Chara

[Nhurdi 42]

http://www.csnne.com/10/01/10/Contract-talks-heating-up-for-Chara/v1_landing_bruins.html?blockID=322406&feedID=5364

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – There were reports in recent days Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara was “pretty close” to coming to an agreement on a contract extension prior to the start of the NHL season in Prague.

CSNNE.com has confirmed both sides have raised their level of conversations about a contract for the captain, but the 33-year-old Chara said things still have to be pushed along a bit before both player and hockey franchise could come to accord on a new deal for the B’s defenseman.

So to simplify: talks are heating up on a contract with Big Z, but the big bowl of Chara soup isn’t quite ready for serving.

Chara is ideally looking for something that would allow him to play until the age of 45, but that would mean an 11-year deal for the Slovakian defenseman. A lengthy contract like that is not exactly an easy sell to the NHL after an arbitrator roundly rejected the Ilya Kovalchuk contract – a deal based on the assumption that NHL players can continue skating in the NHL well north of their 40th birthday.

Whether a new contract would take Chara through that length or would simply be another deal similar to the five-year contract he originally signed with Boston, the B’s defenseman said there a few more days before his season-opening deadline comes into play.

“We’re not on the exact same track,” said Chara of contract talks. “But we’re talking and we’ll see how it goes. Obviously I don’t want to have it bother me during the season, so we have a few days left."

Chara wouldn't rule out the 11-year mega-deal that would take him through his 45th birthday, and put the notorious conditioning nut in the same hockey category as the ageless Chris Chelios.

“We’ll see," said Chara. "I’m open to any kind of proposal and for sure my goal is to play beyond 40 or 42 and play until I’m 45.”

With Chara hoping to play until the age of 45, and in doing so, blow the minds of both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the arbiter behind the Ilya Kovalchuk decision, the door is still left wide open that something with the Bruins could see him coming to terms on a “retirement contract” over the next week.

Obviously he has not been paying attention to what has been going on this summer.

[Guest Crymson]

If the Bruins want to lose several draft picks and a few million dollars in fines, offering Chara the contract he's looking for would be an excellent course of action.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

If the Bruins want to lose several draft picks and a few million dollars in fines, offering Chara the contract he's looking for would be an excellent course of action.

There is no way the Bruins can circumvent the cap with a long term deal. The CBA has been amended to keep things like the Kovalchuk deal from happening.

Also, Chara would be stupid to ask for an 11 year deal. He may not even make it to 45.

[Guest Shoreline]

Sure, the Bruins should write him the contract. Make it back-heavy, so he gets the least amount of money for the first handful of seasons. If he intends to play that long, surely this won't be an issue. But because this is surely a money grab and johnny-come-too-late attempt at jumping on the crazy CBA-circumventing contract bandwagon, obviously he wouldn't go for it.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Do giraffes live that long?

[VM1138 1,921]

Sometimes I think athletes live in a fantasy land where reality has no meaning.

[Carman 387]

Sometimes I think athletes live in a fantasy land where reality has no meaning.

Eh, it's their income and salary. We would all try to get the most we could as well. Now if he doesn't take a decent deal and bails to the KHL then I'll judge him.

But all he's doing there is keeping his options open.

[Datsyerberger 279]

Whether its ruled cap circumvention or not depends on how its done. For example, if its like 3 mil each year til he's 45, well, the NHL may give the Bruins a case of the funny eyes, but if Chara is confident he wants to play to that age...

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

Sometimes I think athletes live in a fantasy land where reality has no meaning.

No. Their agents do.

[VM1138 1,921]

Eh, it's their income and salary. We would all try to get the most we could as well. Now if he doesn't take a decent deal and bails to the KHL then I'll judge him.

But all he's doing there is keeping his options open.

I understand wanting the most you can get, but none of us would walk into negotiations for any job and demand a billion dollars over 123 years and expect to be taken seriously.

[Carman 387]

I understand wanting the most you can get, but none of us would walk into negotiations for any job and demand a billion dollars over 123 years and expect to be taken seriously.

Good thing 11 does not equal 123.

[Guest Stolberg]

belfast is a hotbed of hockey news

[Guest Crymson]

There is no way the Bruins can circumvent the cap with a long term deal. The CBA has been amended to keep things like the Kovalchuk deal from happening.

They'd be severely fined for even trying, just as the Devils were.

[Nev 1,085]

belfast is a hotbed of hockey news

Hey, Theo Fleury played there!

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Jim Thomson was on TSN's OTR yesterday and ranked him as the best fighter in the League today.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Jim Thomson was on TSN's OTR yesterday and ranked him as the best fighter in the League today.

I hope you're not referring to Chara.

Each time he fights a true heavy, he resorts to losing his balance at the first moment of trouble, in order to avoid getting beat. He's a pansy, unless he's fighting some middleweight or non-fighter.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

They'd be severely fined for even trying, just as the Devils were.

Do you even know what the CBA will do to long term contracts, now?

They can't circumvent it. They won't be fined for a long term deal.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

I hope you're not referring to Chara.

That's what he said.

[VM1138 1,921]

Good thing 11 does not equal 123.

Good thing you're so good at catching exaggeration. In hockey, his career will long be over by the end of the contract. Thus the comparison to 123. If I kept with the 11 years for a regular person in a job, it wouldn't have made sense.

[Carman 387]

Good thing you're so good at catching exaggeration. In hockey, his career will long be over by the end of the contract. Thus the comparison to 123. If I kept with the 11 years for a regular person in a job, it wouldn't have made sense.

You don't know that. He hasn't really had any major injuries yet, and has consistently played 70+ games. If a team is willing to give him that contract more power to him.

Blame the teams, not the player. Hockey is a tough game, they deserve their money especially when he is a proven Norris candidate.

[Buppy 1,720]

Whether its ruled cap circumvention or not depends on how its done. For example, if its like 3 mil each year til he's 45, well, the NHL may give the Bruins a case of the funny eyes, but if Chara is confident he wants to play to that age...

They'd be severely fined for even trying, just as the Devils were.

The long-term contract loophole is now closed. Boston could offer a fifty year deal if they want and it wouldn't circumvent the cap. For contracts over five years, any years when the player is 41 or over do not count toward the average value. And if the average of the three highest years are $5.75M or over, any years the player is between 36-40 will be valued at a minimum of $1M.

It simply isn't possible to circumvent the cap in the way the Kovalchuk deal did.