Crosby signs five-year extension

[toby91_ca 620]

well hes the best player so i guess you can hes worth it .........i just find it funny that he said he was willing to take less money so the team can sign malkin staal and others .......

i dont know about you guys but taking 1 million less a year just doesnt sound like much of a sacrifice to me , i was expecting him to take 7.5-8 million a year , now if malkin gets a 100 pts hes gonna be asking for at least close to 7 , staal will be askin for 5-6 per when his big deal comes in a few years, thats like 22 million along with ryan whiney for 4 guys and they still gotta sign fleury who will get 4-5, i think in a few years angelo esposito will be traded , they wont be able to keep everyone

He probably would have gotten offers from several other teams for $10.06 million per year, he accepted a contract that pays him $8.6 million or close to $1.5 million less. I think that is a fairly healthy discount (15%).

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

8.75 is a good price for a guy like Sidney

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Crosby gets 8.7, and Feaster STILL looks like a ****** bag for giving Richards 7.8

This is a hometown discount for the Pens for sure. But then again, you gotta wonder at what point does an extra 1.9 matter when your endorsements are only going to increase with more exposure.

[eva unit zero 271]

well hes the best player so i guess you can hes worth it .........i just find it funny that he said he was willing to take less money so the team can sign malkin staal and others .......

i dont know about you guys but taking 1 million less a year just doesnt sound like much of a sacrifice to me , i was expecting him to take 7.5-8 million a year , now if malkin gets a 100 pts hes gonna be asking for at least close to 7 , staal will be askin for 5-6 per when his big deal comes in a few years, thats like 22 million along with ryan whiney for 4 guys and they still gotta sign fleury who will get 4-5, i think in a few years angelo esposito will be traded , they wont be able to keep everyone

Malkin might get 7m on his next deal, but Staal won't be making 5-6 million for at least a couple seasons. Staal is a center, which means he'll play behind Crosby and Malkin, or move to wing. It's more likely he stays at center at least for the next year or two. Which means he won't be able to demand the 5-6m you think he'll be getting for a couple years after that.

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

Crosby gets 8.7, and Feaster STILL looks like a ****** bag for giving Richards 7.8

This is a hometown discount for the Pens for sure. But then again, you gotta wonder at what point does an extra 1.9 matter when your endorsements are only going to increase with more exposure.

its 5 yrs 45million , thats 9 per year ......hes basically just losing out on 1 million .........now im not saying hes not worth the money im just saying he was gonna take a discount to help the team keep the kids and im just saying 1 million off the cap a season doesnt sound like much a discount to me , i was expecting 7.5 to 8 per

Malkin might get 7m on his next deal, but Staal won't be making 5-6 million for at least a couple seasons. Staal is a center, which means he'll play behind Crosby and Malkin, or move to wing. It's more likely he stays at center at least for the next year or two. Which means he won't be able to demand the 5-6m you think he'll be getting for a couple years after that.

malkin isnt a centerman, staal is on the 2nd line if he got 29 goals in his first year as an 18 yr old and in 2 yrs time is getting 40 goals a season you dont think a team will offer him 5 mill per at least when hes a restricted free agent ?? Look at what edmonton just did , if they still have problems getting players there in a few yrs i cant see why they wouldnt offer staal a crazy deal if hes producing , when his entry contract is done he can be making 5 mill per

[A.T.Hun 0]

its 5 yrs 45million , thats 9 per year ......hes basically just losing out on 1 million .........now im not saying hes not worth the money im just saying he was gonna take a discount to help the team keep the kids and im just saying 1 million off the cap a season doesnt sound like much a discount to me , i was expecting 7.5 to 8 per

You were expecting him to sign for 75% of a max deal? He would have had to be out of his mind to do that. He won the Hart, he's their captain, and he's as marketable of a young star as you will ever hope to find. Even a union as dysfunctional as the NHLPA would have someone sit down with him if he even dreamed of signing for $7.5/per.

This is a great way to say "thank you" to the city of Pittsburgh and to prove that they are serious about competing. I'd imagine that more than a few season tickets will be sold on the basis of this news, to say nothing of jerseys.

[eva unit zero 271]

malkin isnt a centerman, staal is on the 2nd line if he got 29 goals in his first year as an 18 yr old and in 2 yrs time is getting 40 goals a season you dont think a team will offer him 5 mill per at least when hes a restricted free agent ?? Look at what edmonton just did , if they still have problems getting players there in a few yrs i cant see why they wouldnt offer staal a crazy deal if hes producing , when his entry contract is done he can be making 5 mill per

Malkin centered Gary Roberts and Michel Ouellet last season. He took 728 faceoffs, ood for third on the Pens. He won a higher percentage of faceoffs than Staal, and won almost as many as Staal TOOK. Not sure where you get this 'Malkin isn't a centerman' stuff.

If Staal is scoring 40 goals per season by the time he's an RFA in two years, I wouldn't be shocked to see him making 5-6m. But he likely won't be scoring that much unless he is moved to wing, Malkin is traded, or Malkin suddenly starts sucking. In the first scenario, 2m of Gary Roberts' 2.5 can be transferred over to Staal (the rest can buy a cheap 3rd line center), and then it's only an increase of less than a million. In the second scenario, Malkin is traded and then his 7m doesn't matter. In the third scenario, Malkin won't be making a big salary, so the Pens aren't in cap trouble.

Edit: Also, Gonchar's 5m will come off the payroll around the time Malkin and Staal are looking at big contracts. That will certainly help, as Whitney is already locked up long-term.

Edited July 10, 2007 by eva unit zero

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

You were expecting him to sign for 75% of a max deal? He would have had to be out of his mind to do that. He won the Hart, he's their captain, and he's as marketable of a young star as you will ever hope to find. Even a union as dysfunctional as the NHLPA would have someone sit down with him if he even dreamed of signing for $7.5/per.

This is a great way to say "thank you" to the city of Pittsburgh and to prove that they are serious about competing. I'd imagine that more than a few season tickets will be sold on the basis of this news, to say nothing of jerseys.

im not saying he aint worth the money im just saying he was gonna take a discount to help the team keep the guys together , 1 million discount per doesnt sound like much of a discount to me thats all

Malkin centered Gary Roberts and Michel Ouellet last season. He took 728 faceoffs, ood for third on the Pens. He won a higher percentage of faceoffs than Staal, and won almost as many as Staal TOOK. Not sure where you get this 'Malkin isn't a centerman' stuff.

If Staal is scoring 40 goals per season by the time he's an RFA in two years, I wouldn't be shocked to see him making 5-6m. But he likely won't be scoring that much unless he is moved to wing, Malkin is traded, or Malkin suddenly starts sucking. In the first scenario, 2m of Gary Roberts' 2.5 can be transferred over to Staal (the rest can buy a cheap 3rd line center), and then it's only an increase of less than a million. In the second scenario, Malkin is traded and then his 7m doesn't matter. In the third scenario, Malkin won't be making a big salary, so the Pens aren't in cap trouble.

Edit: Also, Gonchar's 5m will come off the payroll around the time Malkin and Staal are looking at big contracts. That will certainly help, as Whitney is already locked up long-term.

i checked sportsnet.ca and he wasnt listed as a center ......regardless i think its a matter of time before staal and malkin play together.If staal scored 29 goals in his 1st year with no malkin or crosby what makes you so sure in 2 years time he cant get a 40 goal season ?? im not saying he will but i think its a good possibility

I understand gonachars numbers will be off and wil help but its still a nice chunk of money going into 5 guys

assuming .....

crosby 9

malkin 7

staal 5

whiney 4

fleury 4

29 million on 4 guys , assuming they go to the max , theyd have 20 million to fill out the team , can be done but it'll be hard

[toby91_ca 620]

im not saying he aint worth the money im just saying he was gonna take a discount to help the team keep the guys together , 1 million discount per doesnt sound like much of a discount to me thats all

i checked sportsnet.ca and he wasnt listed as a center ......regardless i think its a matter of time before staal and malkin play together.If staal scored 29 goals in his 1st year with no malkin or crosby what makes you so sure in 2 years time he cant get a 40 goal season ?? im not saying he will but i think its a good possibility

I understand gonachars numbers will be off and wil help but its still a nice chunk of money going into 5 guys

assuming .....

crosby 9

malkin 7

staal 5

whiney 4

fleury 4

29 million on 4 guys , assuming they go to the max , theyd have 20 million to fill out the team , can be done but it'll be hard

Crosby is $8.7, not $9, he signed a 5 year, $43.5 million deal (not $45 million). Assuming everyone else gets what you suggest, that would leave them with $21.6 million to sign 18 more guys, assuming the cap doesn't move at all (likely to move at least a little bit, but not much). This would be about $1.2 million per player. I think that is quite doable.

However, even if Crosby played for free, I doubt all of Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Fleury stick together too far into the future.

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

Crosby is $8.7, not $9, he signed a 5 year, $43.5 million deal (not $45 million). Assuming everyone else gets what you suggest, that would leave them with $21.6 million to sign 18 more guys, assuming the cap doesn't move at all (likely to move at least a little bit, but not much). This would be about $1.2 million per player. I think that is quite doable.

However, even if Crosby played for free, I doubt all of Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Fleury stick together too far into the future.

my bad tsn changed the numbers it was 45 mill for 5 yrs before ........if crosby played for free .......trust me theyd all stick together lol only guy who might ...."might" leave is fleury if he tanks in the post season

Edited July 10, 2007 by kindlwillbegreat

[Kp-Wings 3]

The Penguins could have given Crosby a 12 year contract, and that would have been considered a fair deal. If DiPietro can get 15 years, shouldn't Crosby get somewhere close to that?

Regardless, it's still a good deal on Pittsburgh's end. 5 years is low risk, and as far as Sid is involved, there's no real risk to it. He's a fantastic hockey player.

[jagr68 0]

He took a hometown discount. He could have signed for more than a million.

He's my favorite player, and I am somewhat disappointed that he only signed for 5 years. But you only get one NHL career, so I assume he figures, why not leave his options open. Things change quick in sports. In 5 years, maybe a few bad GM moves put Pittsburgh down in the basement again, and he may not want to stay there anymore. In 5 years, they may have won a Cup or two, and maybe he'll resign. So I guess I can't blame him. Can't always predict correctly how things will be in five years.

It's been said though, his childhood dream was to play for Montreal. So I wouldn't rule that out. Whether he's 25 or 30, I can see it happening. I wish he was like Mario and Yzerman, to stay with the team that drafted them. Only time will tell though. He's not the only one. Lecavalier is another who said his dream was to play for Montreal. So maybe we'll see a 25yr old Sid and a 32 or 33yr old Lecavalier dominating in Montreal?

When you consider guys like Gomez, Drury, Briere, and Vanek's crazy offer match, Crosby is a huge steal. None of those guys even average over a point per game in there career. I believe Drury has never had a point per game and Briere, once or twice, same with Gomez. I think Ryan Smyth is over paid. Brad Richards had a great year the other year and earns close to 8 million, and had quite the disappointing year this past season.

When you consider those guys and their offers, Crosby should be well worth over 10 million, easily. I'd say he took 2 million less than he is worth, on the market. The awards he has won. The records he has set. He dominates every game he plays, almost. He is easily taking more than a million dollar discount.

If the core group of guys (Crosby, Staal, Malkin, Whitney, Fleury, and possibly Esposito) wish to stay together they can. Crosby has set the bar. He took atleast 15% less, realistically about 20% less then his market worth. If each of those guys takes 15% less also, there is no reason they can't stay together, while being paid faily high but still have enough cash to pay some decent role players around them for a solid team. Don't forget, in 5 years, Gonchar most likely won't be playing, and if he is, he surely won't be earning 5 million a year. And there is reason to believe the cap could go up a slight bit every year. Nothing to drastic, but every small increase will help.

The biggest question though, is not if the Pens will stay together. But when will Sid move out from Mario's house and open his checkbook and buy a home of his own! Can't blame him though, to live in a mansion rent -free is a good deal, but it's even better to live with the greatest hockey player that ever played, Mario.

[Flip-check 6]

No way, Sid isn't worth that.

Samuelsson and Lilja is my highest bid!

A used Lilja stick and the two goal pucks from Sammy's SJ playoff game.

Get it done Kenny.

[Guest jaytan]

It would make the league look bad if he left Pittsburgh so soon. But let's see if they can keep him after this contract is up!

[BeeRYCE 2]

Crosby is already making the mad bucks with endorsements. He's making 3 million from each Reebok and Gatorade amongst others like Pepsi, Sherwood, Upper Deck, Timbits Hockey, etc.

So with him making 9M for 5 years, that would grant him 15-20M per year including endorsements.

[toby91_ca 620]

The biggest question though, is not if the Pens will stay together. But when will Sid move out from Mario's house and open his checkbook and buy a home of his own! Can't blame him though, to live in a mansion rent -free is a good deal, but it's even better to live with the greatest hockey player that ever played, Mario.

I think he plans on living with Mario for one more year.

Though, he already bought a house of his own in Nova Scotia.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I think he plans on living with Mario for one more year.

Though, he already bought a house of his own in Nova Scotia.

I hope it has a big enough garage for his BMW fetish That kid lurrrrvs BMW's.

[StarsWingsFan 0]

I think he plans on living with Mario for one more year.

Though, he already bought a house of his own in Nova Scotia.

I would understand why he would want to live in the Lemieux household, but why wouldn't he want his own house in Pittsburgh?

[Elshupacabra 0]

that dosen't seem like that long of a contract to me, in this day and age anyways

I thought they would sign him to a Dipietro ish contract...some amazing amount of time

Edited July 11, 2007 by Elshupacabra

[toby91_ca 620]

that dosen't seem like that long of a contract to me, in this day and age anyways

I thought they would sign him to a Dipietro ish contract...some amazing amount of time

The Pens were prepared to give him 10 years.

5 years should be a pretty long term deal in this environment (cap and all, uncertainty of where it will be in the future, etc.), but for whatever reason, there have been a lot of 6,7 and 8 year contracts thrown out there.

[jagr68 0]

Oh yeah, no question.

The Pens wanted 10 years. I bet they would have went to 15.

It was Sid and his agent that most likely offered up the 5 years.

Part of me worries thats his way of leaving after 5 years for Montreal...

Or, a smart move, to basicaly say, long as things are going well, they have a chance to resign him. If they signed him for 10 or 15 years, he's stuck there no matter how bad the Pens. Whether he's won 5 Cups or zero Cups. It isn't likely they will be a basement team in 5 years, but you never know. Just wants to keep his options open, so the GM is going to have to make good moves to keep him happy.

But yeah, he's making some awesome money. Not as much as NBA or MLB players and their crazy contracts, but for a NHL player, his new contract plus his endorsements, makes you wonder if he's the highest paid NHLer in it's history when you combine them both?