Barrie 900 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 (edited) http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/7487180 Maybe someone can provide one good reason for Alex Ovechkin to sign a new contract with the Capitals before becoming a restricted free agent on July 1, because we sure can't think of any. Ovechkin, stuck in a hockey market in DC that's as irrelevant now as it was before the lockout and therefore denied a suitable stage to showcase his brilliance, isn't going to make more money by signing with the Caps than he would by inviting offer sheets this summer. Even if owner Ted Leonsis tries to make him the NHL's highest-paid player by offering a max contract of $10.3 million per season, the value of a max contract - 20 percent of the cap - will rise this summer in direct proportion to the anticipated 7-to-10-percent cap increase for 2008-09. Honestly, if Kevin Lowe believed Thomas Vanek to be worth four first-round draft picks last summer, any number of GMs with cap space to accommodate an annual hit of up to $10M per surely will feel the same way about the dynamic 22-year-old Ovechkin. He has registered 112 goals and 221 points in his first 184 NHL games. Memo to Brian Burke and all those who would howl at the thought of rival teams "poaching" another club's marquee player: Ovechkin does not belong to the Caps. Through no desire of his own, he merely is playing for Washington under a three-year, entry-level capped lease that will expire at the end of this season. He never chose to play in DC so much as he chose to play in the NHL rather than remain in Russia after the lockout. The Caps did nothing to earn Ovechkin other than being lousy in 2003-04 before then winning the Draft lottery to leapfrog both the 29th-overall Blackhawks and 30th-overall Penguins. That got them the first pick in what has become essentially a two-player draft, with Evgeni Malkin going second to Pittsburgh. The NHL surely would never admit such a thing, but getting Ovechkin into a marquee hockey market would benefit a league that's most identifiable now by a combination of cap-imposed mediocrity in the guise of parity and the absence of super teams. The Caps have averaged 74.2-percent capacity this season, the third-worst mark in the league behind Florida and Chicago. They're one of six teams in the NHL under 80 percent capacity thus far, one of 13 under 90 percent in a gate-receipts league. Hard Cap utopia, anyone? There's a new coach in Washington after two years of regressing under Glen Hanlon, and the guess is there will be a new GM, too, by the end of the season if George McPhee's team doesn't show marked progress between now and the end of the year. Amid all this uncertainty and performing in a backwater hockey room with talents designed for the big stage, why would Ovechkin commit now to remaining in Washington? Sinatra left Hoboken, didn't he? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't really argue with what is being said. Along with Ovechkin in Washington, there's to many top players in the South East Division. I know they have as much right as any other team to have them, but imagine how much better overall the League would be if, for example: Ovechkin was in Philly Lecavalier was in Montreal Staal was in Detroit St. Louis was in Toronto Richards was in Boston Jokinen was in Chicago Horton was in New York Justin Williams was in Colorado etc.. There's to much talent in crappy markets. It just goes to show you, again, there's probably about 4-6 to many teams in the NHL. I'm not saying what teams should go, but I can't imagine adding two more teams. Edited November 30, 2007 by Barrie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legionnaire11 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 holy moly... Where are you going to fit those contracts onto those teams? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 holy moly... Where are you going to fit those contracts onto those teams? Obviously financial situations would be different. I just find with all the problems the NHL has with attendance and teams making a profit, it's to bad so many good players are stuck in markets that don't give a damn about the game. Imaigne the Marketing opportunities if those players were in better markets? Atlanta's got some great talent as well, Hossa and Kovalchuk, it's to bad they're stuck there. Atlanta's is having serious financial problems too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legionnaire11 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 the real shame is that all of the stars are stuck in a league that nobody cares about. all of those markets have fans. they love their teams and players. All of the other NHL markets know those star players and enjoy seeing them. But with the lack of exposure that the NHL has, it's not like a Mats Sundin is widely known outside of hockey. Having Jaromir Jagr in New York hasn't saved the game. Sure people have some great suggestions on how to make the league better. Everyone has ideas about re-aligning divisions, relocating franchises, changing rules, changing the schedule, etc... but there is really only one solution to the NHL's problems. Get a better television contract in the states. There is a lot of talk about how much money the Canadian teams make for the league. Well, the NHL has a good television deal in Canada. Look at how well the NFL does financially. What is the salary cap there? like $80M? And their television deal basically provides each team with enough money for their cap. That's at least $2B that the league gets from television. So tickets and merchandise are all gravy for that league. Imagine if the NHL could just manage to land a $300M contract. That would kick in an extra $10M for each team, and I don't think anyone would be losing money at that point. Plus the exposure on a contract like that would do wonders for tickets and merchandise. Instead I think the VS deal is something like $60-70M... less than $2.5M per team. That is your main problem with the league right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jagr68 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 I see what you are saying, but not all the southern teams have bad markets. Tampa Bay's selling out every game. And one may say, well they have cheat seats. Realistically, so what? They make it affordable. I almost feel ripped off that I paid 76$ plus taxes, service charges, blah ($88 total) for a seat at last nights Wings game against Tampa that I would get in Tampa Bay for $40 or 50$. It's no secret the Wings attendence is poor. I heard people on here talk about it, but after going last night and seeing so many empty seats I couldn't believe it. I figured their would be more people. Tampa has been playing bad lately, but it's a team that by the NHL scheduling we won't see here for a while, and they have superstars like Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Richards. The Wings are getting smarter though. We heard them announce that when Florida, Carolina and some other team come to town they will have $1 hotdogs. That's quite the deal, seeing I paid $6 for two last night. But yeah, most teams, like you said, the Caps, have poor attendence. But Tampa for example, has great attendence. I do agree though, if they do expand it better not be to a southern market. But to Ovechkin, I have to agree. They better make some promises to him in the off season of signing some huge talent that can play with him otherwise he should leave. Sure he loves the area and the people that do like hockey there are huge fans of him. But with this guy's personality, his charisma, what he can do for the sport, he needs to be in a market that can get fans to attend games better than 75% capacity. As great as he is, he can't sell out that arena every night. This may or may not be true, but I heard the only consistant sell outs is when Crosby comes to town, and by watching the games on TV, seems many fans are actually Pens fans who made the drive. For the rest of his career, him and Crosby will be linked. RIght now, he knows Crosby has talent around him. And he knows Crosby has made the playoffs. The Pens are struggling, but they should turn things around and they probably won't put up as many points as last season, they most likely will squeeze in the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed. So he'll see Sid has two years of playoffs under his belt, meanwhile, it's just another year for him at the bottom and never seeing a playoff game starting his fourth year next season in Washington. I do feel bad for the Caps fans who attend the games and love hockey. But when you lack so much fan support, he should feel free to go to a great hockey market. Just imagine the hype if he does turn down a contract offer from the Caps. You can imagine a lot of teams will look at their budget and try to offer him a huge contract. Most teams can't afford him, but realistiically, any team can sign him in July and have until September or October to have their salary down to cap level. That allows two months of trades, releasing, or whatever it takes to free up salary. I'd love to see him go. Dream come true to have him go to the Pens, Wings, or Bolts, my favorite teams. But with the Bolts tieing 24 million or so to four guys, they won't. I can't see the Wings doing it, but anything is possible I guess. And the Pens, that would be the talk of the hockey world if they had Sid and Alex. The Pens don't want to pay that kind of money though. They don't want to spend a lot because they know they will have to pay some big bucks in a few years for guys like Malkin, Staal, and Fleury (although the way he's playing lately, maybe he won't demand as much?). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redwinger4747 6 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 The Caps did nothing to earn Ovechkin other than being lousy in 2003-04 before then winning the Draft lottery to leapfrog both the 29th-overall Blackhawks and 30th-overall Penguins. That got them the first pick in what has become essentially a two-player draft, with Evgeni Malkin going second to Pittsburgh. What did the Wings do to earn the 4th pick to get Steve Yzerman other than be a bad team the previous year? Thats how all high draft picks are decided. Similarly Pittsburgh earned the 2nd pick to take Malkin by being bad, and Chicago taking Kane, St. Louis taking E Johnson, etc. This is the NHL, not college when players can be recruited and chose where they go. This is how Pro Sports work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
some kid 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 In the case of the Caps, it's more the division alignments than the too many teams that is the problem as far as attendence and revenues are concerned. The Caps have been around ... 30 years I believe ... they're not new kids on the block, they're not a failed experiment like the Panthers or whatever. Take a look at this: http://japersrink.blogspot.com/2007/11/dis...nd-dollars.html Real eye-opener arguing for realignment. And ... I live in the DC-MD-PA area, and I can tell you that a good many people have at least some small inkling of who both Crosby and Ovechkin are, Ovechkin's talent isn't being wasted by being in a place that "doesn't care about hockey" or whatever, it's being wasted by a team that lacks identity and any real direction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shannyfan1414 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 I know it probably will never ever happen but i would much rather see AO play in detroit over Staal. IMO, I think that AO is the best two way player i have seen in some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
auxlepli 17 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 I loved this line. Hard Cap utopia, anyone? And the info about attendance throughout the League. The Caps have averaged 74.2-percent capacity this season, the third-worst mark in the league behind Florida and Chicago. They're one of six teams in the NHL under 80 percent capacity thus far, one of 13 under 90 percent in a gate-receipts league. Hey Gary what was that about the third straight year of record attendance? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedWings Gone Wild 6 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 And ... I live in the DC-MD-PA area, and I can tell you that a good many people have at least some small inkling of who both Crosby and Ovechkin are, Ovechkin's talent isn't being wasted by being in a place that "doesn't care about hockey" or whatever, it's being wasted by a team that lacks identity and any real direction. Either way, his talents are being wasted. Which is a shame. Realistically, I think Ovechkin is a better hockey player than Crosby, and if they both had a similar supporting cast I bet this would be apparent. I cringe to see Washington scores every day because I know they will score around 1-2 goals, and Ovechkin will usually be the only one scoring (I also feel bad for Kolzig who I think is a fantastically underrated goalie). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluedevils_13 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 Bob Seger for Ovechkin, straight up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lou_Siffer 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 Bob Seger for Ovechkin, straight up. If Bob Seger were a goalie, i bet he'd play like a rock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluedevils_13 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2007 If Bob Seger were a goalie, i bet he'd play like a rock. He'd be clutch in the playoffs because of his night moves.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lou_Siffer 1 Report post Posted December 1, 2007 He'd be clutch in the playoffs because of his night moves.... Hockey has to be Seger's sport, cause we know football isnt. Every coin toss he'd win he'd always choose to go against the wind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnoldbuck 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2007 Haha, Lou and Blue, haha ... Brutal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
irishtemper14+25 11 Report post Posted December 2, 2007 man i wouldnt mind if seger was our goalie....cuz if he didnt win hed be a beautiful loser Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theman19 47 Report post Posted December 2, 2007 If Bob Seger were a goalie, i bet he'd play like a rock. hey i'd be all for it, if he had a bad game he could easily turn the page that's right theman19 for the win. top that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
