While the Vancouver Canucks watch from the outside as the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-next-stage-newfound-oilers-blues-offer-sheet-drama">Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues feud over offer sheets</a>, the Canucks, better than most teams in the National Hockey League, know what it’s like to be on both sides of the predatory talent acquisition tactic.
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In fact, the Canucks and the Blues <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/a-brief-history-of-offer-sheets-in-the-nhls-salary-cap-era">engaged in the NHL&#8217;s first true offer sheet battle</a> 16 years ago when Vancouver tried to poach David Backes and, in turn, St. Louis took a run at Steve Bernier.
The Canucks were on the right track to target Backes, who developed into a top power forward for years and went on to become the Blues&#8217; captain for five seasons. At the time, Backes hadn’t yet emerged as a star but was on the cusp and had shown enough signs of potential through two NHL seasons to catch the Canucks’ eye.
With the Sedins, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows already in the fold and developing into top-line players, the Canucks saw an opportunity to add another significant piece to their forward group and months after taking the job, new General Manager Mike Gillis took his best shot by preparing an offer sheet for Backes.
The money seems laughable now, but in the summer of 2008, the Canucks tendered a three-year offer worth $2.5M per season to Backes, who was coming off his second NHL season and had scored 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games. 
As was their prerogative, the Blues matched the offer sheet and retained the services of their 2003 second rounder. The following season, Backes exploded for 31 goals, 54 points and 165 penalty minutes and was well on his way to being the kind of player the Canucks would have loved to add.
Before his career was done, Backes appeared in the 2011 NHL All Star Game and represented the United States in a pair of Olympics along with the 2016 World Cup.
Clearly upset by the actions of the Canucks, who had done their best to poach Backes but in the process, had delivered a blow to the Blues&#8217; salary structure, St. Louis wasn’t prepared to simply move on.
Just one week after the Canucks swooped in on Backes, the Blues retaliated by offering restricted free agent Steve Bernier a one-year contract worth $2.5M. All these years later, it’s still unclear whether St. Louis actually coveted the big winger or whether the move was simply done out of spite to force the Canucks to overpay Bernier, who hadn’t even played a game for Vancouver after being acquired from Buffalo just days earlier.
Even Gillis acknowledged the $2.5M salary was more than the Canucks wanted to offer the inconsistent Bernier.
&#8220;It may be a little more, but in the grand scheme of things, it&#8217;s within a range of players,&#8221; said Gillis at the time. &#8220;It&#8217;s probably more than what we would have optimistically wanted to pay but it is what it is.&#8221;
Where David Backes became a top tier player in his time in the NHL, Steve Bernier never realized his potential after being selected 16th overall in the 2003 Draft. A big body, Bernier didn’t use his size effectively and never scored more than 16 goals or 32 points in an NHL season. 
Just two years after being acquired by the Canucks, Bernier was shipped to Florida as part of a package in a deal that brought Keith Ballard to Vancouver. A year later, Bernier reached the 2012 Stanley Cup Final as a member of the New Jersey Devils. He finished his career by playing parts of two seasons with the New York Islanders.
For years, the Canucks and Blues offer sheet rivalry stood alone in the NHL in terms of one team having a direct response to the other’s actions. But the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens engaged in similar actions when the Habs tried to pry Sebastian Aho from the Canes only to see Carolina successfully poach Jesperi Kotkaniemi from Montreal two years later.
So while the hockey world waits to see the outcome of the two offer sheets tendered by St. Louis this week, the story may not end there. Keep an eye on RFA Jake Neighbours next summer and see if the Oilers have a retaliatory card to play.
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While the Vancouver Canucks watch from the outside as the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-next-stage-newfound-oilers-blues-offer-sheet-drama">Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues feud over offer sheets</a>, the Canucks, better than most teams in the National Hockey League, know what it’s like to be on both sides of the predatory talent acquisition tactic.
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In fact, the Canucks and the Blues <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/a-brief-history-of-offer-sheets-in-the-nhls-salary-cap-era">engaged in the NHL's first true offer sheet battle</a> 16 years ago when Vancouver tried to poach David Backes and, in turn, St. Louis took a run at Steve Bernier.

The Canucks were on the right track to target Backes, who developed into a top power forward for years and went on to become the Blues' captain for five seasons. At the time, Backes hadn’t yet emerged as a star but was on the cusp and had shown enough signs of potential through two NHL seasons to catch the Canucks’ eye.

With the Sedins, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows already in the fold and developing into top-line players, the Canucks saw an opportunity to add another significant piece to their forward group and months after taking the job, new General Manager Mike Gillis took his best shot by preparing an offer sheet for Backes.

The money seems laughable now, but in the summer of 2008, the Canucks tendered a three-year offer worth $2.5M per season to Backes, who was coming off his second NHL season and had scored 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games. 

As was their prerogative, the Blues matched the offer sheet and retained the services of their 2003 second rounder. The following season, Backes exploded for 31 goals, 54 points and 165 penalty minutes and was well on his way to being the kind of player the Canucks would have loved to add.

Before his career was done, Backes appeared in the 2011 NHL All Star Game and represented the United States in a pair of Olympics along with the 2016 World Cup.

Clearly upset by the actions of the Canucks, who had done their best to poach Backes but in the process, had delivered a blow to the Blues' salary structure, St. Louis wasn’t prepared to simply move on.

Just one week after the Canucks swooped in on Backes, the Blues retaliated by offering restricted free agent Steve Bernier a one-year contract worth $2.5M. All these years later, it’s still unclear whether St. Louis actually coveted the big winger or whether the move was simply done out of spite to force the Canucks to overpay Bernier, who hadn’t even played a game for Vancouver after being acquired from Buffalo just days earlier.

Even Gillis acknowledged the $2.5M salary was more than the Canucks wanted to offer the inconsistent Bernier.

"It may be a little more, but in the grand scheme of things, it's within a range of players," said Gillis at the time. "It's probably more than what we would have optimistically wanted to pay but it is what it is."

Where David Backes became a top tier player in his time in the NHL, Steve Bernier never realized his potential after being selected 16th overall in the 2003 Draft. A big body, Bernier didn’t use his size effectively and never scored more than 16 goals or 32 points in an NHL season. 

Just two years after being acquired by the Canucks, Bernier was shipped to Florida as part of a package in a deal that brought Keith Ballard to Vancouver. A year later, Bernier reached the 2012 Stanley Cup Final as a member of the New Jersey Devils. He finished his career by playing parts of two seasons with the New York Islanders.

For years, the Canucks and Blues offer sheet rivalry stood alone in the NHL in terms of one team having a direct response to the other’s actions. But the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens engaged in similar actions when the Habs tried to pry Sebastian Aho from the Canes only to see Carolina successfully poach Jesperi Kotkaniemi from Montreal two years later.

So while the hockey world waits to see the outcome of the two offer sheets tendered by St. Louis this week, the story may not end there. Keep an eye on RFA Jake Neighbours next summer and see if the Oilers have a retaliatory card to play.

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JPat: Remember when the Canucks and Blues got into the NHL’s first offer sheet battle in 2008?

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