stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted October 19, 2010 (edited) So I've been doing some digging and I consider myself very well versed in the structure of the CBA and what means what, but one thing I have not been able to find, or figure out, are contract options. As many of us Tiger's fans are WELL aware of, this is heavily used in MLB for both player and team options (ie. Magglio Ordonez's last contract) - However, I am yet to see this utilized in the NHL... especially in a cap era, it only makes sense to me, that more GM's would structure contracts this way... For example - A team signs a player to a 4 year deal averaging 2.5m a year - In year 4, if the player: A. Gets X amount of points B. Plays in X amount of games C. Reaches both A and B then an automatic team option kicks in for year 5 and 6, then in year 7, there is a player option, etc, etc... obviously this could be structured a million ways... My point is, I know this is used pretty heavily for bonuses in the NHL, but I am yet to see actual contracts rely on these incentive base variables... Does anyone have any insight on this? Edited October 19, 2010 by stevkrause Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted October 19, 2010 So I've been doing some digging and I consider myself very well versed in the structure of the CBA and what means what, but one thing I have not been able to find, or figure out, are contract options. As many of us Tiger's fans are WELL aware of, this is heavily used in MLB for both player and team options (ie. Magglio Ordonez's last contract) - However, I am yet to see this utilized in the NHL... especially in a cap era, it only makes sense to me, that more GM's would structure contracts this way... For example - A team signs a player to a 4 year deal averaging 2.5m a year - In year 4, if the player: A. Gets X amount of points B. Plays in X amount of games C. Reaches both A and B then an automatic team option kicks in for year 5 and 6, then in year 7, there is a player option, etc, etc... obviously this could be structured a million ways... My point is, I know this is used pretty heavily for bonuses in the NHL, but I am yet to see actual contracts rely on these incentive base variables... Does anyone have any insight on this? I hate reading through the CBA, so I'm not going to at the moment, but I'm pretty sure contracts with player or team options are not allowed. Also, with respect to bonuses, I think these are actually very limited under the CBA vs. your coment that they are used prety heavily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted October 19, 2010 I hate reading through the CBA, so I'm not going to at the moment, but I'm pretty sure contracts with player or team options are not allowed. Also, with respect to bonuses, I think these are actually very limited under the CBA vs. your coment that they are used prety heavily. If options are disallowed, that would make perfect sense why we don't see these and that's basically what I was thinking, but I did not see it anywhere in the CBA when looking through it, that's why I thought it was odd... As for bonuses, there are a pretty considerable amount of incentive based bonuses in the game today, so... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nhurdi 42 Report post Posted October 20, 2010 An option could be useful for those long term contracts. If Chara wants to play till he is 45 or something for example give him a contract till he is 40, with an option that if he hits x points, plays x minutes, and x games that the contact is extended. Then the onus in on the player to reach those goals if he really wants to play that long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wombat 26 Report post Posted October 20, 2010 If options are disallowed, that would make perfect sense why we don't see these and that's basically what I was thinking, but I did not see it anywhere in the CBA when looking through it, that's why I thought it was odd... As for bonuses, there are a pretty considerable amount of incentive based bonuses in the game today, so... I agree with Toby that I'm fairly certain that the NHL does not allow option years... my guess is that since the cap hit for a player is the total contract value divided by the number of years, option years would make this calculation impossible (since you wouldn't know the "real" number of years and dollars until the end of the contract). Bonuses in the NHL are very limited... again going by memory, I think bonuses are only allowed on entry-level contracts, and for 1-year contracts to players over the age of 35. I do not think any other player situation can have a contract with bonuses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Konnan511 1,736 Report post Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) There are no options, player or team. Bonuses are only used for rookies/ELC/1yr vet contracts and they can range from goals assists points or playoff performances. Toews playoff bonus can from a bonus provision in his ELC since his extension did not kick in until after that current season. Edited October 20, 2010 by Konnan511 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted October 21, 2010 An option could be useful for those long term contracts. If Chara wants to play till he is 45 or something for example give him a contract till he is 40, with an option that if he hits x points, plays x minutes, and x games that the contact is extended. Then the onus in on the player to reach those goals if he really wants to play that long. Wouldn't really be useful since such a contract to go to age 45 is structured in a way that the player essentially gets all his money in the early years and with low payments in the late years, the cap hit comes down. There really is no incentive to the player to keep playing. If you put bigger dollars in the later years to add more incentive to keep player, it really defeats the purpose of the contract structured to lower the cap hit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
