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It does make you wonder though. Ken Holland has given some "higher paid" or "higher length" contracts for players he really wanted to keep this summer. When Babcock went to him and told him what Toronto offered him ($6 million), Holland didn't seem to budge on his $4 million dollar offer. If he really wanted him, you would think he would have matched the offer (it wouldn't have dented the Illitch's purse that's for sure)... I really do wonder if the players expressed issues about Babcock in their exit interviews with Holland. I mean, I don't know if Z and D would go and say "it's either us or him". But I wouldn't be surprised if they said "We would like a new voice, we think it's time for Babcock to move on"

Lol at the doom and gloom and hindsight bias.

I didn't recognize him at first, he doesn't look much like him Perhaps the artist is trolling us

It's a nice design, but that's a pretty bad drawing of Yzerman!! They used this photo, but somehow they made him look sick or something.

I have no problem with Glendening's contract. It's high for a 4th liner, but I think he's an above average 4th liner, so it's not bad. Citzikas, while better than Glendening in my opinion, is overpaid for sure. There was a lot of rumblings earlier this year when he signed. Fans love him in NY, but they didn't love the cap hit. FYI, based on my looking into salaries, the $1.455M for 4th liner centre probably hasn't moved much at all....average for 4th line is still below that, but I didn't look based on LW, C or RW.

So, I'll admit, when I saw Helm and $3.85 I thought, WOW, that's a lot, but it wasn't based on any real facts, just a gut reaction....perhaps it was out of date...guys are making more, etc. So I quickly checked the real numbers to see how your buckets match up. I think you've estimated pretty well, except the range you've given for 3rd liners seems way out of wack. Here's what I came up with purely based on the top earners (forwards) for each team (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, etc.). The numbers here are the averages of all 30 teams. So, there is some holes you can poke (when did they sign, UFA vs. RFA, etc.), but I think this is the closest to reality you can do without spending too much time on it, since it really isn't worth it. 4th - $0.81 - $1.2M 3rd - $1.46 - $2.6M 2nd - $3.18 - $4.44M 1st - $5.09 - $7.14M So, if everyone thinks Helm is a 3rd liner (which he is on DET based on ice time), then $3.85M looks like more than just a little overpaid. HOWEVER, some teams have better quality 3rd liners than others, warranting being paid more than the average....which I think is warranted for Helm, but I just think it's gone way further than what's warranted and then tack on the years and NTC that makes me go WOW! No big deal, but it doesn't make me go WOW! Edit: If I was really upset and felt strongly about it, which I'm not...no big deal to me, but if I was, I'd try to put in the time to come up with comparables....at his level of offsensive production + all the other intangibles, etc....try to see where he fits vs. other players in the league with similar attributes. Maybe you'd see that a $20M contract makes sense.

Say that to Erik Karlsson the Norris Trophy winner. Hahahahahahahahah. Good catch didn't even notice that. I was wondering wtf that stat was about... This is almost as bad as Bill Berzeench and his issue with Miller.

I love how you skew your stats in order to spin your false narrative. What did you do, not count the first 2 games of the season because he scored 4, and then not count the last playoff game because he got 1 in an attempt to add validity to an already weak point? If you are going to evaluate him, use the entire season, dont use every game but 3 because the 3 games you dont count he scored 5 goals.

The sky is indeed falling. In the past few days, you've criticized deals for Z, Kronwall, Howard, Weiss, Franzen, Dekeyser, Ericsson, Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Neilson, Weiss, Howard, Vanek, Green and more. I think the list probably includes every UFA deal we've made in the recent memory. I would be curious what the last UFA deal you actually liked. Sure, some of these have been mistakes, but It seems that you are unrealistic about UFA deals in the modern NHL. To use just one example, you have unrealistic expectations for UFA deals if you honestly think Glendening was going to get .900 for 2 years. The way the collective bargaining agreement is, UFAs get PAID. You have to be a cast-off, a buyout, or injured to get a 1-2 year deal as a 27 year old. I know you say "then let them walk", but I think everyone would be walking if a GM had your line of negotiations. Players and their agents would have to completely ignore all comparables.

Hard not to think about how different the world is today compared to 15 years and one day ago. My thoughts are with those who lost their lives and loved ones that day, as well as with the thousands of innocent citizens overseas who lost their lives and loved ones in retaliation. Never forget.

I don't care what I pee in as long as I don't have to wait