Oilers sign RFA Vanek to 7-yr, $50M Offer Sheet

[Hank 0]

ok I got ya. but at the same time his cap # is still going to be $6-7 million for the next 7 years. Out of pocket yes he could be a great deal at the end of his contract. but I still think it kinda sucks that Lowe did this. All this does is drive up prices of the RFA's now. Like some GM's around the league weren't being dumb enough signing 69 pt scorers to $7mil deals.

Oh absolutly. All SB's go against the Cap.

And toby91_ca, you're right. I got the numbers wrong. The article I initally read had him listed as receiving $4M the last few years. I still think he can be a bargain at $6.4M 6 years from now if he continues playing like he does.

GordieSid&Ted, I understand what you're saying. But thinking like Kevin Lowe I thought it was a good contract to offer someone like Vanek. He's only 23 and he scored over 40 goals. Yes, he did have Briere on his line most of the year, but I saw quite a few games and the man can create offense on his own. The argument could be made that Briere wouldn't have had 95 points without Vanek.

Also, look at the Oilers draft history. Their scouts are brutal:

02 - 15 Edmonton Jesse Niinimaki C Ilves Tampere (FNL)

03 - 22 Edmonton Marc-Antoine Pouliot C Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) 54 5 7 12 18

04 - 14 Edmonton Devan Dubnyk G Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

04 - 25 Edmonton Rob Schremp C London Knights (OHL) 1 0 0 0 0

05 - 25 Edmonton Andrew Cogliano C St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL)

5 players in 5 years and only 2 have played a game in the NHL. And that's not even including past draft busts like Jason Bonsignore. Obviously 1st rounders aren't very usefull to them.

I don't personally believe anyone not named Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux deserves over $5M to play hockey. But that's the NHL nowadays.

Edited July 6, 2007 by Hank

[Guest jaytan]

Wow, Edmonton forced Buffalo to push contracts up even higher. Nice job, jerks.

What'll Zetterberg be worth now?

[FUUFNF 1]

Well, first of all, unless Niedermayer retires the Ducks won't be able to match and still be under the cap. Right now they're at 47.4 million and that's without Selanne's salary as well. Secondly, I'm really starting to get sick of the Zetterberg argument. Are we not supposed to spend up to the cap now because we have to worry about Hank in 2 years??? If we did sign Penner to a long term deal and found ourselves short on cash for Zetterberg, I'm POSITIVE we would be able to find at least ONE team out of the other 29 that would be willing to take Penner off our hands. Hell, we'd probably be able to get back the 4 first round picks or whatever it took to sign him away from Anaheim.

if it can be done, i'm all for that. force anaheim's hand. either match the offer and push neids into retirement, or lose penner.

[Zion 93]

10 million.

[Opie 308]

This is what Kenny should do with Penner.

I see it this way, if Lowe had done this to the Caps after the Nylander deal I would have been ok with it.

Getting a little revenge, that is why I think it would be ok to do it with the Ducks.

But then again I am looking at this through glasses with winged wheels on them.

[Kp-Wings 3]

It must be a real hard year for Buffalo fans.

Well, Kevin Lowe will be unsuccessful in this anyways. The Sabres have a ton of cap room left, so they should match. All this did was screw the Oilers for many years. I'm sure other GM's can't wait until guys like Ales Hemsky are RFA's. It'll make for some real fireworks.

[Zion 93]

Sign Penner, Kenny.

Make it happen.

[Hemmers 0]

It must be a real hard year for Buffalo fans.

Well, Kevin Lowe will be unsuccessful in this anyways. The Sabres have a ton of cap room left, so they should match. All this did was screw the Oilers for many years. I'm sure other GM's can't wait until guys like Ales Hemsky are RFA's. It'll make for some real fireworks.

The solution, I imagine, is to sign your RFAs before July 1st. What this has done is possibly shown teams around the NHL that locking up their RFAs before the 1st should be something of a priority.

Unsuccessful, sure. Who says that Vanek was their primary target? What this shows is that the Oilers are serious about icing a contender this year, and after having struck out in the UFA market, not to mention being seemingly unable to find a trade partner, they'll take whatever means necessary to do it. I would imagine that Edmonton just became a somewhat more favourable destination for players; they're willing to pay for talent and they're willing to do whatever's necessary to win.

I've never understood the whole RFA thing anyways. Why is it considered bad form to play by the rules? I hope that this changes the mentality of GMs around the NHL. RFA offer sheets should be a part of doing business, not some kind of terrible thing to do.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Its 5 years 50 million for Vanek??!!?? , Lowe , your a real *******. I hope Regier steals Hemsky away from you guys when hes an RFA.

[Guest DetroitIan]

Honestly, I didnt think Buffalo would match the offer. But I guess after losing all the talent they lost, it makes perfect sense that they didnt wanna give up Vanek. Nice try Edmonton. lol

[OsGOD 3]

Can't Vanek just not accept the offer and remain loyal to his current club? I mean Loyalty from players to orgs is key right?

[Hemmers 0]

Its 5 years 50 million for Vanek??!!?? , Lowe , your a real *******. I hope Regier steals Hemsky away from you guys when hes an RFA.

7-years 50 million, champ.

That's just a hair over 7 million a season for one of the best offensive young talents in the NHL. I'd happily pay that much if I were an NHL GM.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

7-years 50 million, champ.

That's just a hair over 7 million a season for one of the best offensive young talents in the NHL. I'd happily pay that much if I were an NHL GM.

I was just reading on TSN , hes gonna get 10 million next season. And no , Briere nor Vanek is worth 10 million , not even close. But thats what this new NHL is.

[Hemmers 0]

I was just reading on TSN , hes gonna get 10 million next season. And no , Briere nor Vanek is worth 10 million , not even close. But thats what this new NHL is.

5 million plus a 5 million signing bonus, and then the pay drops off towards the end.

The total contract is 50 million over 7 years.

[Kp-Wings 3]

The solution, I imagine, is to sign your RFAs before July 1st. What this has done is possibly shown teams around the NHL that locking up their RFAs before the 1st should be something of a priority.

Easier said than done though.

Let's say Hemsky has a career year and the Oilers win the Cup that same year. What is going to happen with those negotiations? Since the SCF's usually end somewhere in mid-June, that leaves about half a month to make a new deal. Knowing these guys will want as much money as they can get, they will continue to sit on their hands until they have a deal which they really like.

By that time, most likely, it will be past July 1st, and another team will be in the works of throwing an offer sheet at said player (in this case, Hemsky). The offer sheet will be made, and if Lowe chooses to match, he'll end up probably overpaying for him.

It's not easy locking up the top RFA's for certain teams, because these guys usually have career years and want a lot of money that team management is not willing to give. Having another team throw offer sheets forces them to eventually do that anyways, but screws up any other plans the team has. I don't know what exactly Buffalo had planned after losing Briere and Drury. Considering the market has been drained in less then a week, probably just play rookies or nothing was planned at all.

[Bannedforlife 403]

Since Buffalo has matched the offer, can Vanek now choose to go to whichever club he prefers?

[Matt 1,049]

I hope Regier steals Hemsky away from you guys when hes an RFA.

Hemsky won't ever have RFA status. He'll go straight UFA.

Why all the backlash on the RFAs? They *are* restricted free agents for a reason. With a cap these players can now legitmately come into play on the free agent market. You're watching the start of a trend.

[Hemmers 0]

Easier said than done though.

Let's say Hemsky has a career year and the Oilers win the Cup that same year. What is going to happen with those negotiations? Since the SCF's usually end somewhere in mid-June, that leaves about half a month to make a new deal. Knowing these guys will want as much money as they can get, they will continue to sit on their hands until they have a deal which they really like.

By that time, most likely, it will be past July 1st, and another team will be in the works of throwing an offer sheet at said player (in this case, Hemsky). The offer sheet will be made, and if Lowe chooses to match, he'll end up probably overpaying for him.

It's not easy locking up the top RFA's for certain teams, because these guys usually have career years and want a lot of money that team management is not willing to give. Having another team throw offer sheets forces them to eventually do that anyways, but screws up any other plans the team has. I don't know what exactly Buffalo had planned after losing Briere and Drury. Considering the market has been drained in less then a week, probably just play rookies or nothing was planned at all.

Well, Hemsky as an example is maybe not the best. The guy will, I would not doubt, take an Iginla-like paycut in order to stay in Edmonton. He's said multiple times that this is where he started his career and this is where he wants to end it. Also bear in mind that tossing an offer sheet out doesn't mean you get the player for nothing; if someone decides to offer Hemsky 5-6 million/season, the Oilers don't bat an eye and will quite happily match it. The only time RFA sheets are a problem is if a team ridiculously overvalues a player and in which case, the team gets the draft pick compensation instead. Not that we really want more draft picks in Edmonton (no more Bonsignoire, or Bustamakki), but the system works. Just no one's really used it to any great extent before.

I'm not worried, though, is the bottom line. Someone wants to toss a 6 million/year offer sheet at Hemsky, if the organization feels he's worth that much, we'll pay it.

-John

[Matt 1,049]

Since Buffalo has matched the offer, can Vanek now choose to go to whichever club he prefers?

No, that's why they're restricted. If Buffalo matches the offer he's a Sabre.

[Hemmers 0]

Hemsky won't ever have RFA status. He'll go straight UFA.

Why all the backlash on the RFAs? They *are* restricted free agents for a reason. With a cap these players can no legitmately come into play on the free agent market. You're watching the start of a trend.

Exactly. Personally, this makes the NHL a whole lot more interesting. I imagine you'll see a flurry of GMs making ridiculous RFA offers sine they're not really used to it, and eventually the market will settle down when RFAs become something normal. It's high time that this happened; to hell with the 'gentleman's club' idea of not throwing out offer sheets, the option is there for a reason, let's make use of it.

-John

[Matt 1,049]

...if someone decides to offer Hemsky 5-6 million/season, the Oilers don't bat an eye and will quite happily match it. The only time RFA sheets are a problem is if a team ridiculously overvalues a player and in which case, the team gets the draft pick compensation instead....

Hemsky is a bad example. He's hitting year 2 in a 6-year deal in 2007-08. When it's done he'll be an UFA.

[Dabura 12,232]

Vanek's a beast, and he's only going to get better. But I think that's too much for him.

Penner's still available.

[Hemmers 0]

Hemsky is a bad example. He's hitting year 2 in a 6-year deal in 2007-08. When it's done he'll be an UFA.

I know, but just using the example that was already provided.

A better example would be Jarret Stoll. He turns RFA next year; Buffalo offers him 4 million/season, we match it quite happily (assuming he continues developing the way he has been). Much more than that, we take the draft picks and laugh at them.

-John

[Matt 1,049]

Exactly. Personally, this makes the NHL a whole lot more interesting. I imagine you'll see a flurry of GMs making ridiculous RFA offers sine they're not really used to it, and eventually the market will settle down when RFAs become something normal. It's high time that this happened; to hell with the 'gentleman's club' idea of not throwing out offer sheets, the option is there for a reason, let's make use of it.

Heck, not using it or GMs having some kind of loose agreement not to exploit it is borderline collusion.

I do think it will help quell any ridiculously wild expenditures around July 1st on UFAs -- but someone has to get hit hard first. The Rangers, for example. If Lundqvist would sign a large offer sheet with another club the Rangers could be paying dearly for nabbing Drury and Gomez early on. It won't affect all big-spenders, but it will make some teams think twice.

I wonder how hard the Buffalo front office is kicking themselves for not wrapping up Vanek in a nice $4-5M deal recently? Ouch.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Well, Hemsky as an example is maybe not the best. The guy will, I would not doubt, take an Iginla-like paycut in order to stay in Edmonton. He's said multiple times that this is where he started his career and this is where he wants to end it. Also bear in mind that tossing an offer sheet out doesn't mean you get the player for nothing; if someone decides to offer Hemsky 5-6 million/season, the Oilers don't bat an eye and will quite happily match it. The only time RFA sheets are a problem is if a team ridiculously overvalues a player and in which case, the team gets the draft pick compensation instead. Not that we really want more draft picks in Edmonton (no more Bonsignoire, or Bustamakki), but the system works. Just no one's really used it to any great extent before.

I'm not worried, though, is the bottom line. Someone wants to toss a 6 million/year offer sheet at Hemsky, if the organization feels he's worth that much, we'll pay it.

-John

Honestly though, I couldn't think of anyone else in Edmonton that's a young, and is a good player right now. As you said, I have never seen a team draft as bad as Edmonton does. Drafting guys like Niinimakii and Mike Henrich make me wonder why you even bother having a scouting staff.