krsmith17

Not at all, but okay...

That's a bulls*** lowball offer that he and his agent would have been dumb to accept. Yup, the contract is signed, and I'm sure after two years, not a single person would say, "that was a bad signing", or even an "overpayment"...

#DumbKneeJerkTradesAreBad

#TradeEveryone I'm all for trades... that make sense... If we were a contending team that just needed to fix our goaltending woes, sure, I'd do it. But we're not. We're a rebuilding team that has holes at every single position. There's no way we should trade a 20 year old, former 6th overall, top six (maybe top line) winger, for a 26 year old that has one *very good season under his belt, but could be another flash in the pan. Regardless how you think either of these players will pan out, Zadina will be just entering his prime, while Merzlikins will be exiting his, when we're on the other side of this rebuild. #TerribleTrade

LOL for someone with a lot of bad takes, this one is certainly up there...

Because Mantha and Bertuzzi already got their "huge raises" off their ELC's... Mantha received a 400% raise, and Bertuzzi received a 250% raise... But again, this isn't how negotiations or contract construction work, so I don't know why we're still talking about it... I doubt Fabbri will play 82 games each of the next two seasons, but I also doubt he will miss significant time (months) for a recurring injury. After a healthy season this past season, I don't think there's any reason to believe those long-term knee injuries aren't behind him. You're acting as if Yzerman handed him a long-term contract, He got a two-year show-me contract. My bet is he will exceed expectations on this contract, and receive another raise on his next contract. You clearly disagree with that, so we'll see...

I get what you were going for, but it still makes no sense. Players get a lot more than 350% raises all the time. That doesn't mean that every player on that team should expect a similar raise. If that were the case, Fabbri should have been looking for a $6M contract based on Larkin's 650% raise. I know they're completely different players, under completely different circumstances, but apparently that doesn't matter... It's not though. It's only an overpayment, if he doesn't live up to the contract. Players get paid based on future progression all the time. Why is this situation any different? There's no reason to believe that Fabbri (if healthy) won't produce at a similar clip as last season, which would be well worth ~$3M. There's also no reason to assume he will get injured. Players go through injury riddled seasons, and bounce back all the time. Also, no one here knows for certain that Fabbri could have been signed for less. It's purely conjecture on your part.

"Maybe he could have been signed to a slightly lesser cap hit", is not even close to the same as "overpaid". Overpaid implies that he won't live up to the contract. I believe he will, but more importantly Yzerman believes he will. As long as he doesn't completely fall apart (he won't), it will be a more than reasonable contract, maybe even a great contract. The fact that anyone is this upset over a middle six winger signing a sub $3M contract is laughable.

Okay, so we all agree that your original post about 350% raises and $15M/$9M cap hits was asinine. Now if we could get you to understand how very little this contract is going to impact the Mantha and Bertuzzi contracts... Like I said before, maybe he could have been signed to a slightly lesser cap hit, but no where close to the $1.5M that you suggested... The two years is a non issue in my opinion. The ONLY way this ends up being an "over payment", is if Fabbri completely falls off, and only puts up 20 points each of the next two seasons. 30+ points, and it's a good contract. If he comes close to the 50ish points that most seem to believe he's capable of, it will be an absolute steal of a contract.

The more times you say it doesn't make it true. Cope harder.

You don't think it's low? Well of course you don't. You think he was "overpaid". He wasn't though. Unless he completely s***s the bed and puts up 20 points in 50 games the next two seasons. Highly unlikely in my opinion. It's a low cap hit, zero risk contract in my opinion. Outside of ELC's and borderline NHL players, you're not getting much value under 2-2.5M. This, I somewhat agree with. I would rather Mantha and Bertuzzi come in on the lower end, and I think they will. They certainly won't come anywhere close to the $15M / $9M you suggested from the beginning. Which is probably why so many people are attacking your opinion... I can definitely see Mantha getting a contract somewhere around Larkin, and Bertuzzi a couple mil less.

Two years at a low cap hit, is basically a "prove it" contract though. He continues to play like he did last season, great contract. He loses a step, he can still easily be traded. He gets injured, he goes on LTIR, and it doesn't affect the team. Could Yzerman have signed him to a one year contract? Maybe. Could he have signed him to a much lower cap hit? Doubtful. $2.5M is the lowest I think he could have signed him. At the end of the day, I don't really care too much about the cap hit (within reason) though. I just want everyone (except Larkin and Mantha) signed to shortish-term deals. And no, this contract is not in any way going to affect the Mantha or Bertuzzi deals. Mantha should still come in around $6-7M, and Bertuzzi should still come in around $4.5-5.5M, depending on term for both...

I don't f***ing know. If you remember, I was one of the few here that didn't like that signing... However, again, UFA vs RFA / age. These things matter in any negotiation...

Abdelkader was a UFA. Very different situation, but if he were signed to a low risk (two year) contract, like Fabbri, that Abdelkader contract would have never been viewed as a bad contract either. Fabbri will remain relatively healthy (70+ games), and be a productive (40+ points) middle six winger for the Wings over the next two seasons. If he does that, I think everyone would agree that it was a very good contract. That is what Yzerman and Fabbri are both likely betting on, and I think it's a more than reasonable bet to make. Good contract.

No. I've already stated why above. Catch up... The only one that might be even the slightest bit similar is Erne, but he was acquire via trade, not signed. He's also a 4th line winger, at best. Fabbri is a 2nd line winger. I'm not sure why you would compare their production / contracts...

You know what I meant. I've specifically mentioned RFA contracts several times before. Everyone knows Holland was pretty bad at negotiating UFA contracts. I don't want to talk about those because it has nothing to do with the topic... completely different GM, completely different players.

LOL never mind what Fabbri did in his most recent season, for his current employer. Just look at every season prior... Bottom line is Fabbri was healthy this season, performed really well for this team, and all signs point to that continuing for the next two seasons. I hope he remains a Wing, because he's a solid player, in a pool of mediocre players, but if Yzerman decides to move him, there will be 20+ teams willing to pay for his services. You know why? Because he's a good player, on a good contract...

The ONLY reason a one year deal would have been preferable, is so thag he would still be an RFA at the end of the contract. I know you're dumb, but c'mon man, not even you are this dumb... You can't seriously think that that same rule would apply to a defenseman, much less, a defensive defenseman...

Ok, all but Ouellet and Mrazek? Ouellet sucked, but his $1.25M contract hardly hurt the team. I'm not getting into the Mrazek sitch... My point still stands. Holland was great at negotiating RFA deals, and if he had signed this Fabbri contract, myself and the people that think it's a more that fair deal, would be saying the exact same thing, regardless which GM made the deal...

Umm well, yeah, it is completely different... Filppula was a UFA, and way past his prime. Nemeth was a UFA, and a defenseman (same 10 points per $1M doesn't apply). Erne just sucks, not even close to the calibre player as Fabbri. Biega is a combination of all of the above. UFA, way past his prime, defenseman, sucks. Fabbri was an RFA, young, skilled forward, that can provide offense anywhere in a teams top 9, and will be more than worth his sub $3M contract.

My bad. I left out one key word (acronym)... Holland was great at negotiating "RFA" contracts... which is what I meant to say and what we're specifically talking about here... Every single one of those contracts you listed above were UFA signings. Big difference. Anyway, I've said my two cents. To me, this looks like a very good contract, for a very good, young middle six winger. We'll see how it turns out.

If anything, I've always been on the Holland apologist side of the coin. He was phenomenal general manager, specifically at negotiating contracts. If Holland had signed this contract, I would be saying the exact same thing. It's a great contract, regardless the GM.

You "like Fabbri as much as the next guy", but don't think he'll put up 30+ points in each of the next two seasons? That's literally the only way this ends up being a "bad contract", or even an "over payment". Since everything points toward him being more than capable of putting up north of 30, this is a good contract today, and has the potential to be a great contract over the next two seasons. It's also f***ed up that anyone would think that this (very reasonable Fabbri) contract, will make Mantha and Bertuzzi demand more. If anything, Fabbri's, along with Larkin's contracts should bring the bar down for Mo and Bert.

Psst... He's trolling...