Islanders: What you need to know about offer sheets and Mathew Barzal

Offer sheets for New York Islanders Mathew Barzal are coming. So what do we need to know about offer sheets and what can the Isles do about it?

It’s a fear every New York Islanders fan has. That fear of another team coming after pending RFA Mathew Barzal with an offer sheet. We spent much of the 2019 offseason dreaming of an offer sheet for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, and now the shoe is on the other foot.

And it doesn’t feel good.

We’re already insecure enough about our best players having secret desires to play somewhere else. John Tavares leaving for Toronto is still fresh.

And then on the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman tells the world that offer sheets will come for Mathew Barzal this offseason.

That’s right, according to Friedman, it’s not a question of could offer sheets come for Mathew Barzal. It’s a certainty. They will come.

So if you were having a good week, I’m sorry. The thought of an offer sheet for Barzal will certainly put you in a bad mood. (Although, I guess a seven-game losing streak may already have you there.)

Now that Friedman put it out there, let’s talk about an offer sheet for Barzal.

What is an offer sheet? Why would teams offer sheet Mathew Barzal? Where can an offer sheet come from? And more importantly, what can the Islanders do to stave off an offer sheet for Barzal.