With news of the trade to re-acquire Toronto’s 2010 2nd round selection, rumors and speculation of a looming offer sheet have been a hot topic of discussion among Leaf fans and around the NHL. Among the many RFA’s, the three most prominent and likely targets appear to be Boston’s Phil Kessel, Buffalo’s Drew Stafford and New York’s Brandon Dubinsky. Here’s the latest news pertaining to that trio.
The Buffalo News reports that the Sabres are still in constant contact with Drew Stafford’s agent and will try to do everything they can in order to get him under contract by training camp. At this point, it appears that the Sabres have the cap space to match any reasonable offer.
According to the New York Post, the Rangers have tabled several multi-year offers to centre Brandon Dubinsky, ranging from two to give years. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News chimes in, explaining that New York possesses only $2.5M in cap space, thus making it tough for them to fit in Dubinsky’s contract at this point. It’s been speculated that an offer pushing towards $3M/season may force Sather’s hand, thus letting go of Dubinsky for a 2nd round pick.
Lastly, the Boston Globe offers up plenty of interesting tidbits as well. When asked about the possibility of an offer sheet to Phil Kessel, Leaf GM Brian Burke refused outright to comment on it rather than deny. Among the other Kessel suitors are the Predators and Rangers, and the writer speculates that the Bruins would ask for a package including forward Ryan Callahan, ’09 1st round pick Chris Kreider along with a 2010 1st round pick from the Rangers in return. A hefty price to say the least. The Bruins are attempting to sign Kessel to a contract similar to the 3 years, $3.75M/season that they gave centre David Krejci earlier this summer.
alex.tran@www.mapleleafshotstove.com
