Multiple sources suggest Offer Sheets may have been a shot at Oilers GM

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal is reporting that Blues GM Doug Armstrong is close friends with Holland, and likely wouldn't have made the offer if his friend was still in charge of the team. Amongst NHL General Managers, offer sheets are considered one of the most conniving acts - it may be part of the reason why they're so rare.

NHL insider Andy Strickland confirmed this sentiment, also saying that GMs see offer sheets as a predatory act that wouldn't have happened with Holland's connections in the industry.

The Oilers were in a very vulnerable spot for these offer sheets given the fact they were already over the salary cap, and with their new general manager, didn't have connections to stop it. There's been only a few offer sheets in recent NHL history, and all of them have had a degree of hostility. When the Oilers offer sheeted Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks, then-GM Brian Burke was furious.

The Oilers made a controversial hire with bringing back Stan Bowman into the NHL, and now fans and media are wondering if this would've happened to any other GM in the league. It's very possible that this was an act of hostility from Ken Holland's friend in St. Louis - and a shot at the Oilers for letting him go for Stan Bowman.

Source: Andy Strickland