How Does NHL RFA Offer Sheet Compensation Work?

There are a lot of questions on if the Red Wings will offer sheet a restricted free agent this year. The reality is that they likely don't have enough assets to compensate for an impact player. Here's a better look at what it would likely cost them:

For a more in-depth look at what teams can afford what, I suggest checking out GeneralFanager.com's chart:

Source

As you can see, since the Red Wings do not have a 2016 3rd round pick (traded for Marek Zidlicky), they can only afford certain offer sheets. I don't think we're going to see a $9 million offer sheet on any of the RFAs out there currently, so we can put that to rest. There is a good chance you could offer sheet a player like Valdimir Tarasenko, or Alex Galchenyuk for $3.6 million, but the Habs or the Blues would quickly counter that, as they are core pieces to their teams. It's looking less likely that Detroit will be using this tactic today.