The new offer-sheet loophole is a problem the Maple Leafs are not ready for

It wasn't just having to deal with offer sheets around the league the Maple Leafs have to deal with but a loophole that allows players to move wherever is popping up.

The Leo Carlsson offer sheet saga has been one that has captured the attention of the entire NHL given that it not only now sets a new standard for player contracts in the league, but it also handicaps the Anaheim Ducks into choosing between keeping Carlsson or making sure they have enough money to keep Cutter Gauthier.

The Maple Leafs don't have to deal with too many offer sheets coming their way, and signing Emil Andrae shut down probably the only potential one they had to deal with, but they are going to have to worry about other teams using them to improve and make sure they have the strongest team possible.

NHL teams are using an offer sheer loophole to backdoor trade opportunities

And it seems like there's a giant loophole that teams are trying to use thanks to the offer sheet rules.

According to the CBA, a team who matches the offer sheet is unable to trade that player for 12 months, however the team that signs the player to the offer sheet has carte blanche when it comes to dealing them away.

That's a huge tidbit in a seemingly overlooked aspect of free agency, and according to Elliotte Friedman; there was already a team looking to do exactly that:

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Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects also added his two cents where he believes teams will now start using this as a way to convince players to sign with them, trade them to a desired destination then get a huge haul back - saving all that sweet money they used to initially sign the player:

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Now there is nothing to say that every team is going to start using this method, but it does open the door for them to make some creative decisions in order to get what they want.

How the Maple Leafs can use this to their advantage

Now, Toronto can't necessarily go out and spend a huge fortune on an offer sheet considering they cannily afford a certain threshold, it does let them target a player to package further for a top pairing defender.

Let's say for argument's sake that the Maple Leafs put an offer sheet in for Adam Fantilli at their max of $4.775-million. In a purely hypothetical scenario, the team could sign him for a long-term deal and then trade him to a place like New York in order to give them a future star and potentially acquire Adam Fox.

It's that type of trade that Robinson and Friedman were alluding to, though it would be a little easier if the Maple Leafs had the draft capital to make a bigger signing.

But it's more of an example of what could happen, and there are several younger players the team can target who may be great fits like Braden Schneider or Jamie Drysdale who still fit into the team's threshold of availability.

Perhaps they can even trade them away and get someone more proven. Never count John Chayka out of anything and if it involves the team getting creative then you can bet he'll do whatever he can to get something done.

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