First, DiPietro signs that massive deal, and now this has happened. The Flyers have done something nobody has done in a long time, and thats attempt an offer sheet. The Flyers have signed restricted free agent Ryan Kesler (Vancouver property) to an offer sheet. A lot of confusion as to what this means, so let me clear this up :
The deal is worth 1.9 million dollars for one year. Vancouver now has seven days to decide whether they will match this offer or not. If Vancouver walks away from Kesler, the Flyers will owe Vancouver a 2nd round draft pick. At this point I have every belief that Kesler will remain in Vancouver.
This is the first offer sheet I believe since Carolina attempted to steal Federov several years ago. Now that one GM has made this move, a few others may be tempted to look around at the other RFA's available. Some that come to mind : Zherdev, Martin, Gionta and Stajan. This is something to watch, as all the insiders I talked to early this summer felt that if one offer sheet was made, more would soon follow. Obviously it's a little different now as there are only a handful of RFA's left, but guys like Gionta, Zherdev and Martin are all top notch guys that could be stolen, especially in New Jersey's case, because they have to stay within cap regulations (10% over the cap), and if an offer is too high, New Jersey would have no choice but to let the player go.
