from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

---before we focus solely on the stretch run and playoffs, let’s have a quick glimpse at what could be upon us this offseason in what again shapes up to be potentially a dizzying set of events.

RFA Armageddon
Sebastian Aho, Brayden Point, Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, Timo Meier, Brock Boeser, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov and Charlie McAvoy just to name the top ones. All young studs coming out of entry-level deals. All of whom may point to the William Nylander and Auston Mathews contracts as the new goal posts. All of which has led some to believe we’ll have offer sheets for the first time since Ryan O’Reilly signed one in 2013.

“Seems inevitable,’’ said a player agent not involved with the names above.

“Absolutely,’’ echoed another agent, who also doesn’t have a client in the list above. “If the offer sheets do not come then players use the only available leverage — withhold services.’’

What if we had not one, but two or three Nylander situations next fall?

more (paid) topics including... Cap hell, Cap-rich teams and The CBA