NHL offer sheet compensation levels released for 2025 offseason

On Tuesday morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman announced that the NHL has released the new compensation thresholds for offer sheets heading into the 2025 offseason.

An offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent (RFA) by a team other than the team he played with the season before. If the player signs the offer sheet, his current team has seven days to match the contract offer or accept the draft compensation. The compensation depends on the average annual value (AAV) of the contract.

Here are the new compensation levels for the ranges of AAV:

$1,544,424 or less = zero compensation.

Over $1,544,424 – $2,340,037 = third-round pick

Over $2,340,037 – $4,680,076 = second-round pick

Over $4,680,076 – $7,020,113 = first- and third-round pick

Over $7,020,113 – $9,360,153 = first-, second-, and third-round pick

Over $9,360,153 – $11,700,192 = two firsts-, one second- and one third-round pick

Over $11,700,192 = four first-round picks

The offer sheet was first introduced in 1988, but the rules were a bit different from what they are today. Instead of draft pick compensation for Group I RFAs, teams had a week to negotiate a trade of NHL players, prospects and/or draft picks. If a deal were not met, both teams would present their best offer to an arbitrator, who would then choose between the two.

After the 2004-2005 lockout, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) made the change to the draft pick compensation based on AAV for the 2005 offseason.

The Vancouver Canucks were involved in the first ever offer sheet under these new rules after the Philadelphia Flyers signed Ryan Kesler to a one-year, $1.9 million contract in 2006. The Canucks would match the offer sheet.

The NHL had to wait until 2007 for the first offer sheet to be accepted. The Edmonton Oilers signed Dustin Penner to a five-year, $21.5 million contract ($4.3 million AAV), sending a first-, second- and third-round pick in the 2008 draft to the Anaheim Ducks.

Vancouver was involved in another pair of offer sheets the following season, after signing St. Louis Blues centreman David Backes to a three-year, $7.5 million contract ($2.5 million AAV). The Blues would match that offer sheet and get their revenge on the Canucks, signing Steven Bernier to a one-year, $2.5 million contract one week later. The Canucks would also match this offer sheet.

The offer sheet has not been utilized much in the salary cap era, with just two offer sheets accepted from 2005 to 2024. But after the Blues successfully offer sheeted Dylan Holloway (third-round pick) and Philip Broberg (second-round pick) from the Edmonton Oilers, many believe that the NHL will see an increased level of offer sheets.