Today’s young player is not afraid to demand a larger share of the pie — not afraid to say, “Just because you’ve done it that way before doesn’t mean you’re going to do it that way now.”
For a few years, I’ve been saying offer sheets are coming, and, finally, people in the NHL believe it. (It is like predicting the housing bubble will burst. Eventually, you’re going to be right.) It did not go unnoticed that Detroit GM Ken Holland did not brush off the idea of an offer sheet in at least two recent interviews. For someone of his stature to give the impression he’d consider it, that’s big.
He can’t be the only one.
The Maple Leafs knew that. And other teams trying to sign their own restricted free agents knew that. It was frustrating for those clubs, because the players (and agents) would say, “Let’s see what happens with Nylander.” When that was done, they’d say, “Nah, we’ll wait.” It was almost as if each player/agent was waiting for someone to go first.
For the teams, it was a multiple-choice quiz:
a) pay a bit more than you want, but get it done yourself
b) risk that someone else sets the terms for you
Again, this was an easy decision for years. Offer sheets were (mostly) a dream. And who knows, maybe none will come. The difference this time is teams believe they might.
