2010 NHL Offseason Thread

[Ishido]

Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman on how team fits both Antti Niemi and Patrick Sharp: "As of right now we don't have a solution."

Dale Tallon is sitting in Florida laughing his ass off right now.

edit: Also Kovalchuk's contract is further proof that the CBA needs to be reworked badly, 6 years of sub $1m after making over $11m in the same contract is ridiculous. Takes what is in reality an 11 year, $98.5m (8.9m cap hit) contract into what it is now (6m cap hit).

[Bregor]

Now with Ilya and Simon getting wrapped up in one day, I need to check the lists again and pick a couple people worth watching.

Afinogenov, your my man.

Besides the goalies, not many big names out there. There's the Modano thing, and then Paul Kariya, Miro Satan, John Madden, Lee Stempniak, Bill Guerin... am I forgetting someone big? Seems pretty nubbins out there right now.

[Richybear]

Isn't Frolov still out there too?

[Sepukku]

Dale Tallon is sitting in Florida laughing his ass off right now.

edit: Also Kovalchuk's contract is further proof that the CBA needs to be reworked badly, 6 years of sub $1m after making over $11m in the same contract is ridiculous. Takes what is in reality an 11 year, $98.5m (8.9m cap hit) contract into what it is now (6m cap hit).

Ive heard the owners are looking to, in the next CBA, get the salary cap below 50mil... that's not going to sit at all with players, and some teams are going to get fucked by that.

[Selamis]

Word around the mean streets of Chicago is that Sharp has assured he isn't leaving town via tradeand will be on the team next year. Looking for confirmation currently of this.

[Ivaden]

Dale Tallon is sitting in Florida laughing his ass off right now.

edit: Also Kovalchuk's contract is further proof that the CBA needs to be reworked badly, 6 years of sub $1m after making over $11m in the same contract is ridiculous. Takes what is in reality an 11 year, $98.5m (8.9m cap hit) contract into what it is now (6m cap hit).

I'm not just saying this because you're the Red Wings guy, I'm genuinely not really sure and figured you'd be the best to ask, but isn't this similar to what the Red Wings do? Maybe not on such a scale like this obviously, but didn't they frontload Zetterberg's contract like this?

[Callisto]

I'm not just saying this because you're the Red Wings guy, I'm genuinely not really sure and figured you'd be the best to ask, but isn't this similar to what the Red Wings do? Maybe not on such a scale like this obviously, but didn't they frontload Zetterberg's contract like this?

Yes, exactly. The Wings more or less discovered the loophole, other teams have just been taking it to new levels since.

also if they really do lower the cap under $50m that's going to really fuck up a product that is just now getting back to where it should be after the lockout, there's going to be a lot of mid-to-high tier guys who either take huge paycuts compared to what they're worth or say fuck it and jump to Europe or something for the cash. Several teams will be unable to keep guys who should have been their franchise players, and the talent pool will get diluted with loads of shitty salary-floor grinders.

I really hope they work a Larry Bird rule into the next CBA

[Selamis]

Ah, don't have a link, but the Chicago Tribune quoted Bowman as him telling Sharp that he has nothing to worry about and he's not on the trading block as a victim of the salary cap. So yay. Now to figure out Niemi's money issues..

[Callisto]

I can only see two solutions really, either they're forced to walk on Niemi and Bowman gets to deal with being the guy forced to make all of the hardest, shittiest decisions of the offseason, or Bowman somehow manages to move Brian Campbell and is universally hailed as the messiah of hockey management, while team is renamed to The Stan Bowman's Chicago Bowmanhawks and play in their newly re-named arena, the Bowmanited Center.

[Ishido]

I'm not just saying this because you're the Red Wings guy, I'm genuinely not really sure and figured you'd be the best to ask, but isn't this similar to what the Red Wings do? Maybe not on such a scale like this obviously, but didn't they frontload Zetterberg's contract like this?

Yes, they did something similar with both Zetterberg and Franzen's contract, but nowhere near this extreme. Both of those players' contracts are discounted by about 1 mil via the drop off instead of 3 mil, and are signed until they are 40, instead of 44. Kovalchuk's is the first one to get really out of hand though, and it makes me wish other teams (including the Wings) had not set that kind of precedent.

[Ratatapa]

Ok this is good for Quebec only but YAY if it's true

Rumor that Benoit Brunet lost his post at RDS commentary.


FUCK YES!

[Callisto]

must be the french Pierre McGuire or something

[Edimir]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=328025

The NHL has rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils on the grounds that it circumvents the NHL's salary cap.

Kovalchuk was slated to earn $95 million over the first 10 years of the deal and then just $7 million over the last seven seasons. That would translate to an annual cap hit of $6 million per year.

The 27-year-old rejected a $101 million, 12-year extension from the Atlanta Thrashers before being dealt to the Devils in February.

Kovalchuk had 41 goals and 44 assists last season, including 10 goals and 17 assists with the Devils.

[Ishido]

Fucking awesome. I'm surprised but glad they put their foot down on this as it is getting too extreme.

[Bregor]

Haha, fuck you Devils and fuck you Kovalchuk. Would be pretty hilarious if he ended up in L.A. since I think their offer was better in the near term.

[Callisto]

Holy shit lol, I thought they'd 'investigate' it but did not expect this at all.

[Thoronas]

That is fucking awesome.

Edit:
Paul Bissonnette (Coyotes): sory communist. back to the soviet.

[Sepukku]

http://www.hockeyworldblog.com/wp-co...ry-bettman.jpg

Gary Bettman / Tupac "Hit Em Up" Parody by Sepukku:

Spoiler: show

"Fuck Ilya
Fuck Hossa
Fuck the Devils as a staff, record label, and as a mother fucking team,
And if you wanna be down with the Devils, then fuck you too!
Zetterberg, fuck you too!
All you mother fuckers, fuck you too!
All you mother fuckers, fuck you, die slow mother fucker!
My ban power make sure all yo caps gonna grow!"

[Oxyminus]

Man...I was sort of bummed yesterday when I heard the news yesterday about Kovalchuk signing with the Devils...and then got a giant laugh at it today. Even if they restructure the deal, it's going to carry a much bigger cap hit.

It's about time the league did SOMETHING about these bullshit cap circumventing contracts.

[vagus]

Wow. Gary pulled the trigger. Did not expect that. Stay the fuck out of the West Kovy. Better yet, just got back to Russia and prepare for 2014.