The Blues Empire Strikes Back at Gillis

Call it karma... I just call it revenge. Today, the Blues have offered still-unsigned RFA Steve Bernier a 1-year $2.5 million offer sheet. The Canucks had acquired Bernier from the Sharks for 2 draft picks in 2009 and 2010 just after July 1 but had not completed a deal with him yet, making him fair game for other teams to make an offer. The Blues I'm sure are returning the kick to Gillis' gonads as the Canucks' GM tried to pry away the Blues' RFA David Backes with a 3-year $7.5 million deal on July 1.
Sure, the Blues have interest in Bernier, but you know they don't mind sticking the knife into Gillis' back to return the favor. I think it's majority opinion amongst NHL GM's that it's dirty play when the Bobby Clarke's, Kevin Lowe's and now Mike Gillis' of the world attempt to "steal" RFA's away. Yeah it's a business and any GM has the right to do that. But now you can expect some form of retaliation if you do it.
The question is: will Gillis match the offer? How much was he coveting Bernier? Given the Canucks' dire situation on offence, I don't see why Gillis won't match this offer. At that kind of pricetag, Bernier had better put out though.
Let's see if he performs up to his new inflated salary much like Kesler did last year after Clarke took a stab at him. That is, IF Gillis signs him in the next 7 days.

**UPDATE**

A tip of the hat to GZ Expat, who has just informed me that Gillis has already matched the offer.

“Steve is a highly regarded young offensive player in our league, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement. “We have a great deal of respect for the St. Louis Blues, John Davidson, Larry Pleau and their management team. The offer sheet to Bernier is a clear indication of how highly Steve is thought of in our league.”

**cough cough** bullshit. At least Gillis said all the right things despite the Blues sneaky play for Bernier.

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