M range -- a compensation package of a first and third-round pick for next season.
It should be noted that the Ottawa Senators, a team in relative need of a productive top-six right winger with Daniel Alfredsson's departure from the program coming sooner rather than later, have both picks available for any potential offer sheet. However, the second-round pick was moved in the deal for G Ben Bishop (STL), so the upper and lower brackets -- those that require a RD2 selection -- would not be available.
With Philadelphia about to enter a serious salary cap bind and Jakub Voracek's camp idling, I'd wager that the once-dead
offer sheet will again be resurrected in the coming weeks. The kid could essentially draw into any top-nine in the National Hockey League, and there's a dozen teams in the Eastern and Western Conference with the financial and draft pick flexibility to force Paul Holmgren to accept compensation.
I'd keep extremely close tabs on this one --
assuming the Flyers do ink Weber.
Back with more tomorrow.
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