Feb 11, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Anaheim Ducks Defenseman Sami Vatanen Could be an Offer Sheet Casualty This Summer

“How much would it cost for another team to pry away Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen from Bob Murray,”? that’s the question other General Managers should be asking themselves.

Second, those teams need to weigh out whether the price tag even fits, and if the compensation is worth it.

What makes Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen at least worthy of consideration for an offer sheet? A few factors come into play:

1) His game took off late in 2015-16 after being paired with Hampus Lindholm. It was a disappointing season over the first half, but we’re talking about an offensive defender with a production ceiling north of 50 points/year.

2) Rumors late in the season had suggested that Vatanen was requesting $6 million dollars/year in opening negotiations. That opening number tends to drop quite a bit as the two sides attempt to mutually agree somewhere in the middle. Regardless, those are rich figures for a budget team.

3) A top four defender capable of logging big minutes, Sami Vatanen also owns that elusive right-handed shot.

Money an Issue?

Anaheim is commonly referred to as a budget team. They have a little over $52 million committed to next year’s (2016-17) salary cap, which includes a $1.875 million dollar raise in Ryan Kesler‘s new contract, and Simon Despres jumping for $900,000 dollars to $3.7 million through 2021. John Gibson‘s new $2.3 million dollar cap hit also kicks in.

If the salary cap doesn’t move (as being projected), that leaves roughly $18-22 million to re-sign restricted free agents, plus leftovers for free agency. Now, obviously we’re expecting change for the Ducks this summer, which likely includes shedding a bit of salary. Let’s estimate Anaheim has $20-25 million dollars to spend after movement.

Joining Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen among the team’s long list of restricted free agents looking for raises are Brandon Pirri, Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Frederik Andersen. Heading the list of unrestricted free agents is David Perron, Jamie McGinn, Shawn Horcoff, Chris Stewart, Mike Santorelli, Anton Khudobin, Korbinian Holzer, among a few others.

Worthy Cost?

With a few other important RFA’s seeking pay raises, money likely needed for free agency, and the factors listed above, one begins to wonder if another team can acquire Vatanen via an offer sheet without overpaying?

Compensation doesn’t take into account the overall value of a draft pick. Therefore, a team such as Toronto would be doing themselves a disservice signing a player to an offer sheet when that first round pick is most likely high-quality, lottery bound.

Meanwhile, Washington could afford the 1st and 3rd round compensation when those picks fall in the 25-30th and 85-90th range, opposed to 1-10th and 61-70th.

2015-16 Offer Sheet Compensation (numbers are based by average league salary, and tend to increase each year)

$1,205,377 and below – No compensation

$1,205,377 to $1,826,328 – 3rd Round Pick

$1,826,328 to $3,652,659 – 2nd Round Pick

$3,652,659 to $5,478,986 – 1st and 3rd Round Pick

$5,478,986 to $7,305,316 – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Round Pick

$7,305,316 to $9,131,645 – (2) 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Round Pick

$9,131,645 and above – (4) 1st Round Picks

This is where a General Manager needs to ask themselves how much Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen is worth. Other teams don’t necessarily need to overpay (they can a little bit), but offer him something of fair value which puts GM Bob Murray in an uncomfortable situation.

Realistically, Hampus Lindholm should be the highest paid Ducks defender by the end of the summer, although its conceivable his cap hit comes under Kevin Bieksa‘s $4.6 million dollars.

Even if another team offers Vatanen anywhere between $4.75-5.5 million dollars/year, a 1st and 3rd compensation isn’t too bad for a playoff contender.

Not only that, say Anaheim re-signs Lindholm to a new contract at a decent price (for example, $4-4.5 million/year). You can put Bob Murray in an uncomfortable situation by coming over the top, forcing him to decide whether Vatanen should be his highest paid defenseman.

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Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen: Good Fits for a RH Offensive Blueliner

Boston Bruins – Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, and Dennis Seidenberg are all left-handed. Also a pair of veterans on the decline. Only RH shots are Kevan Miller, Adam McQuaid, and Colin Miller.

Dallas Stars – Goligoski is a pending UFA, but should receive a new contract. Klingberg is the RH shot on the top pairing. Only other RH shots are Jason Demers and Stephen Johns. An upgrade on Demers wouldn’t hurt with Johns finally emerging.

Detroit Red Wings – The Wings only RH shots are Mike Green and Alexey Marchenko. An addition of Vatanen would allow for versatility with Green to shift the two among top pairings.

Edmonton Oilers – Andrej Sekera, Darnell Nurse, and Oscar Klefbom are all left-handed. It’s safe to say the only RH shot of significance is prospect Ethan Bear. They could draft RH d-men in June, but those players won’t emerge for several years. Instead, Edmonton needs to look to the trade market, or an offer sheet.

Los Angeles Kings – Slava Voynov didn’t just leave a hole on the blueline for the Kings, he left a void on the right side in Los Angeles’ second pairing. Money is tight for LA right now, but it sounds as though the back-end is something they’d like to address. If they could find a way to make room for Vatanen, it could be a steal from their inter-city rival.

Philadelphia Flyers – A lot of buzz is surrounding expected new arrivals Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim in 2016-17. It still doesn’t change the fact that Radko Gudas is the Flyers only RH defender. There’s bound to be growing pains with these young blueliners anyways – a Vatanen addition could help relieve the initial pressure to succeed.

Tampa Bay Lightning – TB is admittedly not in a position of strength for spending with several key players due to raises over the next few years. However, if Steven Stamkos walks into free agency, and Steve Yzerman sheds a big contract, all of a sudden Tampa has money to spend. The fact that Anton Stralman and Andrej Sustr are the only worthy RH defenders on the roster is something the team may need to look at should they fall short of Lord Stanley once again in 2016.

Vancouver Canucks – The goal moving forward is to make a shift to the younger core. Vatanen, 24, fits that range, and could step into a situation where Chris Tanev is the only quality competition for right-handed shooters. If one team could use a little more offense from the back-end, it’s definitely the Canucks.