NHL: Some NHL players could be attractive targets for hostile offer

Friday, Jul 15, 2022 7:28 PM

Almost eleven months ago – it was August 28, 2021 – young Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi accepted a hostile one-season, $6.1 million offer from the Carolina Hurricanes. A week later, the general manager at the time, Marc Bergevin, confirmed that the CH were not going to match the offer and would rather let their 3^e choice in total in 2018.

The Hurricanes then obtained their revenge after Bergevin’s hostile offer to Sebastian Aho two years earlier, in 2019. This kind of offer is very rare in the NHL, while only 10 hostile offers have been made since 1998. The RDS.ca offers you a few players who might be attractive for a hostile offer.

The first target of this year? Matthew Tkachuk, of the Flames, who already lost the services of Johnny Gaudreau a few days ago. Fresh off the best season of his career, there’s no doubt that Tkachuk will hit the jackpot for years to come. With 42 goals and 104 points, the Flames’ 2016 first-round pick helped the team finish 6th^e rank in the NHL this season.

Tkachuk has 382 points in 431 NHL games and is definitely entering his prime. The Flames have plenty of room under the payroll ($18.45 million) to match any offer that may be made to Tkachuk. However, Tkachuk’s future and his desire to stay in Alberta are very uncertain and it is unclear if he will want to have a long-term agreement with the team. Could another formation try its luck? And could the Flames be tempted to let him go? A bid of more than $10.5 million would net the Flames four first-round picks in compensation…

Two future stars without a contract

Aside from Tkachuk, young forward Jason Robertson is undoubtedly the most productive offensive player to be a restricted free agent. After a rookie season that exceeded expectations, with 17 goals and 45 points in 51 games, Robertson was busy last season. He reached 40 goals for the first time in his young career, in addition to totaling 79 points, the second best performance after Joe Pavelski with the Stars. Although he doesn’t have a lot of experience, Robertson has shown himself to be a confident player who can produce at a consistent pace. With the Stars having just over $11 million in payroll space, however, it would be very surprising – if not impossible – if the team didn’t match any offer for the 22-year-old.

In addition to Robertson, the Stars will have to deal with 23-year-old goaltender Jake Oettinger, who is also a restricted free agent. He demonstrated his immense value to the future of the Stars last season with his mind-blowing playoff performances. His 64 saves hadn’t been enough for Dallas to win the 7^e game in his series against the Flames in the playoffs. This performance, however, earned him the praise of his coach Rick Bowness, who insisted on his promising future and his importance for the organization. Last season, he posted 30 wins in 48 games, in addition to maintaining a 2.53 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Dallas had selected him at 26^e rank in the 2017 draft.

Two former top-3 picks

Among the names that are talking about in Montreal these days, that of Quebecer Pierre-Luc Dubois who is certainly at the top of the list. The odds of seeing the forward with the Jets in the long run are beyond slim and if he isn’t traded by then, there’s no doubt he’ll test the free agent market when he’s eligible. . But until then, ‘PLD’ is still without a contract for the next campaign and he could be an interesting name for a team he would agree to play with in the long term. After a season of 28 goals and 60 points in 81 games, Dubois could be tempted by a long-term offer if the opportunity arises. In the case of the Jets, there is always a little more than $ 15 million free under the payroll. With fears over Dubois’ future with the team, Winnipeg could be tempted by compensation, if the roster deems it sufficient to lose the services of PLD. Dubois is a 6’02, 205-pound center with 239 points in 361 games on the Bettman circuit.

In January 2021, Dubois was traded by the Blue Jackets. Fate wanted him to be exchanged for the one who had been selected just before him in his draft in 2016: Patrik Laine. Fate also wanted the Finnish forward to be a restricted free agent at the same time as Dubois this year, after having sold out on a one-year, $7.5 million contract. In his early NHL seasons, Laine was seen as Alexander Ovechkin’s successor for the next generation of players. After all, he had had 36- and 44-goal seasons.

But since then times have been tough at times for the Finn, who hasn’t reached the 30-goal mark since the 2018-2019 season. Laine seemed to find his niche in Columbus this season, amassing a point per game (56 points in 56 games). He also found the back of the net 26 times. If it weren’t for injuries that caused him to miss several weeks of activity, Laine was on course to score 38 goals. It’s still unclear what role the Ohio team will play next season. The reset process has been accelerated by the signing of Johnny Gaudreau and a Gaudreau-Laine duo could wreak havoc for seasons to come. The Jackets have less than $3 million under payroll and they’ll need to make some moves to free up some cash.

All this put into perspective, note that it is very rare to see a player in the 2000s change destination after accepting a hostile offer. Besides Kotkaniemi, you have to go back to Dustin Penner to see a team win their bet by making a hostile offer. Could we see a third this year?

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