… or at least strongly consider it.
[Cole Perfetti](https://www.capfriendly.com/players/cole-perfetti) is 22 years old and was Winnipeg’s 10th overall pick in 2020. This season he’s played all 3 forward positions for the Jets.
He’s been healthy scratched so far in the playoffs despite being Winnipeg’s 6th highest scoring forward in the regular season (19g + 19a in 71 games). He got just 13:35 average TOI. He had 2.36 points per 60 minutes of game time, 6th best on the Jets. That rate would place him 3rd on the Kraken behind only McCann (2.77) and Bjorkstrand (2.67).
The idea of a Perfetti offer sheet was discussed on today’s Jeff Marek Show ([link](https://www.sportsnet.ca/590/jeff-marek-show/dave-hakstol-dismissed-colby-armstrong-joins-the-show/), starts at 40:05) which is what got me thinking.
Relevant offer sheet prices per [CapFriendly](https://www.capfriendly.com/offer-sheet-calculator), cost is based on the AAV of the contract and would be 2025 picks –
* $2,145,062 – $4,290,125 : One 2nd round pick
* $4,290,126 – $6,435,186 : One 1st round pick + one 3rd round pick
So, why would Winnipeg accept the offer sheet at either price point?
The idea would be to make the price too painful for them to match. I personally think they absolutely would match anything in that single 2nd rounder range, so for our purposes lets say the Kraken offer and he signs a 1-year, $6.435M contract. Winnipeg only has $13.3M in cap space for next season with 17 players signed. Using up half their space on a guy they played in depth roles for much of the season would really constrict their roster flexibility.
And the Kraken don’t have to actually offer sheet him, they can engage the Jets in trade talks with the offer sheet plan as a backup, like “lets work out a trade or we’ll send an offer sheet” which is how the Canes ended up successfully offer sheeting Montreal’s Kotkaniemi in 2021.
Would Ron Francis actually do this? Probably not. Kotkaniemi hasn’t totally worked out for the Canes and GMs are loath to piss off the boys club and risk a future offer sheet on one of their guys. But it’d be awesome if he did roll the dice on a major move like this, especially if a major trade or free agent signing doesn’t happen.
Finding young, high-end talent is very difficult in the NHL. This is one way the Kraken might be able to do it given their $20M+ in salary cap space for next season and plethora of draft picks.
by SiccSemperTyrannis
6 Comments
Am I cooking or am I insane?
I don’t hate the idea but we’d need to have assurance he would sign for term. Also we just flat out need to clear some cap and 6.5ish is a lot.
Sure, if offer sheets in the NHL weren’t a figment of the imagination!
Winnipeg isn’t that right against the cap – they have to basically sign 2 defencemen along with Perfetti and have about $13m in cap space.
A handful of other teams (e.g. Vegas) might be more receptive to an offer to help solve their cap challenges.
Now, why is over paying for Perfetti money (and a first round pick) an issue?
* If the team is handing out $6m+ for middle-6 forwards / post-ELC then everyone else will be expecting a generous pay too (Tolvanen, Wright, etc.) and the team’s cap will be a mess.
* Perfetti might not have that much upside. There’s a reason he’s not playing now.
* Ottawa traded a 1st round pick (Duchene) and then crashed and lost out on a 4th overall pick. Seattle could very well miss the playoff (and then win lottery and move up) and loose on similar (or better player). Moving 2nd round or 3rd rounds picks doesn’t come with that risk.
* Seattle has some young forwards prospects coming up – Wright, Rehkopf, Firkus, Goyette, Sale – they are a few years away and won’t all pan out, but Seattle will be aiming for that timeline more than a next season and complementing what’s already in the pipeline. i.e. Young defencemen with top-4 potential is a bigger need. (Difficult to find but Durzi was traded for a 2nd round pick last off-season)
* Could get a middle-6 forward in the free agent market without spending draft capital and using a smaller cap hit. (Wouldn’t have the upside though).
Lundell from Florida or Necas from Carolina for less money / more term and package that doesn’t include a first could be alternative targets if looking for forwards. (D around age of 22 is the need though).
Are we prepared for them to offer sheet Ryker Evans the year we need to rebuild our blue line?