Twice this summer Oilers GM Kevin Lowe has done what was once thought unthinkable. He has put out large offer sheets on two highly skilled restricted free agents; Thomas Vanek (Buffalo Sabres) and Dustin Penner (Anaheim Ducks). In the case of Vanek, Buffalo quickly matched the offer (although very grudgingly) of 7 years and roughly 50 million dollars. As of this time there is no announcement from the Ducks as to whether or not they will match the offer (5 years and roughly 21 million dollars).
Prior to the lockout it seemed as though there was an understanding between GM's that no team went after another teams RFA's. With the two offer sheets that Kevin Lowe has put out this year, it is very likely that it will become much more common in the future. With the NHL's new salary cap, GM's are going to have to be very strategic in who they give long term deals to. Teams have to have the ability to look ahead and plan as much as 3-5 years down the road (where as in the past large market teams could make up for mistakes made by simply throwing more money at their teams).
With this latest offer Kevin Lowe, definitely ruffled the feathers of Ducks GM Brian Burke. Brian Burke lashed out at Kevin Lowe on Friday night, calling the offer sheet to Dustin Penner "an act of desperation" by a GM "fighting to keep his job." and he didn't hold back when he said "I thought Kevin would have called me and told me it was coming. I thought that was gutless."(quotes courtesy of (CP)). The reason that Burke is likely so angry is because the Ducks are fairly close to the cap and signing Penner to the large contract that Edmonton offered would very likely handcuff their ability to sign a couple of important RFA's next summer (Getzlaf and Perry in particular).
Chances are that Burke is not going to match Edmonton's offer. There is buzz that the owner(s) of the Ducks are looking at imposing their own budget (within the salary cap) to try and avoid losing more money. Brian Burke has until next Thursday to match the offer from the Oilers, but don't be surprised if a statement is made on Monday or Tuesday. The Sabres matched Lowes offer (in the case of Vanek) virtually in minutes after the offer was made, but their cap situation is much different, and Vanek has had a much more prolific career to this point. Whereas Penner, has shown glimpses of being a dominant power forward, is not quite at the level that a 4 million dollar a year deal would dictate. So by overpaying for Penner, not only did the Oilers muddy the water by driving up the price for young players, but they made an offer that would be very difficult for the Ducks to match.
Kevin Lowe may not be making any friends this off season, but he is definitely doing everything that he can to improve his team. He made one big free agent signing with defenceman Sheldon Souray, but has struck out when it comes to acquiring top notch forwards. Oiler fans in general had been growing a bit of complex and taking it personally that "nobody wants to play in Edmonton". So Lowe has done the next best thing and the good news for the fans is that both Vanek and Penner were willing to come here. Perhaps the open checkbook that Lowe has had this offseason will change the perception of Edmonton being a small market-small budget team. Good on Kevin Lowe for using the rules to his advantage and perhaps there will be a huge improvement over last season's debacle.
Prior to the lockout it seemed as though there was an understanding between GM's that no team went after another teams RFA's. With the two offer sheets that Kevin Lowe has put out this year, it is very likely that it will become much more common in the future. With the NHL's new salary cap, GM's are going to have to be very strategic in who they give long term deals to. Teams have to have the ability to look ahead and plan as much as 3-5 years down the road (where as in the past large market teams could make up for mistakes made by simply throwing more money at their teams).
With this latest offer Kevin Lowe, definitely ruffled the feathers of Ducks GM Brian Burke. Brian Burke lashed out at Kevin Lowe on Friday night, calling the offer sheet to Dustin Penner "an act of desperation" by a GM "fighting to keep his job." and he didn't hold back when he said "I thought Kevin would have called me and told me it was coming. I thought that was gutless."(quotes courtesy of (CP)). The reason that Burke is likely so angry is because the Ducks are fairly close to the cap and signing Penner to the large contract that Edmonton offered would very likely handcuff their ability to sign a couple of important RFA's next summer (Getzlaf and Perry in particular).
Chances are that Burke is not going to match Edmonton's offer. There is buzz that the owner(s) of the Ducks are looking at imposing their own budget (within the salary cap) to try and avoid losing more money. Brian Burke has until next Thursday to match the offer from the Oilers, but don't be surprised if a statement is made on Monday or Tuesday. The Sabres matched Lowes offer (in the case of Vanek) virtually in minutes after the offer was made, but their cap situation is much different, and Vanek has had a much more prolific career to this point. Whereas Penner, has shown glimpses of being a dominant power forward, is not quite at the level that a 4 million dollar a year deal would dictate. So by overpaying for Penner, not only did the Oilers muddy the water by driving up the price for young players, but they made an offer that would be very difficult for the Ducks to match.
Kevin Lowe may not be making any friends this off season, but he is definitely doing everything that he can to improve his team. He made one big free agent signing with defenceman Sheldon Souray, but has struck out when it comes to acquiring top notch forwards. Oiler fans in general had been growing a bit of complex and taking it personally that "nobody wants to play in Edmonton". So Lowe has done the next best thing and the good news for the fans is that both Vanek and Penner were willing to come here. Perhaps the open checkbook that Lowe has had this offseason will change the perception of Edmonton being a small market-small budget team. Good on Kevin Lowe for using the rules to his advantage and perhaps there will be a huge improvement over last season's debacle.
2 comments:
Great blog, man! I totally agree.
We certainly can't say Lowe hasn't been trying, and for that I'm very thankful and appreciative of his work. Hopefully it pays off this fall.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan, and I sure hope it pays off!
Post a Comment