Top 3 candidates for an offer sheet this offseason.

We are headed into what many expect will be one of the most wild offseasons in recent National Hockey League history and a big part of the reason behind that is the very limited cap space that teams around the league are suddenly forced to deal with. 

One of the big storylines coming into the offseason has been on the topic of offer sheets and whether or not we will see them become more prevalent as more teams than ever find themselves in vulnerable positions. Of course there is talk of offer sheets during every offseason and we very rarely see any come to fruition, however that trend has started to deviate more and more in recent years. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner was reportedly presented with two offer sheets during his negotiations as a restricted free agent with the Maple Leafs, although he never signed and that has never officially been confirmed on the record, and we know for a fact that the Montreal Canadiens signed Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet just a little over one year ago.

As you would expect this has led to a lot of questions about who might find themselves targeted by offer sheets this time around, and although there are some big names out there like New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, for the purpose of this list I will be taking a look at what I feel are some more realistic targets for offer sheets this offseason. Here are my top 3 targets for offer sheets this offseason, with a small caveat that I limited myself to 1 player per team.

#1 Mikhail Sergachev.

It is all sunshine and rainbows in Tampa Bay right now and the reigning Stanley Cup Champions should be relishing in their well earned celebration. When that celebration ends however there are going to be some very difficult choices facing the Tampa Bay Lightning and general manager Julien Brisebois, and although he would no doubt prefer to keep all of his players, that will prove to be extremely difficult. The Lightning are perhaps the most vulnerable team to an offer sheet with a number of key restricted free agents to deal with, and I don't believe Sergachev is at the top of that list. Brisebois primary focus will no doubt be on finding a way to get forward Anthony Cirelli signed, and if a team steps up with a big offer for Sergachev it may simply be a reality that the Lightning will be powerless to match it.

#2 Ryan Pulock.

Pulock finds himself in a very similar situation to the one that Sergachev and the Lightning are currently facing. As things currently stand for the Islanders they have very limited cap space and although general manager Lou Lamoriello has stated that he wants to bring Pulock back, there's little doubt about the fact that it is not his top priority. The aforementioned Mathew Barzal is arguably the biggest restricted free agent this summer and his next contract will no doubt eat up all of the available cap space the Islanders currently have. Lamoriello can move out players to clear cap space, but an overpay on an offer sheet could make matching on Pulock very difficult for even the savvy Islanders executive. 

Add that to the fact that reports came out just earlier today suggest Lamoriello is working to re-sign some of his veteran players like forward Derick Brassard, a situation that will eat up some of his already very limited cap space.

#3 Sam Reinhardt.

I admit that this one is a bit of a stab in the dark given that the Buffalo Sabres are looking at over $33 million in available cap space for next season, but I would be surprised if at least some teams in the NHL hadn't already considered the possibility. There has been a ton made about the internal strife within the Buffalo Sabres organization, including a rumored crack down on spending from owners Terry and Kim Pegula including talk of an internal cap for the Sabres organization. That number is rumored to be $70 million which cuts that $33 million down to just over $22 million, which would of course still be plenty to sign Reinhardt. The Sabres however will need money to round out their roster with Wayne simmonds, Jimmy Vesey, Vladimir Sobotka, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Michael Frolik, and Matt Hunwick all hitting the open market as unrestricted free agents, assuming the Sabres don't sign them in the next few days. That's before we get into the restricted free agents for the Sabres which include the aforementioned Reinhardt, Dominik Kahun, Brandon Montour and Lawrence Pilut.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has a ton of work to do in the offseason and if a team came at Reinhardt with an over the top offer for this stage of his career I don't know how Sabres ownership would react to having to hand out another big money contract to a forward, especially one that could be structured in a way to apply extra pressure to that ownership group. The Sabres already have Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner earning a combined $19 million, and when you add $6 million for Kyle Okposo and $3.25 million for the recently acquired Eric Staal, one more big money deal may be too much for an ownership group that seems to be tightening their wallets.