So… who do we offer sheet this next off season?

[Red7]

We’re running out of 3rd and 4th round draft picks. lol.

Trade the 1st for some more? Hey, if we get more Holloway and Broberg's . . .

You can’t do that. They have to be your own picks. Army had to reacquire their 2nd round pick.

[dhsux]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

The answer is nobody. The Blues need to worry about their own this time around - Hofer.

Where do you see Hofer balking?

I know he can be considered as a potential valid 1A (risky) but just what offer sheet price can you foresee coming in for him if he doesn't sign off with the Blues beforehand?

[Army's Mom]

From the Athletic, today:

"According to PuckPedia, 88 of 95 potential restricted free agents this offseason are offer sheet-eligible, prominently including the Minnesota Wild’s Marco Rossi, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies, Edmonton Oilers’ Evan Bouchard, New York Rangers’ K’Andre Miller and Will Cuylle, New York Islanders’ Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov and Buffalo Sabres’ JJ Peterka and Bowen Byram."

Not sure we have the picks to pull off another 2-for-1 deal, but I'm guessing some GM out there is hoping to replicate the move against one of the three New York teams. Miller and Cuylle or even Peterka and Byram for our 2027 top 3 picks?

[blues2112]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

[smilinjoefission]

Blues have Broberg, Holloway, Neighbours, and Bolduc to pay in the next few seasons. They need to move Joseph and Texier and use those spots for Dvorsky and Snuggs, and Faksa will be gone.

[Old_Goat]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

If the offered $ amount is high enough doesn't that require a 1st-Round pick as comp, which is what we do have in 2026?
If so, then I would only use for a real solid D-man.

[britishblue]

I very much doubt teams put themselves in the position Edmonton put themselves in last year.

That being said, would be great to go after Bouchard for the lolz.

[Janssen]

They did not have them last year and made a trade with Pitt(I believe)to get it back.

[rbirules]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

If the offered $ amount is high enough doesn't that require a 1st-Round pick as comp, which is what we do have in 2026?
If so, then I would only use for a real solid D-man.

Yes, there are several tiers where a 1st round pick is required (and a few where a 2nd round pick isn't). Here's a great reference for compensation levels and which teams can currently meet those requirements.

Note: Just like last year, there is nothing that prevents the Blues from reacquiring their 2nd round pick, if needed, from the Ducks like they did with the Penguins last summer.

Cap hit - draft pick compensation:
Above $11,452,295
4x 1st Round Pick (in next 5 drafts starting 2026)

$9,161,835 - $11,452,294
2x 1st Round Pick (in next 3 drafts starting 2026)
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$6,871,375 - $9,161,834
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$4,580,918 - $6,871,374
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$2,290,458 - $4,580,917
2026 2nd Round Pick

$1,511,702 - $2,290,457
2026 3rd Round Pick

Below $1,511,701
None

Currently the Blues couldn't sign a player for $2,290,458 - $4,580,917; $6,871,375 - $9,161,834; or $9,161,835 - $11,452,294 due to not having their 2026 second round pick. They can sign a player between a $4,580,918 and $6,871,374 cap hit, which would cost them a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick in 2026.

I would love a RHD, and Noah Dobson would be my target. Would he sign an offer sheet at a cap hit of $6,871,374 for max years? Not sure. Would the Islanders instantly match that offer? They have $28.9M in cap space this summer, 8th most in the league. However, they have that much cap space because they only have 14 of 23 roster spots signed, that's a lot of players to cover. None of the teams with more cap space have fewer players signed, so they are kind of in a tight spot. IF they match an offer at $6.87M for Dobson then they have $22M to sign 8 players.

Would it be easier to just trade for Dobson and then sign him to a long term deal? We could then use prospects and 2025 picks (our 1st, since we used our 2nd and 3rd for Broberg and Holloway) which might be more appealing to the Islanders.

**Assuming you can get your 2nd round pick back for a future pick swap with the Ducks, would you spend two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd on Bouchard at something between a $9.16M and a $11.45M cap hit? Nurse makes $9.25M so I assume the Oilers will offer Bouchard more than that. Dahlin makes $11M a year, so Bouchard getting a little more than that isn't crazy given the rising cap.

Not saying I'd want to do that but it's an interesting thought exercise.

[Bacchk29]

Save money this offseason and go hard after MacDavid the following year with a $20/yr x 7yr contract

Boy what a sheetstorm that would create!

[STL fan in MN]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

If the offered $ amount is high enough doesn't that require a 1st-Round pick as comp, which is what we do have in 2026?
If so, then I would only use for a real solid D-man.

Yes, there are several tiers where a 1st round pick is required (and a few where a 2nd round pick isn't). Here's a great reference for compensation levels and which teams can currently meet those requirements.

Note: Just like last year, there is nothing that prevents the Blues from reacquiring their 2nd round pick, if needed, from the Ducks like they did with the Penguins last summer.

Cap hit - draft pick compensation:
Above $11,452,295
4x 1st Round Pick (in next 5 drafts starting 2026)

$9,161,835 - $11,452,294
2x 1st Round Pick (in next 3 drafts starting 2026)
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$6,871,375 - $9,161,834
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$4,580,918 - $6,871,374
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$2,290,458 - $4,580,917
2026 2nd Round Pick

$1,511,702 - $2,290,457
2026 3rd Round Pick

Below $1,511,701
None

Currently the Blues couldn't sign a player for $2,290,458 - $4,580,917; $6,871,375 - $9,161,834; or $9,161,835 - $11,452,294 due to not having their 2026 second round pick. They can sign a player between a $4,580,918 and $6,871,374 cap hit, which would cost them a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick in 2026.

I would love a RHD, and Noah Dobson would be my target. Would he sign an offer sheet at a cap hit of $6,871,374 for max years? Not sure. Would the Islanders instantly match that offer? They have $28.9M in cap space this summer, 8th most in the league. However, they have that much cap space because they only have 14 of 23 roster spots signed, that's a lot of players to cover. None of the teams with more cap space have fewer players signed, so they are kind of in a tight spot. IF they match an offer at $6.87M for Dobson then they have $22M to sign 8 players.

Would it be easier to just trade for Dobson and then sign him to a long term deal? We could then use prospects and 2025 picks (our 1st, since we used our 2nd and 3rd for Broberg and Holloway) which might be more appealing to the Islanders.

**Assuming you can get your 2nd round pick back for a future pick swap with the Ducks, would you spend two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd on Bouchard at something between a $9.16M and a $11.45M cap hit? Nurse makes $9.25M so I assume the Oilers will offer Bouchard more than that. Dahlin makes $11M a year, so Bouchard getting a little more than that isn't crazy given the rising cap.

Not saying I'd want to do that but it's an interesting thought exercise.

Excellent info.

But to the part I bolded, they’d need to reacquire their 2026 2nd from the Pens again, not the Ducks. The Blues got the Pens to return their 2025 2nd (originally sent to Pitt to dump Hayes) so they could offer sheet Broberg. As a part of that, the Blues sent their 2026 2nd to Pitt. They then sent their 2027 2nd to Anaheim for Fowler.

As of today, the Blues won’t be drafting in the 2nd round until 2028. They already got Pitt to push back their 2nd one year. Doubt they’d be able to talk them into doing it again but who knows.

The Blues still own their 2026 1st and 3rd so they could offer sheet someone in that range if they wanted to. Should they though? Probably not. But I’ll look again as July 1 gets closer.

[rbirules]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

If the offered $ amount is high enough doesn't that require a 1st-Round pick as comp, which is what we do have in 2026?
If so, then I would only use for a real solid D-man.

Yes, there are several tiers where a 1st round pick is required (and a few where a 2nd round pick isn't). Here's a great reference for compensation levels and which teams can currently meet those requirements.

Note: Just like last year, there is nothing that prevents the Blues from reacquiring their 2nd round pick, if needed, from the Ducks like they did with the Penguins last summer.

Cap hit - draft pick compensation:
Above $11,452,295
4x 1st Round Pick (in next 5 drafts starting 2026)

$9,161,835 - $11,452,294
2x 1st Round Pick (in next 3 drafts starting 2026)
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$6,871,375 - $9,161,834
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$4,580,918 - $6,871,374
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$2,290,458 - $4,580,917
2026 2nd Round Pick

$1,511,702 - $2,290,457
2026 3rd Round Pick

Below $1,511,701
None

Currently the Blues couldn't sign a player for $2,290,458 - $4,580,917; $6,871,375 - $9,161,834; or $9,161,835 - $11,452,294 due to not having their 2026 second round pick. They can sign a player between a $4,580,918 and $6,871,374 cap hit, which would cost them a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick in 2026.

I would love a RHD, and Noah Dobson would be my target. Would he sign an offer sheet at a cap hit of $6,871,374 for max years? Not sure. Would the Islanders instantly match that offer? They have $28.9M in cap space this summer, 8th most in the league. However, they have that much cap space because they only have 14 of 23 roster spots signed, that's a lot of players to cover. None of the teams with more cap space have fewer players signed, so they are kind of in a tight spot. IF they match an offer at $6.87M for Dobson then they have $22M to sign 8 players.

Would it be easier to just trade for Dobson and then sign him to a long term deal? We could then use prospects and 2025 picks (our 1st, since we used our 2nd and 3rd for Broberg and Holloway) which might be more appealing to the Islanders.

**Assuming you can get your 2nd round pick back for a future pick swap with the Ducks, would you spend two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd on Bouchard at something between a $9.16M and a $11.45M cap hit? Nurse makes $9.25M so I assume the Oilers will offer Bouchard more than that. Dahlin makes $11M a year, so Bouchard getting a little more than that isn't crazy given the rising cap.

Not saying I'd want to do that but it's an interesting thought exercise.

Excellent info.

But to the part I bolded, they’d need to reacquire their 2026 2nd from the Pens again, not the Ducks. The Blues got the Pens to return their 2025 2nd (originally sent to Pitt to dump Hayes) so they could offer sheet Broberg. As a part of that, the Blues sent their 2026 2nd to Pitt. They then sent their 2027 2nd to Anaheim for Fowler.

As of today, the Blues won’t be drafting in the 2nd round until 2028. They already got Pitt to push back their 2nd one year. Doubt they’d be able to talk them into doing it again but who knows.

The Blues still own their 2026 1st and 3rd so they could offer sheet someone in that range if they wanted to. Should they though? Probably not. But I’ll look again as July 1 gets closer.

Thanks for the correction. The Penguins made a lot of moves at the deadline and now have three 2026 2nd round picks (two 2026 3rd round picks, two 2027 2nd round picks, and three 2027 3rd round picks). They could easily move around some of those picks if we wanted our 2nd round pick back (or we could send an actual prospect if they want players instead of picks).

[STL fan in MN]

12 replies and nobody has realized the Blues don’t have the draft picks needed to do it?

You beat me to it!

If the offered $ amount is high enough doesn't that require a 1st-Round pick as comp, which is what we do have in 2026?
If so, then I would only use for a real solid D-man.

Yes, there are several tiers where a 1st round pick is required (and a few where a 2nd round pick isn't). Here's a great reference for compensation levels and which teams can currently meet those requirements.

Note: Just like last year, there is nothing that prevents the Blues from reacquiring their 2nd round pick, if needed, from the Ducks like they did with the Penguins last summer.

Cap hit - draft pick compensation:
Above $11,452,295
4x 1st Round Pick (in next 5 drafts starting 2026)

$9,161,835 - $11,452,294
2x 1st Round Pick (in next 3 drafts starting 2026)
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$6,871,375 - $9,161,834
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 2nd Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$4,580,918 - $6,871,374
2026 1st Round Pick
2026 3rd Round Pick

$2,290,458 - $4,580,917
2026 2nd Round Pick

$1,511,702 - $2,290,457
2026 3rd Round Pick

Below $1,511,701
None

Currently the Blues couldn't sign a player for $2,290,458 - $4,580,917; $6,871,375 - $9,161,834; or $9,161,835 - $11,452,294 due to not having their 2026 second round pick. They can sign a player between a $4,580,918 and $6,871,374 cap hit, which would cost them a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick in 2026.

I would love a RHD, and Noah Dobson would be my target. Would he sign an offer sheet at a cap hit of $6,871,374 for max years? Not sure. Would the Islanders instantly match that offer? They have $28.9M in cap space this summer, 8th most in the league. However, they have that much cap space because they only have 14 of 23 roster spots signed, that's a lot of players to cover. None of the teams with more cap space have fewer players signed, so they are kind of in a tight spot. IF they match an offer at $6.87M for Dobson then they have $22M to sign 8 players.

Would it be easier to just trade for Dobson and then sign him to a long term deal? We could then use prospects and 2025 picks (our 1st, since we used our 2nd and 3rd for Broberg and Holloway) which might be more appealing to the Islanders.

**Assuming you can get your 2nd round pick back for a future pick swap with the Ducks, would you spend two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd on Bouchard at something between a $9.16M and a $11.45M cap hit? Nurse makes $9.25M so I assume the Oilers will offer Bouchard more than that. Dahlin makes $11M a year, so Bouchard getting a little more than that isn't crazy given the rising cap.

Not saying I'd want to do that but it's an interesting thought exercise.

Excellent info.

But to the part I bolded, they’d need to reacquire their 2026 2nd from the Pens again, not the Ducks. The Blues got the Pens to return their 2025 2nd (originally sent to Pitt to dump Hayes) so they could offer sheet Broberg. As a part of that, the Blues sent their 2026 2nd to Pitt. They then sent their 2027 2nd to Anaheim for Fowler.

As of today, the Blues won’t be drafting in the 2nd round until 2028. They already got Pitt to push back their 2nd one year. Doubt they’d be able to talk them into doing it again but who knows.

The Blues still own their 2026 1st and 3rd so they could offer sheet someone in that range if they wanted to. Should they though? Probably not. But I’ll look again as July 1 gets closer.

Thanks for the correction. The Penguins made a lot of moves at the deadline and now have three 2026 2nd round picks (two 2026 3rd round picks, two 2027 2nd round picks, and three 2027 3rd round picks). They could easily move around some of those picks if we wanted our 2nd round pick back (or we could send an actual prospect if they want players instead of picks).

That’s fair as yeah, they have a lot of picks. And agree, they’d likely want a prospect that’s closer to making it than continually kicking the can down the road with picks.

Anyone you have in mind that’d likely fall into that 2nd rd pick range?

[rbirules]

The more I think about it, I doubt $6.87M is enough to entice Dobson to sign (at least not max length), and not high enough for the Islanders to not match. $6.5-7M is going to seem very cheap in a short time. Would he sign for $9.16M (or less)? Would the Islanders match that, as that would make filling out the rest of their roster difficult?

That would take a 1st, 2nd (reacquire) and 3rd in 2026. I think if the Islanders are looking to re-tool (we'll probably know before the draft if they have extended Dobson or are shopping him) moving nearer term assets (2025 1st, prospects) would be enticing in that scenario.

I just don't see a lot of players that are that appealing for offer sheets, which isn't a bad thing considering we have most of our roster set for next year. It would be nice to upgrade or add to our RHD corps.

[rbirules]

Anyone you have in mind that’d likely fall into that 2nd rd pick range?

No, as I mentioned in my subsequent post, our roster is mostly set for next year, but I would love to upgrade from Faulk, or add another RHD. It's not so much targeting a player in the 2nd round range so much as having the 2nd if they want to go big game hunting (Dobson, or Bouchard), which I admit is highly unlikely, at least via the offer sheet.

I think both the Islanders and Oilers have decisions to make this off-season. What kind of retool, rebuild are the Islanders looking at? Their ability to sign Dobson long term probably impacts that decision. The Oilers have a McDavid extension looming (he can sign this summer), and they need to sign or replace Bouchard, upgrade their goalie, and improve their depth with $13.5M in cap space. A Bouchard offer sheet of $11.45M puts them in a tough spot.

To be clear I'm much more interested in Dobson than Bouchard, and I think it would be much more likely to work out a trade (with an extension agreed to) rather than an offer sheet.

Look forward to your thoughts whenever you get around to looking into RFAs.

[STL fan in MN]

The more I think about it, I doubt $6.87M is enough to entice Dobson to sign (at least not max length), and not high enough for the Islanders to not match. $6.5-7M is going to seem very cheap in a short time. Would he sign for $9.16M (or less)? Would the Islanders match that, as that would make filling out the rest of their roster difficult?

That would take a 1st, 2nd (reacquire) and 3rd in 2026. I think if the Islanders are looking to re-tool (we'll probably know before the draft if they have extended Dobson or are shopping him) moving nearer term assets (2025 1st, prospects) would be enticing in that scenario.

I just don't see a lot of players that are that appealing for offer sheets, which isn't a bad thing considering we have most of our roster set for next year. It would be nice to upgrade or add to our RHD corps.

An offer sheet’s AAV is calculated differently than a normal contract. If the contract’s longer than 5 years, the total salary is still divided by 5 to determine the AAV. So a 6 or 7 year contract offer could really make the value sky high and up the compensation.

Also, no way Dobson signs for anything close to that. If Chychrun is worth $9M/year then Dobson easily is as well, even not being a full UFA yet. I’d love to have Dobson but that’s some big game hunting that will likely just be too expensive.