This Day in Hockey History – July 26, 2007 – Penner Signs

Jul 26, 2019

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Dustin Penner went from signing his first NHL contract in May 2004 to the next season being canceled by a lockout to playing 19 games for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2005-06 season to winning the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07. Then, on July 26, 2007, he got a massive raise by signing an offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers as a restricted free agent.

At that point in time, offer sheets were rarely used. Basically, if an NHL team gave their restricted free agent a qualifying offer, another team could counter with an offer sheet. The original team would have seven days to match the offer or receive draft picks as compensation for the lost player. This had the potential to put a general manager in a tough position, so their peers usually avoided the bad blood in the hopes of it not being turned back on them.

However, in 2007, Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe used the tactic to bolster his offense. Upon failing to sign any unrestricted free agents, he tendered an offer sheet to forward Thomas Vanek. His Buffalo Sabres immediately matched the offer. Lowe had a wish list of players and thought about who he might be able to poach. Agent Ritch Winter said of Lowe’s next move, “This is a hard one for Kevin. I respect what Kevin is doing personally. He’s making an effort to do something that isn’t going to be popular within the hockey community, amongst his peers. He’s trying to do what’s best for his team. That’s admirable.”

Lowe was interested in 24-year-old power forward Penner because he played the left side, which would fill a gap for the Oilers. In his first full NHL season, Penner had just scored 29 goals and 16 assists on the way to the championship. He also happened to be the only restricted free agent for the vulnerable Ducks. So Lowe offered Penner, who had only made $450,000 over the past season, a five-year contract for $21.25 million. “From our perspective, it was a very necessary one if we were going to improve our hockey club,” explained Lowe. “Dustin was on a very short list of players we thought would compliment our hockey club. We see him as a guy who is capable of scoring 20-plus goals and he adds some size to our lineup.”

Brian Burke, GM of the Anaheim Ducks, did not take it well. “I think it’s a classless move timing-wise,” he remarked. After all, the offer sheet was signed on Burke’s day with the Stanley Cup, and the following day, he was inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame. That ate into the seven days the Ducks would have to match or receive compensation, per the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement. Burke also complained, “I was not notified of this until an agent faxed it into us. I thought Kevin would have called me and told me it was coming. I thought that was gutless. I have no problem with offer sheets. They’re part of the CBA. It’s a tool a team is certainly entitled to use. My issue here is this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton has offered a grossly inflated salary for a player.”

Originally, Burke had said he would match any offer for Penner, but the Ducks had offered him a much, much lower salary. Having won the championship, the Ducks were facing a salary cap crunch. They already had 19 players signed for a total of almost $41.5 million, quickly approaching the $50.3 million cap. Burke acknowledged, “From a tactical standpoint, with the steps we’ve taken, and with the unique circumstances we’re in . . . we’ve created this situation and put ourselves at risk. We’re acutely aware of that.” Thus, at the beginning of August, Burke reported, “I just decided that this offer doesn’t make sense. If I believe these salaries don’t make sense and I match, then I’m just as dumb as the team that extended the offer.” It was the first time in recent memory that the offer sheet was not matched. Instead, the Ducks would receive the Oilers’ first, second, and third-round draft picks to let Penner go.

The bitterness between the two general managers lingered a while. They had been considered buddies, but Burke called the offer sheet “an act of desperation by a GM fighting to keep his job.” He stated, “It’s not a priority for me to mend this fence.” Meanwhile, Lowe commented, “I’m not in the business of trying to make friends. Never have, never will be.” During a radio show on July 4, 2008, Lowe finally responded to Burke’s continued aggression by calling him “a media junkie.” According to one story, Lowe challenged Burke to a fight, and Burke planned to rent a barn to host it. However, Commissioner Gary Bettman stepped in threatening to suspend them both.

As it turned out, in November 2008, Burke left the Ducks to become president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Meanwhile, Lowe remained GM and executive vice president for the Oilers until 2008, when he was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.

As for Penner, he had the best outlook going forward. He said at the time of the decision, “I don’t know what my potential is, but I think in the next five years I’ll find out. I know I didn’t peak this last year as a player in Anaheim.”; “Now that the decision’s been made, I’m excited to be an Oiler. Hopefully I can help the organization get back to the Stanley Cup final.” Unfortunately, the Oilers failed to even make playoffs during his years with them. They traded him to the Los Angeles Kings in February 2011, and he won the 2012 Stanley Cup with the Kings. In a final twist, on July 16, 2013, nearly six years after signing the offer sheet, Penner signed with the Ducks again. He played 49 games for them and (after the trade deadline) another 18 games with the Washington Capitals to end his NHL playing career.

Additional Sources:

Mike Commito, Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice(Toronto: Dundurn, 2018), kindle edition.
Joanne Ireland, “Duck Hunter,” Edmonton Journal, 27 July 2007, pp. C1 and C3.
Eric Stephens, “Penner has $21-million offer from Edmonton,” Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2007, p. D7.
Eric Stephens, “Oilers’ offer to Penner upsets Burke,” Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2007, p. D3.
Joanne Ireland, “Burke blasts Lowe for move,” Edmonton Journal, 28 July 2007, pp. D1 and D8.
Jim Matheson, “Oilers’ pursuit of Penner a calculated gamble,” Edmonton Journal, 28 July 2007, p. D8.
Joanne Ireland, “Oilers Win Penner at High-stakes Table,” Edmonton Journal, 3 Aug. 2007, pp. A1 and A20.
Jim Matheson, “Burke had to let Penner fly,” Edmonton Journal, 3 Aug. 2007, pp. C1 and C8.
https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/p/pennedu01.html