Offer sheets are very hard to justify.
If you get the guy signed to a reasonable contract chances are the other team will match. If you overpay to get the guy you lose cap room and more draft picks. So you are giving up a lot to get him.
Most teams that have the money for an offer sheet need the picks (ie - Calgary - imagine losing the next 4 years first rounders - those are likely core players especially the next 2-3 years, a decent chance 1-2 are better than Subban).
Good teams have to pay there own guys - ie Chicago, LA etc. So you can sign an elite guy but likely lose 2-3 good players because of the cap and you still gave up a lot of draft picks, probably 25-30 range but valuable assets especially at the deadline.
Buffalo by letting Vanek walk might have had:
2008: 12th overall (Tyler Myers)
2009: 10th overall (Magnus Paajarvi)
2010: First overall (Taylor Hall)
2011: First overall ( Ryan Nugent-Hopkins)
Now things could have changed in standings but I doubt Edmonton is that much better with Vanek, likely a few (1-2) spots higher especially the first year or 2, but I bet they are still bottom 3 the Hall/RNH years. The Calgary offer sheet on Ryan O'Reilly likely cripples Calgary for years. Even if Calgary gets O'Reilly (which is unlikely given the total disaster of a reading of the CBA) the picks lost are crippling, Monahan is not a Flame.
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