Why the Canucks likely won't sign any RFAs to offer sheets

There are just a handful of ways to acquire players in the NHL, such as the draft, trades, waivers, or free agency.

The Vancouver Canucks have some significant roster needs this offseason and few options for filling those needs. The odds of finding a top-six centre in free agency are slim, none of their prospects project as a top-six centre, and they don't have a lot of assets available to make a trade.

It seems likely the Canucks will trade their first-round pick for immediate help, but the type of player(s) the Canucks need will likely require the Canucks to move a top prospect as well, and even that might not be enough.

There is another option: offer sheets. There are several centres about to become restricted free agents (RFAs), including Mason Mactavish, Gabriel Vilardi, Marco Rossi, Morgan Geekie, and Ryan McLeod. Signing one of those players to an offer sheet would mean adding a young centre entering the prime of their career.

Why offer sheets could become more common in the NHL

An offer sheet is a seldom-used method of acquiring players, used to sign an RFA away from the team that holds his signing rights. That team can match the offer to retain the player; if they don't, the player signs with the team that signed him to an offer sheet.

There have been just three successful offer sheets in the last 18 years.

There are a few reasons why offer sheets are so rare. One is the cost, both in terms of cap hit and compensation. Signing a player to an offer sheet typically means paying above market value for a player, as the other team will simply match a lower offer. If they don't match, the offer-sheeting team has to pay compensation in the form of draft picks.

But the St. Louis Blues proved last offseason that offer sheets can be very effective. They nabbed Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers last summer, and both played key roles in getting the Blues back to the playoffs this past season. Holloway was third on the Blues in scoring, with 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games, while Broberg settled into a second-pairing role, averaging over 20 minutes per game on the blue line.

The Blues were clever in how they made their offer sheets, targeting two players from the same team to put the Oilers in a bind, while offering the maximum amount they could to each player while only giving up a second-round and a third-round pick combined as compensation. 

Other teams around the NHL could try to replicate the Blues' success with offer sheets, especially with the salary cap going up so significantly. Many teams have a lot more cap space to work with, but any team with a top player in need of a new contract could see that space disappear in a hurry, leaving them vulnerable to an offer sheet.

The Canucks have limited options for offer sheets

Can the Canucks do the same thing as the Blues this offseason?

Well, no. Not exactly.

The NHL released the tiers for offer-sheet compensation on Tuesday, letting teams know how many draft picks they have to give up based on the cap hit of the offer sheet. The compensation starts with zero picks for an offer sheet of $1,544,424 or less and goes up to four first-round picks for an offer sheet of over $11,700,192.

All of the draft picks must be from the 2026 draft, or start in the 2026 draft in the case of multiple first-round picks. In addition, the picks given up must belong to the team making the offer sheet, so teams can't use draft picks they have acquired from another team via trade.

That's the problem for the Canucks. They don't own their third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

The Canucks traded their 2026 third-round pick to the Calgary Flames as part of the deal for Nikita Zadorov. At the time, the pick seemed inconsequential and was a minor price to pay for Zadorov, who had a significant impact for the Canucks in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As a consequence now, however, the Canucks have limited options if they want to sign an to an offer sheet.

Without their third-round pick, the Canucks can't use an offer sheet between $4,680,076 and $11,700,192, which is unfortunately right in the range that would be necessary to acquire a young RFA who has already established themselves as a top-six centre.

The Canucks also can't offer sheet any players between $1,544,424 and $2,340,037, which is how the Blues acquired Holloway.

Can the Canucks find a player worth offer-sheeting without their third-round pick?

There's really just one tier of compensation available to the Canucks: $2,340,037 to $4,680,076, which would cost them a second-round pick.

There are players who would be worth an offer sheet in that range, but they wouldn't be established talents in the NHL, meaning there would be significant risk involved in overpaying them.

Mavrik Bourque jumps out as a possibility, as he has legitimate top-six potential as either a centre or a wing, but has been a healthy scratch for the Dallas Stars in the playoffs. He's just a year removed from being named the MVP of the AHL after 77 points in 71 games for the Texas Stars, but Dallas might not have room for him given their depth, especially if his cap hit jumps up significantly with an offer sheet.

The question is whether the Canucks are willing to overpay Bourque, or a similar RFA, based purely on potential. It's a risk that could be costly for a team that desperately needs to take a big step forward next season.

On the other hand, it's the kind of big swing that the Canucks might need to make in order to turn their fortunes around after such a disastrous 2024-25 season.

It's just too bad their options are limited without their third-round pick, though it's arguably a blessing in disguise. An offer sheet that cost the Canucks their first-round pick in 2026 could be a franchise-altering decision if the 2025-26 season goes awry and that pick ends up being in the draft lottery for wunderkind Gavin McKenna.