A useful reminder from Eric Tulsky’s line of thinking is that not every young player at the end of an entry-level deal is sitting in the same bargaining position.
That’s the crux of the 10.2(c) issue, and it’s the lane Zeev Buium fell into. Players in that category are tied to their team with no real restricted free agency rights, which means they don’t have the same leverage they’d get from something like an offer sheet. They can refuse to play, but that’s a far thinner weapon.
Tulsky drew a comparison to the NFL, where this sort of setup is much more familiar. As he explained it, players in that spot typically accept the qualifying offer, take a one-year deal, and move on to normal restricted free agency from there.
“In the NFL, that’s really common, and essentially 100 per cent of the time it results in the player signing the qualifying offer and doing a one-year deal and getting to normal restricted free agency and negotiating the next deal from there,” he said.
The NHL has generally not treated these cases that way. Instead, teams have tended to handle them more like standard restricted free agents. That’s the path the Canucks took with Buium.
Canucks GM Ryan Johnson could have followed Tulsky’s approach, treating this season as an added year of an entry-level deal. Instead, he offered Buium a contract a little above the annual average Nikishin made over the past two seasons, with performance bonuses included.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Just Sent A Strong Early Message Against Boston
A tight, early-season measuring stick against Boston turned into another example of Carolina finding a way to close. The Hurricanes beat the Bruins 2-1 on the strength of first-period goals from Jackson Blake and Pavel Zacha, then leaned on Sebastian Aho to finish the job in the third period. Pyotr Kochetkov did the rest in net, turning aside 14 shots as Carolina kept its recent run going and extended its point streak to four games.
For a team that wants to set the tone against a familiar Atlantic Division opponent, this was the kind of win that carries a little extra weight. The game stayed razor-thin after the opening period, but Carolinas structure and patience held up late, and Aho once again supplied the decisive touch when the margin got small. The result did more than add two points to the standings - it also gave the Hurricanes a strong first look at where they stack up against a Bruins team they may see plenty more of. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Fans Should Pay Attention To Eric Tulskys Offer Sheet View
With the NHL rumor mill still churning, the Hurricanes have a little more reason than usual to pay attention to how the market could develop around trade targets and free agents. Nick Kypreos has suggested the Flyers are increasingly likely to move defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen this year if they keep pushing toward playoff contention, while Emily Kaplan reported that Patrik Laine intends to stay in the NHL rather than head to Europe. For a Carolina front office that is always scanning for ways to improve, those are the kinds of names and possibilities that can quickly shape the rest of the conversation.
Eric Tulsky also offered a useful reminder about how offer sheets fit into that landscape. His explanation framed them as a tool that can function much like a trade offer while also putting pressure on another team by changing the money involved, which makes salary cap space a central part of the equation on both sides. For a Hurricanes team that has long been active in roster-building discussions, that kind of perspective matters because the real question is not just who is available, but which teams can actually afford to play that game. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Still Have One Lineup Question As Forward Picture Shifts
A few moving parts still surround Carolinas forward group as the Hurricanes wait for clarity on Mark Jankowski ahead of tonights game. He was back at practice after dealing with a lower-body injury, and the latest word from him was encouraging, even if the team has not yet made anything official. With Carolina already juggling its lineup, any available depth forward becomes a little more important as the schedule keeps rolling.
Jankowskis status is part of a larger picture that has the Hurricanes monitoring health throughout the bottom six and beyond. The recent Penguins update on Elmer Sderblom, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and could be back Thursday, adds another layer to a forward pool already dealing with multiple players on injured reserve. Carolina may still have to wait for the final green light, but this is the kind of late lineup wrinkle that can shape who gets dressed and how the bench gets managed. [Read more 🡒]