The Anaheim Ducks declined to match the Edmonton Oilers' five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet to forward Dustin Penner on Thursday.
| GM | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM |
| 82 | 29 | 16 | 45 | -2 | 58 |
Penner will become the property of the Oilers, and the Ducks will receive a first-, second- and third-round draft pick from Edmonton as compensation.
The Oilers have scheduled a conference call for 4:30 p.m. ET, while the Ducks will have one at 6 p.m. ET.
On Friday, Ducks GM Brian Burke called Edmonton's offer sheet to Penner "gutless."
Burke had especially harsh words for Oilers GM Kevin Lowe, saying, "Edmonton has offered a mostly inflated salary for a player, and I think it's an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."
Burke said he wasn't upset that there was an offer sheet, but rather he was irked at the amount of money involved. Penner will go from earning a league-minimum $450,000 to $4.25 million a year.
"I have no problem with offer sheets," Burke said, noting they are part of the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.
"If you can identify a player and pay him appropriately and make him an offer, that's fine. At some point, the deals you make, the offers you extend, whether the team matches it or not, impacts all 30 teams, including your own," he said.
The way the deal went down also irritated Burke.
"I was not notified of this until I was contacted by Dustin Penner's agent," he said. "I would have done this differently, but then again I wouldn't have done this. I think some guys would have done it that way, yes."
It's the second time in three weeks that the Oilers have gone after a restricted free agent, trying but failing to get forward Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres on July 6. The Sabres matched Edmonton's $50 million, seven-year offer.
"Draw your own conclusions," Burke said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: ESPN.com
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