Yzerman191

Maybe this has been mentioned already, but I personally don't see the need for a limit on contract length. If they want to address the issue of circumventing the salary cap by adding on additional years at the end of the contract, just change the rules going forward to make the cap hit for each year be that of the player's salary for that year. That would end the signing bonuses and the cap circumvention, but would still allow players to sign lifelong contracts for the sake of security.

Due to the desperation around the board to obtain Parise and Suter, really the only two high profile UFAs this year, I've seen figures all over the place on how high Holland should go. Realistically, what are they worth? When should Holland just walk away?

Ryan Suter has never finished top three (or even top five) in Norris voting. Maybe he's just underrated, but last year, for example, he finished 15th in Norris voting. The most points he's ever had in a season is just 46 - one might say he's similar in offensive capabilities to Kronwall or Wideman, both of whom are around ~$5M. He's also largely considered to be the second best defenseman on his own team (which isn't necessarily a knock on him). With that said, he's a big hitter, has a great shot, and is only 27 years old. If push comes to shove, what is he worth? Is he worth the $7M+ that is being thrown around? Is he worth more than Chara, Keith, or Weber?

Zach Parise is three seasons removed from scoring in the 40-goal/90-point range. He had 69 points last year in the regular season (his first after a huge knee injury), and just 15 points in 24 playoff games. His 31 goals are just 6 more than Hudler's 25, and 2 more than Franzen's (the LGW scapegoat) 29. Parise has a great work ethic, and is also known for his two-way game. However, one might argue (again) that he's not even the best forward on his own team, and his accomplishments to date don't rank him up with the league's elite. People have put huge price tags on his head - $7.5M-8M. Is he worth it? Crosby is rumored to be looking for $9M, Stamkos is locked up at $7.5M, Kovalchuk is locked up long term for $6.7M, etc. How high is too high? When does Ken Holland walk away, and think about pursuing Perry, Getzlaf, Iginla, etc. the following year?

What do you think?

This is one of my biggest problems with the NHL's disciplinary philosophy; had Ovechkin tore his ACL or MCL from that very same hit, it would be front page news and people would already be talking about suspensions rivaling anything we've seen thus far this year. However, because Ovechkin was able to get up from the hit without being seriously injured, it's unlikely Cooke gets a suspension at all. Suspensions should be dealt with little regard to resultant injury and a primary focus on the intent.

Getzlaf is definitely in the top fifteen players. Better than Kane and Nash, anyway.

It's not really a valid comparison to compare UFAs and RFAs. Crosby never touched unrestricted free agency (and likely never will), and nor did Ovechkin. Had either one of them been UFAs, they likely would have been offered contracts for the league maximum from multiple teams. Also, they both signed a couple of years ago and contracts have been on the rise.

One could make the argument that Kovalchuk is the best player to reach unrestricted free agency in the modern era, and certainly post-lockout. When was the last time a player of Kovalchuk's talents, having just turned 27 years old, hit the open market, available to the highest bidder? I can't remember such an occasion.

A silent agreement is not 'exploiting a loophole', it is outright cheating. Front-loading a contract that you expect to be fulfilled is exploiting a loophole.

Historically and factoring in recent trends, 40 is on the order of 10-20 TIMES more likely than 44. You may think it's unlikely that Hank or Franzen will play out their contracts, but both cases are for more reasonable than expecting Kovy to play until 44.

Bottom line is a line needs to be drawn somewhere. Contracts to 50 or higher aren't far behind. Hell, the next 35 years might give us some major advancements in sports medicine...why not just tack on 15-20-30 extra years at $550k, get that cap hit nice and low. They can't just keep letting these deals get worse.

I know what you're saying; a player reaching 44 years old is much less likely than a player reaching 40 years old. I'm not saying that's not true; I'm simply saying that, either way, both scenarios are unlikely and probably involve these silent agreements - cheating. It's happening all over the league now, including (and partially pioneered by) our own team. The Red Wings are taking advantage of the same loophole that everybody on this forum seems so outraged about.

Also, I would argue that Kovalchuk is almost certainly going to be considered for the HOF. He just turned 27 years old and has already accumulated 642 points (338 being goals) in 621 games. He's top-15 in goals per game in the history of the league, and hasn't had a sub-40 goal season since 2002-2003. He definitely has a chance of reaching the 600-goal and 1,000-point milestones by the end of his career.

EDIT: BTW, in case anybody wanted to know, 47 players have ever reached 40 years of age, and 6 players have reached 44 years of age.

Why is it that Kovalchuk is so heavily speculated to go to the KHL? He turned down a 12 year, $102M contract from Atlanta, he's got a 10 year, $100M contract from the Islanders sitting on the table now, and the KHL offered him a 3 year contract worth $42M. He hasn't signed any of them! What part of that screams greedy Russian to anyone?

I was in Vancouver in February. Are you sure about that?

As soon as Vancouver is allowed to bypass the salary cap and assemble a roster exceeding $125M in payroll, I'll worry about his Olympic achievements. Until then, I'll remember that he doesn't have multiple Norris contenders in front of him, as well as forwards capable of keeping the puck from ever reaching the defensive zone to begin with. I honestly think any of the three goaltenders for team Canada could've won them gold. Thus, I don't really consider it that much of an achievement for him.

Some very strange signings today. Pittsburgh spends $9M on defense, yet their best winger is Kunitz with his 32 points. I know Crosby and Malkin are good, but they're certainly not Lemieux-esque (capable of making 50 goal scorers out of average players). I would've thought they'd sign a defenseman to replace Gonchar as well as a decent winger (Frolov, Kariya, Whitney) capable of generating at least SOME offense.

Also, Yzerman had a very strong day. He got rid of a pretty bad contract, resigned a franchise centerpiece, picked up a good goalie at a terrific price, and still has $25M in cap space.

Worst signing of the day has to be Boogaard. $1.6M for four years for a player who hasn't scored a goal since the 2005-2006 season, averages just over 5 minutes a night, and has yet to play a full NHL season. Oh, and he only has 18 fighting majors in the last two years. Ouch!

The truth lies somewhere in between the two claims made in this thread. The Blackhawks still have one of the best rosters in the league, studded with Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, etc. However, they're also losing about 60 goals from their depth players, putting a lot more pressure on their top guys. If injuries set in, or the top guys start to slump, they're not going to have as easy of a time making it up as they did last season.

Nonetheless, they will remain a contender and give us a solid run for the Central for the foreseeable future. I'm pretty convinced that's a good thing; a little competition might be beneficial for both teams, and will definitely make the season more enjoyable to watch.

I would love to see Modano sign here to finish his career; I think he can still be a productive 3rd line center. With that said, I can't see it happening. I posted something similar in another thread, but here's how I see things:

Almost definitely, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Hudler, Filppula, Bertuzzi, Holmstrom, Cleary, Helm, Draper, and Eaves will be on the roster. Abdelkader and Ritola are both signed for next year and cannot play in the AHL, and Miller will likely be resigned. That is already 14 players, before signing the gritty 4th liner Holland is looking for, which would make 15 players. That also makes a whopping seven players listed as natural centers (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Flip, Hudler, Draper, Helm, and Ritola).

Modano signing would give us 8 natural centers and 16 signed, non-AHL (without passing waivers) eligible forwards. It's likely Miller and maybe Ritola could be gone without a strong training camp, and Holland may not pick up a gritty 4th liner, but even so that still gives us 13 forwards with Modano after cutting three spots.

I just don't see it happening. It would be cool though.

Why are we resigning Miller?

We have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Hudler, Cleary, and Filppula as the top eight. Beyond that, we have Helm and Eaves who are far more impressive than Miller, as well as Abdelkader and this supposed gritty fourth line forward Holland is looking for. On top of that, we have Ritola, a center who can no longer play in the AHL without passing waivers, and Draper, who seems to have tremendous chemistry with Helm and Eaves.

By my count, that is 14 players BEFORE adding Miller. Where does he fit in? Who else might be the odd man (men) out?

People are hoping he'll sign here for $6M per year, eh? That equates to about what, $4M per year after taxes? How about $14M per year, tax free, to play in your home country and be close to family?

SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL offered Kovalchuk a $42 million, three-year deal in early June, according to a report in the Russian newspaper Sport-Express. He has not signed the deal. (Jun 24)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=1175

If this is true, you guys are going to love this:

Toews gets a 1.3 million bonus for winning the Conn. Because Chi was at cap, it will count against next year, so add that to their cap issues.

From James Duthie's twitter.

You guys are funny. You're letting that number (40) skew your opinions. If we had signed another defenseman with the same skill, stats, etc. for the same amount and the same length, but he was 30 years old instead of 40, you'd all be rejoicing. Age is just a number; his abilities are not that of a 40 year old. He is still better than 99% of the league and his salary is going to reflect that.

Also, his signing leaves this team with 11.6 million to spend, assuming the cap goes up to 58M. We'll have five D-men signed, including all of our top four. We'll have eight forwards signed, including all of the top players up for contracts. The only player left to re-sign that will make more than a million or so will be Holmstrom, and possibly Bertuzzi. We also have two very-capable goaltenders signed. IMO, we're in a pretty good spot.