Hey Jonathon,

I don't know if Minnesota made a mistake from the Oilers perspective (which of course you were not referring to).

This hamstrings them by tying up big money in their goaltender, which they have seemed reluctant to do recently (Roli traded as an UFA and Fernandez was trade one year after his big contract was signed). This stops them from being over active in the free agency market: as offensive minded players might have needed a over pay to come to the place where scorers come to die (sit till they play D).

Plus Harding is a RFA this summer. On my blog, Shepso and I have been talking about the desirability of making an offer sheet to Harding if Minnesota signed Backstrom for over $6 million a season. If Tambo offers Harding a three year contract at $2.614 million dollars a year, the Oilers would only have to give up a second round pick. So that is a pretty cheap trade for the Oilers: a second round pick and a slight over pay (Harding will most likely get 1.5-1.75 million anyway). If Minnesota matches it they are paying their goaltenders $8.6 million for the next three years, and they can't trade Harding for at least one year: roughly 15% of the salary cap, if it stays at the current rate, for 8% of the 23 man roster. At best we get a goaltender that is young and way better the JDD, and at worst we drive up the salary of a rival team (I am sure the NHLPA doesn't mind players salaries going up). Minnesota is not going to be trading with a divisional rival anytime soon, so does it matter if we piss them off (other then them giving a random offer sheets to Grebs/Cogs/Gags . . .).

I like Harding. But I'm not a fan of the offer-sheet idea. The Oilers already have a little over 36-million committed to 2010-11, without new deals for Pisani, Gagner, Cogliano, Brodziak, Grebeshkov, Smid or a goaltender. They'll also need to either re-sign or replace Cole, Pouliot, MacIntyre and Strudwick.

They're going to be really tight for 2010-11 as it is; ripe for an offer sheet.

I think that the offer sheet idea has merit, but I wouldn't want the Oilers investing too much. If the Wild can't get him signed try to go for 1.5M over three. He'll probably be able to get more from someone else but, as Jonathan has said, our budget for 2010 is a concern.

As for the salary inflation comment, there's nothing that any offer sheet can do to make the amount of money players make greater. It helps Harding to be paid more and, since resources are finite for the players, hurts everybody else.

BCB, you mentioned that they traded Fernandez one year after they signed him to a big deal.

I wonder if they plan to trade Backstrom, but thought he'd have more value in the summer being signed for 4 more years than as a rental at the deadline?

Anybody interested in Backstrom would have to pay him at least that much as a UFA...