Could we see another Blues offer sheet?

Another Blues offer sheet possible?

The St. Louis Blues cleared $4 million in cap space Thursday when Nick Leddy was claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks.

It appears the Blues could put that cap space to work by adding Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres.

Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports the Blues have been "trying hard" to land Byram, who is eligible to sign an offer sheet as a restricted free agent. 

St. Louis successfully pried Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers with offer sheets last year. The team has their first- and third-round picks for the 2026 draft to use on an offer sheet, but are without their second-rounder.

Puckpedia shows the Blues with only $625,000 in cap space, though another $6.5 million can be freed by placing Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve. Krug has already been ruled out for the 2025-26 season.

The Blues already have Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, Broberg, Cam Fowler, Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel signed on defence and added Logan Mailloux in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. 

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters Wednesday that the team has been strategic in planning in case of a Byram offer sheet and are "absolutely" prepared to match one to retain his services.

Adams said he remains open to trading Byram in a deal that improves the Sabres current roster, but isn't interested in futures. 

Buffalo has $12.87 million in cap space left with 22 players under contract for next season after bringing in Justin Danforth, Alex Lyon and re-signing fellow restricted free agent Ryan McLeod on Tuesday.

"Feeling is the sweet spot on this falls at the $7,020,113 mark on the scale," TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston wrote on X regarding a possible offer sheet. "If deal comes in under that, the compensation would be a 1st- and 3rd-rounder. Danger in matching is that you'd be walking Byram straight to UFA next summer while losing the ability to trade him."

​Byram, 23, had seven goals and 31 points in 82 games with the Buffalo Sabres last season while averaging 22:42 of ice time. The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenceman is coming off of a two-year, $7.7 million deal with an annual cap hit of $3.85 million.  

Drafted fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, Byram has 33 goals and 110 points in 246 career games split between the Avalanche and Sabres. 

Byram recorded nine assists while averaging 19:22 of ice time in 20 playoff games to help the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022. 

The Sabres traded restricted free agent JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth last month after contract talks struggled to progress between the two sides. 

Ehlers watch: Day 3

Nikolaj Ehlers watch continues as NHL free agency drags into a third day with TSN's top player to hit the market still available.

The 29-year-old winger was initially expected to make his decision Wednesday, but an announcement never materialized. 

TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports that once Ehlers signs, there's a sense trade activity could heat up around the NHL among the teams who fail to land him for their top six. 

The Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs  are all believed to expressed interest in Ehlers, but it's unclear who is still in the hunt for his services.

The Winnipeg Jets, who have worked to re-sign Ehlers, filled a hole in their forward group Wednesday by signing veteran winger Gustav Nyquist to a one-year, $3.25 million deal. Winnipeg, though, still has just over $19 million in cap space with 20 players signed for next season. A significant portion of that space will be earmarked for Gabriel Vilardi, Morgan Barron, Rasmus Kupari and Dylan Samberg, who are need of new deals as restricted free agents.  

Murat Ates of The Athletic put together an early projection on the Jets' lines for next season, with Ehlers not among them. Ates believes the Jets could roll out a new-look second line with Cole Perfetti playing beside free-agent signees Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist. Ates also projected veteran winger Tanner Pearson, signed on Tuesday, as an extra skater in his early look. 

Ates also listed the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have just $1.18 million in cap space per PuckPedia, as a suitor for Ehlers. 

The Avalanche also dipped into free agency on Wednesday, adding 40-year-old blueliner Brent Burns on a one-year deal that PuckPedia reports could be worth up to $4 million with bonuses beyond the $1 million base salary. Colorado has a projected $4.12 million in cap space, complicating the possibility of bringing in Ehlers. 

Ehlers is coming off of a 2024-25 campaign that saw him record 24 goals and 53 points in 69 games with the Winnipeg Jets, en route to winning the Presidents’ Trophy. He added five goals and seven points in eight playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round. 

Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky confirmed Tuesday that he's been in touch in Ehlers agent. The Hurricanes have a whopping $18.26 million in cap space with 23 players already under contract for next season. 

“We’ve had talks with his agent," Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “He’s taking his time to field offers. He’s obviously a very popular person right now, and we’re waiting to see where that goes.”

While the Maple Leafs have also been mentioned as a landing spot, general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday the team was likely to build out their roster via trade with the pool of players available in free agency getting "thinner and thinner." 

"That's probably the path right now that we're looking more closely at," he said of making trades.

The 6-foot winger is coming off a seven-year, $42 million contract that carried a cap hit of $6 million.

Drafted ninth overall by the Jets in 2014, Ehlers has 225 goals and 520 points in 674 career games. 

Sharks get to work

The San Jose Sharks added to their blueline on Thursday, signing unrestricted free agent defenceman Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $13 million contract and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.

The Orlov deal carries an average annual value of $6.5 million, making him the Sharks highest-paid defenceman ahead of fellow free-agent addition John Klingberg, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the team and Leddy as well.

Leddy is signed through the upcoming season at a $4 million cap hit. The 6-foot left-shot defenceman missed three months last season due to a lower-body injury and recorded two goals and five points in 31 games last season while averaging 18:40. He added an assist in seven playoff games while averaging 14:11 of ice time before the Blues were eliminated by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.

After making the two additions, San Jose still has more than $22 million in cap space with 23 players signed for next season. 

Canadiens make first signing of the day

The Montreal Canadiens signed defenceman William Trudeau to a one-year, two-way contract in the first signing of the day Thursday. 

Trudeau posted five goals and 19 points in 68 games with the AHL's Laval Rocket last season.