I've been thinking about the possiblity of Stevie making an offer sheet for Pettersson all morning. No doubt there are both pros and cons to this idea. But to be honest with you guys, I kinda fucking love it. Maybe that's because I'm just a fan that's getting jealous of all this deadline day news flying around and Detroit isn't involved, but it also could be that I'm an absolute wizard in the hockey world and signing Pettersson GUARANTEES multiple Stanley Cups in Detroit.
First things first, if you aren't familiar with EP40 and his game, which I don't understand how that would be possible, the guy is fucking sick. He's an elite 1C which we desperately need who scores goals, makes plays, and he's Swedish... dude is the entire package as far as Detroit is concerned.
Guy is nasty. Now I know giving out expensive, long contracts is as much Stevie Y's bag as draft prospects who smoke pot are (it isn't). But The Wings NEED a top tier first line center and as much as we love draft picks and as great as they always sound, the odds of finding one there are slim. Not only would we get an elite 1C but all of a sudden Dylan Larkin goes from being an 'eh' 1C to a very good 2C. Everyone would feel this addition, it goes beyond just Pettersson. Let's take a looksie at what the offer sheet would look like, this is the shitty part.
In the event we get a RFA offer sheet, here is the compensation chart: pic.twitter.com/W10l8JveRx
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 28, 2021
Yea, I mean, it's not great. But it's not terrible. I'm absolutely against making the 10.276+ offer which would mean we'd have to give up 4 firsts, not to mention that contract would be fucking absurd. Don't do that. As much as I love EP, and as low as the odds are for Detroit to hit on an elite Center man with any of those 4 picks, 4 picks for a bad team is just too much. However, offering somewhere in that 10M range where it would only be 2 firsts, a second, and a third? Now that buzzes my jumblies. I know it's still a decent haul and that contract is still pricey but that is the cost of doing business baby, and Steve knows that.
For anyone looking at this going, "well that just totally forfeits whatever shot we have at Wright/Bedard/Michkov", lookie here. The only way Detroit is getting any of those guys is if Gary Bettman decides that the Wings will "randomly" win the lotto. Unless Stevie is threatening to bang a few old ladies of the higher ups in the NHL offices to get those picks, they simply won't happen. The team as it is will be too good to slot into either top 3, and as far as randomly winning, well... we know how that goes. Shoutout the prodigal son, Alexis Lafreniere #manifestszn. As steep as it looks, Pettersson kind of makes sense. Yeah he won't turn us into a cup contender over night, but the team will improve juristically over night and it will address a dire, dire need of ours. Those 2 firsts, second and third and shitty lottery tickets you buy on your way home from the bar. Spend $20 drunkenly telling yourself that tonight will be the night you win a milly, only for that night to never come. Offer sheet Elias and it's like spending $1000 on a golden ticket that guarantees you a milly. It's simple economics folks.
Won't be torn up if Steve doesn't do it, and I totally get why he would, but it is intriguing and is something that I think fits into the grand scheme in Detroit. We shall see. EP40 in Hockeytown would be fun.