Podcast Ombudsman Report for Blueshirt Bandwidth Ep. 102
From Chris Kreider's most memorable trip to a 15-goalie history lesson, the Ombudsman is back to check what Joe and Eric got right—and what they didn't.
Welcome back to the Blueshirt Bandwidth Podcast Ombudsman Report. Each week, Charlie Vidal will listen to the latest episode of the podcast and correct the record on anything Joe and Eric get wrong. If you aren't already, you can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.
Chris Kreider
Will Canadiens fans ever forgive Chris Kreider for being tripped? You can decide for yourself whose fault this was:
Summer 2027 Offer Sheets
Eric asked me how many teams could tender a max offer sheet next summer. A maximum offer sheet, which was for any contract with an AAV over $11.9 million this summer and is likely to be over $12 million next summer, requires a team to return four first round picks. The picks must be in the next five drafts, so 28 teams are able to send four picks between the 2028 and 2032 drafts. Of those 28 teams, 26 of them currently have enough 2027-28 cap space to add somebody at $12 million+ AAV:
The bigger point here, however, is that Gabe Perreault is not eligible to receive an offer sheet this up coming offseason.
Perreault signed his entry level contract on March 31, 2025, played just 5 games for the Rangers that spring, and because he signed too late in the season to be slide-eligible, that season automatically burned as year one of his three-year ELC regardless of games played. "Professional experience" for RFA/offer-sheet purposes isn't counted by contract years. It's counted by 10-game seasons. A player who signs at 18-19 needs three such seasons to shed 10.2(c) status under the collective bargaining agreement. Since his five-game rookie season doesn't qualify, he'll only have 2 credited experience seasons (2025-26 and 2026-27) by the time his ELC runs out, even though all three contract years will be used up.
This means that he'll still be a 10.2(c) player through the 2027 offseason and, thus, ineligible for an offer sheet.
Do You Need To Get a Goalie Back When Trading a Starting Goaltender?
In the context of discussing Connor Hellebuyck's trade request, Eric and Joe discussed whether or not you need to get a goalie back when you trade a goalie. I pulled together a list of the 15 best goalies at the time of their trade to be traded. Interestingly, only six of the trade returns included a goalie, and only the 1995-96 Montreal Canadiens immediately plugged in that newly acquired goaltender—Jocelyn Thibault—after receiving him in the return for Patrick Roy, and then when on to use that goalie as their starter the following season.
