A Case of the Mondays: Kovy Commits, Gagne Moved
by Hayley on Jul 19, 2010 3:11 PM PDT
24 comments
After a couple weeks of nothing to report aside from minor deals and signings following the opening of NHL free agency, it would seem the floodgates have opened today, if only briefly. Ilya Kovalchuk signed a monster 17-year deal to remain with the New Jersey Devils today--leaving many fans wondering where the cash to re-sign Zach Parise will come from--and the Lightning landed former Flyer Simon Gagne in exchange for defenceman Matt Walker and a 4th round pick in next year's draft. Meanwhile, the Flames have been busy locking up their RFAs; Kris Chucko, Gord Baldwin, Matt Keetley, and Matt Pelech have all been signed and Gaelan Patterson has also been inked to his first entry-level deal with the club, which now has 44 players under contract for next season [Cap Geek]. With both the Heat and the Flames' rosters beginning to take shape, the next step is prospect camp, beginning next week. I hope to be able to attend a few sessions and report back on my findings if it fits my schedule. Stay tuned for updates!
Links after the jump.
Flyers, Devils, and Lightning fans react to today's news [Broad Street Hockey] [In Lou We Trust] [Raw Charge]
What will the fall-out of Kovalchuck's enormous deal be, if any? [The Hockey Writers]
Leafs fans react to the new that Kovy won't be representing the blue & white next season [Pension Plan Puppets]
Gabe from Behind the Net is very confused about the Flyers' activity this summer, and he's not the only one
Kent evaluates the remaining dregs of 2010's free agent pool, some of which should not be overlooked [FlamesNation] and tackles the intricacies of scouting [Five Hole Fanatics]
The week ahead at Dome Beers
Arik shares the story of how building good karma can result in encounters with NHL stars [4th Line Blog]
The Copper & Blue continue their evaluation of the Oilers' top 25 players under 25, with the recently re-signed Devan Dubnyk coming at at #17
Tyler looks at going "off the board" at the draft and the players such a strategy produces [Mc79hockey]
And lastly, to go out on a warm and fuzzy note, the Abbotsford Heat and their fans raised $2,131 for the local KidSport chapter this past season, a charity which allows children to participate in organized sports when their families wouldn't be able to finance it otherwise. Way to go Baby Flames! [Abbotsford Heat]
Happy Monday everyone, I promise to do my best to keep you at least moderately entertained with some actual content this week.
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Two things that I think deserve mention: Cat Playing Hockey? Cat Playing Hockey
And Justin made the only Flames discovery that’s actually a discovery this week: KARLSSON
I’m at work right now and just laughed unreasonably hard at the cat playing hockey video. Karlsson must be pretty awesome if he has a Swedish song written about about him and set to a montage of his saves, but if I’m not mistaken there’s a Kotalik song out there somewhere as well…
17 Years… bull. He’s not gonna play until he’s 44 years old. NHL should revise the Cap calculation in the next CBA to eliminate the frontloading loophole teams (Yes, I realize this includes the Flames) are doing.
It is really 1. genius that the GM’s were able to create these situations and use the loopholes to their advantage and 2. absolutely moronic that someone at the NHL offices didn’t think this would happen. The easiest way to eliminate the problem is to make each player’s salary that year his cap hit. (Or, create a max contract limit like the NBA has.)
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Go Flames Go
by Justin Azevedo on Jul 19, 2010 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I prefer the current year pay = Cap hit. You just shouldn’t get a cap discount today on money that may or may not get paid out in 2026. Ludicrous, a 17 year contract… the NHL should reject it as obvious cap circumvention.
I don’t have an issue with frontloaded contracts, but there should be an upper age limit. eg something like “no contract that would include seasons played at an age older than 39 can be greater than three years in length.” That way you could still frontload for guys who want to get paid RIGHT NOW and/or provide buyout flexibility (neither of which I feel is a bad thing) without completely cheating the system. Most guys can play until at least their late 30s, and it still gives room for Keith-like contracts without becoming completely ludicrous. Hossa’s contract pushed the boundaries, and Kovalchuk’s just basically took a shit on the CBA.
by SmellOfVictory on Jul 19, 2010 9:08 PM PDT up reply actions
It’s an escalating issue. In my opinion Zetterberg pushed the boundries, Hossa broke the boundry, and like the above says Kovelchuk’s takes a dump on the CBA. GM’s are mocking the NHL now… when Crosby’s contract comes up for renewal in 3 years what’s he gonna get a 105M 19 year contract with 91% of it paid out over the first 10?… all info from Capgeek.com:
Kovelchuk to Age 44
Year Salary Cap Hit
2010-2011 $6,000,000 $6,000,000
2011-2012 $6,000,000 $6,000,000
2012-2013 $11,500,000 $6,000,000
2013-2014 $11,500,000 $6,000,000
2014-2015 $11,500,000 $6,000,000
2015-2016 $11,500,000 $6,000,000
2016-2017 $11,500,000 $6,000,000
2017-2018 $10,500,000 $6,000,000
2018-2019 $8,500,000 $6,000,000
2019-2020 $6,500,000 $6,000,000
2020-2021 $3,500,000 $6,000,000
2021-2022 $750,000 $6,000,000
2022-2023 $550,000 $6,000,000
2023-2024 $550,000 $6,000,000
2024-2025 $550,000 $6,000,000
2025-2026 $550,000 $6,000,000
2026-2027 $550,000 $6,000,000
Hossa to Age 42
2009-2010 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2010-2011 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2011-2012 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2012-2013 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2013-2014 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2014-2015 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2015-2016 $7,900,000 $5,275,000
2016-2017 $4,000,000 $5,275,000
2017-2018 $1,000,000 $5,275,000
2018-2019 $1,000,000 $5,275,000
2019-2020 $1,000,000 $5,275,000
2020-2021 $1,000,000 $5,275,000
Zetterberg to Age 40
2009-2010 $7,400,000 $6,083,333
2010-2011 $7,750,000 $6,083,333
2011-2012 $7,750,000 $6,083,333
2012-2013 $7,750,000 $6,083,333
2013-2014 $7,500,000 $6,083,333
2014-2015 $7,500,000 $6,083,333
2015-2016 $7,500,000 $6,083,333
2016-2017 $7,500,000 $6,083,333
2017-2018 $7,000,000 $6,083,333
2018-2019 $3,350,000 $6,083,333
2019-2020 $1,000,000 $6,083,333
2020-2021 $1,000,000 $6,083,333
Is there a CBA/Lockout reason that Kovy is getting $6M/year for the next 2 years before the salary jumps to $11.5M for the next 5 years?
If there’s a lockout or stoppage after ‘11-’12 season, will he get paid his first $11.5M cheque?
There’s a salary rule of some sort stating that you can’t drop a contract a certain amount below the lowest amount paid to a player within the first two contract years; it’s 6m/year so they can more easily drop it to the league minimum at the end.
by SmellOfVictory on Jul 20, 2010 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions
That makes sense when looking at his contract. I thought maybe it had something to do with the new CBA that’ll be in place (hopefully) following the ‘11-’12 season.
On the other hand, that rule looks like it was designed specifically for these types of long term contracts. I thought Gary didn’t want these long term deals in his league?
Actually makes it harder to drop.
The rule, as I understand it, is that you can’t drop the salary by more than 50% of the average of the first two years of the deal, in this case, $3m.
If the first two years were 11m, they’d be able to drop any given year by $5.5m. That’s why you have the 8.5-6.5-3.5-750k progression over the deal, while Hossa and Zetterberg’s deals have one random 3/4m year in the middle before they drop down.
The reason is probably part lockout related, part Brodeur’s money off the books in two years.
Camp Tortorella - Where Vomit is a Mainstay
by George E. Ays on Jul 20, 2010 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry..it’s 50% of the lower amount in the 1st two years, not the average of the two.
Article 50.7: The difference between the stated Player Salary and Bonuses in the first two League Years of an SPC cannot exceed the amount of the lower of the two League Years. Thereafter, in all subsequent League Years of the SPC, (i) any increase in Player Salary and Bonuses from one League Year to another may not exceed the amount of the lower of the first two League Years of the SPC (or, if such amounts are the same, that same amount); and (ii) any decrease in Player Salary and Bonuses from one League Year to another may not exceed 50 percent of the Player Salary and Bonuses of the lower of the first two League Years of the SPC (or, if such amounts are the same, 50 percent of the same amount).
Camp Tortorella - Where Vomit is a Mainstay
by George E. Ays on Jul 20, 2010 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it… NHL grows a pair and rejects Kovalchuk contract… http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=328025
In related news Hell is expecting light flurries this evening and major airports have been shut down due to reports of airborne swine.
Good. Glad someone finally stood up and said enough is enough… I wonder if the NHLPA will grieve this and send it to an arbitrator citing the approval of the Zetterberg and Hossa deals.
I want to see a grievance. This deal was such an obvious circumvention it isn’t even funny.
- Nobody plays to age 44
- Nobody plays 27 seasons of major professional hockey
- The last seven years of this contract are specifically designed to cheat the cap
Hossa is the most obvious comparable, but it is five years shorter, had half the cheat years and those cheat years paid twice as much. The league should have rejected that deal, but it had no choice but to reject this one.
If the grievance is upheld, here’s hoping the league’s new-found balls includes handing the Devils that $1-5 million penalty for attempting to circumvent the cap. Take seven figures out of the owner’s pocket and the team’s salary cap for a year, and you will dampen these contracts entirely.
Isn’t that 1-5M fine only for hiding revenue… and only off the bottom line not the cap? Regardless, I would think that should the grievence be upheld it would be the arbitrator in effect saying that the Devils are not circumventing the Cap given past precidence and thus no fine would be justified.
Frankly, If I’m the Devils I rework the deal to shave 2 years off the term (Taking Kovy to age 42… same as Hossa) and then add those dollars to the other cheater years and then slightly trim the premiem earning years to even out the remaining cheater years. (Again… same as Hossa). Net effect would be the Devils paying about 800K more a year in cap (still getting a huge discount on the premiem years) but the NHL losses just about any rational they may have to reject it since it so closely mirrors an already approved deal, the NHL also get’s to pretend that it put it’s foot down until it can solve the actual problem when the CBA is renogiated.
Nope and nope. Cap circumvention is very broadly defined in the CBA, and the fine counts against the team’s cap in the following league year (2011-12 in this case). That the league specifically defined this as circumvention is key, and their decision to void the contract is justified by this under remedy VI of article 26.13©. In addition to fining the Devils, the league could also strip them of draft picks, suspend personnel on their team and fine the player/agent if they felt he/they were signing the deal with the knowledge themselves that they were circumventing the cap.
And shaving two years still makes it a 15 year contract with five cheat years as compared to 12 year contract with four. I’d say their rationale would hold, but such a reworked contract would almost certainly go before the system arbitrator.
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