Oilers’ offer to Penner upsets Burke

Ducks General Manager Brian Burke on Friday reacted sharply to the five-year, $21.25-million offer sheet tendered to restricted free-agent forward Dustin Penner by the Edmonton Oilers, calling it a “gutless” move by Oilers executive Kevin Lowe.

In his first comments since the offer was made on Thursday, an outraged Burke characterized Lowe’s move as “an act of desperation by a GM fighting to keep his job” and didn’t hide his disdain.

In a curious bit of timing, the offer sheet was tendered on the same day that Burke had his official “day” with the Stanley Cup at his off-season home in Vancouver and a day before he was inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame.

After Friday’s ceremony, he let loose on a conference call with reporters.

“This couldn’t be done on Monday,” an astonished Burke said. “I think it’s a classless move timing-wise.”

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the NHL and its players’ association, the Ducks now have until Thursday to decide whether they will match the contract offer to the 24-year-old Penner, who had 29 goals and 45 points in his first full season.

If they do not match, the Ducks will receive picks in the first, second and third rounds of the 2008 entry draft as compensation.

While Burke has previously said that he would match any offer sheet made to Penner, he may find it hard to keep his word given the club’s dire salary-cap situation and the uncertainly of whether captain Scott Niedermayer or forward Teemu Selanne will retire.

Including Niedermayer’s $6.75-million salary, the Ducks already have more than $48 million committed for 2007-08 after signing free agents Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider to sizable two-year contracts in July. Selanne is unsigned but has said he would play only for the Ducks if he returns.

Matching Penner would push the Ducks over the NHL’s $50.3-million cap. Burke previously said the club would ideally like to be at $44 million when the regular season begins in October, but that would be impossible unless he dumps salary or Niedermayer does retire.

Burke said there is nothing new on the pending decisions by his two superstars and added that he won’t make any decision on Penner until he returns to Anaheim on Sunday and meets with Michael Schulman, chief executive of the Ducks.

Lowe created a stir this month when he made a seven-year, $50-million offer sheet to Buffalo winger Thomas Vanek. The Sabres, who by then had already lost free agent co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury to other teams, hastily matched that offer.

Penner, who made $450,000 last season, will make $4.25 million a season, and if he stays a Duck would supplant Bertuzzi as the team’s highest-paid forward. Bertuzzi, a 12-year veteran with 226 career goals, will make $4 million.

Burke said that what Lowe is doing -- inflating salaries -- will affect every team in the NHL, including the Ducks next off-season when entry-level deals for Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry expire. Both players could receive lucrative offer sheets.

Burke acknowledged that Lowe is within the rules but was angered that the Oilers GM, as a courtesy, did not warn him Penner was a target.

“I was not notified of this until an agent faxed it into us,” he said. “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.”

According to a Canadian Press report, Lowe was aware of Burke’s comments but had no comment himself.

Negotiations between the Ducks and Penner’s agent, Gerry Johannson, had seen little progress. The Ducks have made an offer that Burke said was nowhere near the amount presented to them by the Oilers.

The Ducks’ executive wouldn’t speculate if this was fallout from the Chris Pronger trade, which backfired on Edmonton and ultimately helped Anaheim win its first Cup. The key component the Oilers received in return, winger Joffrey Lupul, was traded to Philadelphia on July 1.

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eric.stephens@latimes.com