Insider Says A Remaining RFA Could Still Sign An Offer Sheet

This was supposed to be the Summer of the Offer Sheet. After last offseason's blockbuster double-dip blowout of the St. Louis Blues pilfering both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers, it was thought that would open the floodgates.

However, it was nothing but crickets on that front this summer.

But wait, all is not lost, and we might still get a little offer sheet action. The most notable restricted free agents still out there include Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, the Calgary Flames' Connor Zary and Luke Evangelista of the Nashville Predators.

And while we have all been expecting most of those players to re-sign with their own clubs, insider Chris Johnston said on The Chris Johnston Show podcast today that he's hearing some things that could affect one of those RFAs...

I should say... I've still heard that there's a little bit of offer sheet talk going around the league. So I mean, there's still the possibility that one of those players gets (one).

Having said that, Johnston also pointed out that with the cap having gone up a significant amount this season, "teams have more money to keep their own players, too, right?"

Which remaining RFA could still receive an offer sheet?

Certainly, no one is going to outbid the Ducks for McTavish; they have $20.5 million in cap space. The Flames have $15.4 million still to spend, and the Nashville Predators have $9.3 million. The Devils' situation is a bit trickier, with just $6.1 million—likely not enough to sign Hughes—but it wouldn't exactly take a roster overhaul to come up with an extra $2 million or so that could be needed to re-sign him (depending on term).

All of that said, the latest on Zary is that the two sides are "getting closer," while an update this week on McTavish is that the Ducks, at this point at least, have no intention of letting the player go.

As for the other two aforementioned RFAs, the odds are slim to none of Hughes leaving the Devils and his brother Jack, while Evangelista, on the other hand, is the most likely to find a new home for next season of any of the four.