The Wild West: Offer Sheets, Free Agency, and More

Lucas Main

2026-07-06

Happy Monday y'all! We may not have had a ton of the big names in this free agency class, but let's start with the two most fun words in the offseason, offer sheet! We had two this past week: Barrett Hayton and Leo Carlsson.

Reportedly there was a trade sending Hayton to the New Jersey Devils at the draft, but the Utah Mammoth backed out of it right before the finish line. Who knows what happened at the end, but the Devils either really want Hayton or just wanted to ruffle some feathers for how negotiations fell through. The 26-year-old is coming off a down season, but New Jersey still sees some potential in the former first rounder. Hayton moved up and down the Mammoth lineup all season so he is a player that can fill in when needed, he just has never been able to find that consistency.

Then there is Carlson's offer sheet, the biggest in history (in terms of AAV). The Philadelphia Flyers signed the Swedish center to a five-year $90 million contract, coming out to $18 million per season. Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek plays hardball when it comes to negotiations and it has bitten him in the behind. He could have had Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier signed last summer to a combined $18 million (probably), but now he is left with an organization altering decision. The Ducks were a team on the rise and after a surprise playoff appearance in the second round, they had all the pieces to be a mainstay for the next five-plus years.

Now they will lose their franchise center and have to go back to the well because they do not have a ton of depth down in the middle in their pipeline or they will have a good chunk of cap space tied up to one player while having to piece together six defensemen as they have lost four regulars from their lineup.

The Ducks were able to re-sign Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year extension before he signed an offer sheet. With Olen Zellweger and John Carlson out of the picture, Mintyukov could slide back into that second powerplay unit so that is something to keep an eye on when training camp opens.

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It has been reported that Jason Robertson is going to file for arbitration as he and the Dallas Stars can't come to terms on a long-term extension and they can not find the right trade partner. When this happens, Robertson will no longer be eligible to sign an offer sheet as whatever the arbitrator awards is what the Stars will give him or he will become an unrestricted free agent. They can obviously sign an extension before they meet with the arbitrator, but if it comes down to the one-year deal, that will walk the American winger into free agency next summer. Another caveat, the Stars would not be able to trade Robertson until January 1 if they go the arbitration route. 

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The Mammoth won the Vinny Trocheck sweepstakes as they dealt Sean Durzi and future assets to the New York Rangers. Trocheck brings great depth down the middle for Utah and with the signing of Anders Lee, their third line will help alleviate those hard minutes for Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. His fantasy value takes a hit as he probably won't see top powerplay minutes, but he should still tally up the hits and faceoff wins. As a result of trading Durzi, MacKenzie Weegar may slide back into some powerplay time on the second unit.

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The Darnell Nurse saga is finally over as he was moved to the San Jose Sharks. That is a situation to watch as there is no clear answer right now as to who has the keys to that number one powerplay unit. Do they go with Nurse, Jacob Trouba, Michael Kesselring, or Sam Dickinson? Dickinson is the shiny new toy, but Mike Greir gave big bucks to Trouba and Kesselring so they may get first dibs.

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Speaking of the Edmonton Oilers, they revamped their crease by signing Freddy Andersen and trading for Devon Levi. Andersen never plays a full season so Levi should finally see a good chunk of NHL action. The former Buffalo Sabre is a great candidate for you zero goalie strategist because he has the potential to be the number one by the calendar flip into 2027.

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The Los Angeles Kings had an impressive start to free agency (by Ken Holland standards). They did not dish out a ton of term/big bucks, but they still have questions down the middle of the ice. Is their 2C going to be Erik Haula? Alex Laferriere? Scott Laughton? That is a battle to keep an eye on during training camp as you could draft a top-six center with your last pick potentially.

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Victor Olofsson signed with the Vegas Golden Knights for the second time in three years. The first time was Pavel Dorofeyev's breakout party so Olofsson eventually got pushed down the lineup and left the following summer. Vegas needs a shooter now that Dorofeyev has been traded; can he be that replacement or will someone steal his seat again? *cough* Braeden Bowman *cough*

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What's one way to make an old lineup even older? Sign Jaden Schwartz to a three-year contract. His fantasy value will be determined by where he sits in the lineup, but with the Colorado Avalanche moving Val Nichushkin to Columbus, a top-six spot opened up and the Avs usually catch the injury bug so he may be a streamable option this year.

Thanks for reading along, hit me up on Twitter @LAM1926 for all your fantasy questions!

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