I do get upset with how slowly some websites update their content, and case in point is that I only became aware of this story, in today's paper, at 10pm from KK. Nevertheless, I can't say I don't appreciate getting the hometown stories from the home I left for free on the internet, minus the time my eyeballs spend looking at the ads that grant me this freedom.
The Ottawa Citizen had a story today about the bigger picture behind the Meszaros deal. While some would have enjoyed seeing a trio of Tampa picks land in the hands of the Ottawa Senators, coutesy of a massive, $5 million plus offer sheet to Meszaros, there are indeed more reasons to be glad it didn't happen than the fact that Tampa will not likely enjoy anywhere near the same seeding next season.
Indeed, the story has Murray cast once again in a shining glow for us all to behold. He wanted to trade Meszaros, rather than see him go away via offer sheet, for the good of the NHL. Why? Because $5 million is simply way too much to be paying Meszaros, especially at this stage. Yes, it's great that he's got almost 250 games of NHL experience at such a young age, as Tampa fans are probably very familiar tasting this fact in their Kool-Aid of late. It's great that he has displayed such potential. But the issue remains that he has not proven himself reliable, dependable, or mature enough to merit such a reward.
Not that it was ever said directly, but this behaviour could probably be seen as another pot shot towards Edmonton, who bid Vanek up to Spezza and Heatley money, and the pressure of which surely contributed to his modest showing this season, especially before his better games later in the season. The same goes for Penner. Ottawa does seem to have its fair share of inflated defense contracts this season, only they all come from departing defensemen. Could anyone argue that Bouwmeester, arguably the most sought-after defenseman for this season's trade dealine, is only worth $800,000 more than Meszaros, and just north of $1 million more than Commodore? Or that he is worth over $1.5 million less than Redden?
No, you couldn't argue that. But it would be fun to see you try. Murray has stuck to his guns, and while nobody is going to argue that our offseason moves ransacked the UFA market, nobody can argue that he put the team in a tough spot now or down the road. Following the classy moves in Detroit, that showed us not even the summer's top UFA could earn more than future Hall of Famer Lidstrom, Murray too backed away from talent he'd have gladly taken, for the right price. Someone's got to keep the ship from swinging too much to the crazy bidding war side, and I haven't even chuckled too much yet about that new $3.5 million defenseman they have over in Toronto.
Much as I don't think I'll ever want to return to earlier, goon-infested times in the NHL's history, I do find myself pining for the sanity that saw players get contracts based on what they had done, not what they were selling themselves before the fact as being able to do. No, it might not've made sense to pay some veterans on the wrong side of their peak the salaries they sometimes got, but I do worry what kind of a spoiled brat NHL (not to mention the help they get from the KHL) we might see if more GMs don't put down their bottles of crazy pills.
Showing posts with label salary cap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salary cap. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Trade Hopes Now All But Gone
One month after the start of free agency, and the Sens roster is looking almost full. If we can assume that McGrattan and Lawrence Nycholat have now earned permanent roster spots, and that Christoph Schubert will forever play left wing, we have the full 20 players we need to ice for a game. That still leaves us three short of the 23 players we are allowed to keep each season, something I'm very doubtful Murray will let slide.
But with just under 5 million left in cap space, it's hard to imagine that we could get much for our team without bringing up some B-Sens. There's been plenty of talk about trading Redden and Gerber, but after a month of moves in the NHL, there's little hope left that we can shop them. Taking into account that a team needs to be missing a solid goaltender to take Gerbs, a solid leader defenseman to take Redden, and needs to have the cap space and trade potential to tempt us, there are few options for Murray.
Redden has virtually eliminated any possibility of his trade. Murray admitted to having a deal worked out on draft day for Redden, likely with the Oilers prior to their Pitkanen and Souray moves, but Redden nixed the deal. If he wouldn't accept going close to home to play for a Canadian team as loved as the Oilers, there's almost no way he'd go anywhere else. Be mindful though: he's only 30, a bit young to retire (even with Niedermayer considering it at 34, although he's won it all). This season, after earning his 6.5 million, he is looking at a greatly reduced salary if he plays as he did last one. As long as Redden hindered himself, rather than being hindered by his age, an injury, or something outside his control, he will likely step up so that he can keep earning good money in the future, with the Sens or elsewhere.
Gerber would undoubtedly love to play more than the 29 games he played in this season. I'm going to stray from the common thought that he's a loser and needs to be gone faster than the Nashville franchise, and actually suggest that he's worthy of a shot. Look at his numbers from the last two seasons, as the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Hurricane's starter, and as the Sens backup to Emery. His save percentage was unchanged at .906, so it would appear he didn't get any worse. His Goals Against average was also the same, at 2.78 in both years, certainly not a shining mark. Both years he faced an average of 29 shots for every hour in the net. So how can you explain the difference between his record of 38-14-6 and 68.3% of possible points earned as a Cane and 15-9-3 with only 56.9% of possible points earned as a Sen? Since his stats show the same goalie, other factors might come into play.
It's not the sole responsibility of the goalie to secure a win for his team, so some blame could rest with the Senators. The Hurricanes finished the 05-06 season 4th in the league in points, one win back from second place, with 294 goals for, whereas the Sens finished the 06-07 season 9th in points, three wins back of third place, and with 288 goals for, showing a weaker team in front of Gerber this season. Take a look at his last twelve games: 10-0-2 with 91.7% of possible points earned. He had a .942 save percentage and a 2.08 GAA. Maybe not facing the toughest opponents, but nonetheless.
I believe that some of his failings may be, as we hope Reddens also were, due to self inflicted psychological pain. He lost his way against the Canadiens in last year's playoffs, losing his job to rookie Cam Ward, who played the rest of the way and helped the Canes win the Cup. Then his team decides to take the rookie and cast him off, just as the Ducks had let him go the year before. While not playing yet like a true starter, I believe he has the potential to be one, and surely has the potential to be part of a truly successful goaltending tandem. But it looks doubtful that anyone would want him. Boston took Manny. Toronto took Toskala. Florida took Vokoun. Phoenix took Aebischer. Bryzgalov's still on the market for less than 1.4 million. It would take a desperate team to go for Gerber now.
With both Gerber and Redden having not astounded anyone this past season, and with both looking to improve, the likeliest case will be that neither moves before the season begins. With games, they might both return to form, and interest teams. A newly tantalizing Gerber could tempt teams having goaltending misfortunes. Redden will not likely move though. Even if he plays up to his old form, his no-trade clause won't likely be waived. He would certainly not choose to waive it to leave the Sens if they looked ready to make a run for the cup. So, for the moment, it would appear that we will be in a long wait to see how things play out, and will have to hope for the best.
But with just under 5 million left in cap space, it's hard to imagine that we could get much for our team without bringing up some B-Sens. There's been plenty of talk about trading Redden and Gerber, but after a month of moves in the NHL, there's little hope left that we can shop them. Taking into account that a team needs to be missing a solid goaltender to take Gerbs, a solid leader defenseman to take Redden, and needs to have the cap space and trade potential to tempt us, there are few options for Murray.
Redden has virtually eliminated any possibility of his trade. Murray admitted to having a deal worked out on draft day for Redden, likely with the Oilers prior to their Pitkanen and Souray moves, but Redden nixed the deal. If he wouldn't accept going close to home to play for a Canadian team as loved as the Oilers, there's almost no way he'd go anywhere else. Be mindful though: he's only 30, a bit young to retire (even with Niedermayer considering it at 34, although he's won it all). This season, after earning his 6.5 million, he is looking at a greatly reduced salary if he plays as he did last one. As long as Redden hindered himself, rather than being hindered by his age, an injury, or something outside his control, he will likely step up so that he can keep earning good money in the future, with the Sens or elsewhere.
Gerber would undoubtedly love to play more than the 29 games he played in this season. I'm going to stray from the common thought that he's a loser and needs to be gone faster than the Nashville franchise, and actually suggest that he's worthy of a shot. Look at his numbers from the last two seasons, as the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Hurricane's starter, and as the Sens backup to Emery. His save percentage was unchanged at .906, so it would appear he didn't get any worse. His Goals Against average was also the same, at 2.78 in both years, certainly not a shining mark. Both years he faced an average of 29 shots for every hour in the net. So how can you explain the difference between his record of 38-14-6 and 68.3% of possible points earned as a Cane and 15-9-3 with only 56.9% of possible points earned as a Sen? Since his stats show the same goalie, other factors might come into play.
It's not the sole responsibility of the goalie to secure a win for his team, so some blame could rest with the Senators. The Hurricanes finished the 05-06 season 4th in the league in points, one win back from second place, with 294 goals for, whereas the Sens finished the 06-07 season 9th in points, three wins back of third place, and with 288 goals for, showing a weaker team in front of Gerber this season. Take a look at his last twelve games: 10-0-2 with 91.7% of possible points earned. He had a .942 save percentage and a 2.08 GAA. Maybe not facing the toughest opponents, but nonetheless.
I believe that some of his failings may be, as we hope Reddens also were, due to self inflicted psychological pain. He lost his way against the Canadiens in last year's playoffs, losing his job to rookie Cam Ward, who played the rest of the way and helped the Canes win the Cup. Then his team decides to take the rookie and cast him off, just as the Ducks had let him go the year before. While not playing yet like a true starter, I believe he has the potential to be one, and surely has the potential to be part of a truly successful goaltending tandem. But it looks doubtful that anyone would want him. Boston took Manny. Toronto took Toskala. Florida took Vokoun. Phoenix took Aebischer. Bryzgalov's still on the market for less than 1.4 million. It would take a desperate team to go for Gerber now.
With both Gerber and Redden having not astounded anyone this past season, and with both looking to improve, the likeliest case will be that neither moves before the season begins. With games, they might both return to form, and interest teams. A newly tantalizing Gerber could tempt teams having goaltending misfortunes. Redden will not likely move though. Even if he plays up to his old form, his no-trade clause won't likely be waived. He would certainly not choose to waive it to leave the Sens if they looked ready to make a run for the cup. So, for the moment, it would appear that we will be in a long wait to see how things play out, and will have to hope for the best.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Senators Off Season Needs, Part 2
A whole month now passed, and barely a trickle of excitement has come for us loyal Sens fans, the most die-hard of us who unlike our sport don't take a vacation from our passion. A whole month, and apart from the relief we feel at the re-signing of Christoph Schubert, Ray Emery and Chris Kelly, and a few other signings, the only significant move was the trading of Peter Schaefer to the Boston Bruins for Shean Donovan.
This leaves us wanting more, and with the team needing more. This off-season, we've lost Mike Comrie to the New York Islanders, Tom Preissing to the Los Angeles Kings, and Oleg Saprykin has signed with CSKA Moscow. That leaves three holes in the roster. If one trusts the Sens web roster, it would seem that Donovan will likely replace Schaefer's spot on the bench, and perhaps Lawrence Nycholat will play more regularly with the loss of Preissing. However, as the roster still lists Oleg Saprykin, we can't be sure how trustworthy it is, keeping in mind how often the Sens website is slow to update, although they were quick to put Kelly back on after their announcement this morning.
That still leaves two holes at forward, and with only 4.97 million in cap space, finding more replacements is the daunting task facing Brian Murray. To guard against potential long-term injuries, Murray would like to keep some cap space free, so that he could make a move similar to the one that brought Comrie to us when our ranks were depleted with injuries last winter. As well, while he did not pursue any playoff rentals this past season, keeping additional cap space open to pursue that option this upcoming season might tighten Murray's pursestrings even more.
With Paddock and Murray's similarities, we might expect that Schubert will again see a majority of his games played on the wing, filling one of the two holes up front, and leaving Nycholat to take permanent hold of the last spot on the third defensive pairing. As for the front end, it will take Murray some creativity to pull out an additional forward or two. His current roster and cap troubles mean that Brian McGrattan might see a significant increase in ice time over last season. This would also fit with Murray's trade for Donovan, with both he and Grats able to toughen up the Sens, who seemed completely battered throughout their series with Anaheim.
At the moment the Sens have six right wings, four centres, and one left wing. If Schubert were to move up to left wing again, Paddock would just be able to ice the needed twelve forwards and six defensemen. With only 6 million, this would be an ideal time to look to the Binghamton Senators for a few extra players. While few blinding stars appear on their roster, previously called up players like Danny Bois and Joshua Hennessy, Bingo Sens with NHL experience such as Michal Barinka and Nicholas Dimitrakos, or other prospects on the roster might be called up and given a chance to prove themselves.
As the Ducks proved to us in the finals, it helps to have many youngsters who provide a big punch while only taking a nibble at the salary cap, like Ryan Getzlaf (25-33--58), Dustin Penner (29-16--45) and Corey Perry (17-27--44), each less than a 0.75 million dollar cap hit. Only time will tell if we can find the same kind of diamonds in our Binghamton Senators rough proving ground.
This leaves us wanting more, and with the team needing more. This off-season, we've lost Mike Comrie to the New York Islanders, Tom Preissing to the Los Angeles Kings, and Oleg Saprykin has signed with CSKA Moscow. That leaves three holes in the roster. If one trusts the Sens web roster, it would seem that Donovan will likely replace Schaefer's spot on the bench, and perhaps Lawrence Nycholat will play more regularly with the loss of Preissing. However, as the roster still lists Oleg Saprykin, we can't be sure how trustworthy it is, keeping in mind how often the Sens website is slow to update, although they were quick to put Kelly back on after their announcement this morning.
That still leaves two holes at forward, and with only 4.97 million in cap space, finding more replacements is the daunting task facing Brian Murray. To guard against potential long-term injuries, Murray would like to keep some cap space free, so that he could make a move similar to the one that brought Comrie to us when our ranks were depleted with injuries last winter. As well, while he did not pursue any playoff rentals this past season, keeping additional cap space open to pursue that option this upcoming season might tighten Murray's pursestrings even more.
With Paddock and Murray's similarities, we might expect that Schubert will again see a majority of his games played on the wing, filling one of the two holes up front, and leaving Nycholat to take permanent hold of the last spot on the third defensive pairing. As for the front end, it will take Murray some creativity to pull out an additional forward or two. His current roster and cap troubles mean that Brian McGrattan might see a significant increase in ice time over last season. This would also fit with Murray's trade for Donovan, with both he and Grats able to toughen up the Sens, who seemed completely battered throughout their series with Anaheim.
At the moment the Sens have six right wings, four centres, and one left wing. If Schubert were to move up to left wing again, Paddock would just be able to ice the needed twelve forwards and six defensemen. With only 6 million, this would be an ideal time to look to the Binghamton Senators for a few extra players. While few blinding stars appear on their roster, previously called up players like Danny Bois and Joshua Hennessy, Bingo Sens with NHL experience such as Michal Barinka and Nicholas Dimitrakos, or other prospects on the roster might be called up and given a chance to prove themselves.
As the Ducks proved to us in the finals, it helps to have many youngsters who provide a big punch while only taking a nibble at the salary cap, like Ryan Getzlaf (25-33--58), Dustin Penner (29-16--45) and Corey Perry (17-27--44), each less than a 0.75 million dollar cap hit. Only time will tell if we can find the same kind of diamonds in our Binghamton Senators rough proving ground.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Making the Most of NHL Salary Cap Space
Less than two days remain until free agency begins, and the bidding wars and head-to-head games of salary cap chicken look to feature prominently this year. As teams slowly adjust to the salary-cap structure, watch out for those suspicious deals. While some may be the perfect set-up, others could spell trouble for the entire league.
Rick DiPietro began this past season by signing only the second longest NHL contract in history, a blockbuster 15-year, 67.5 million dollar deal that will see him raking in 4.5 million annually. Some may balk at the huge investment, but when a team sees true value, long contracts are not as harsh as they may seem. Nobody would laugh at the 21-year deal Gretzky signed with the Oilers, but nobody would try to compare the two either.
The fact remains that DiPietro is a solid investment in the crease, one likely only to get better with time. While nobody would want to pay 4.5 million for a 40-year old goaltender well past his prime, DiPietro won't be that man, and won't disappoint the Islanders.
Look at the flip side now. After the first couple cap years, DiPietro's contract clocked in at just over 10% of the Islanders cap. This year the cap is expected to rise to at least 48 million, with some wild estimates predicting up to 52 million could be possible. This would lower his chunk to just over or under 9%. With Gary Bettman intent on increasing the appeal of the NHL and always mindful of the possibility of expansion - possibly even into areas hungry to accept a team such as Winnipeg and Hamilton - the cap could rise higher and higher in years to come.
Do the math. If the cap reached even 60 million, which is quite possible, the Islanders could have sunk their netminding share of their cap to only 7.5%. In this season's terms, that would account for only 3.3 million, and by the time the cap reaches 60 million, 3.3 million likely won't buy you the Backstroms, Vokouns, Millers, and Lundqvists of the league anymore, since each new contract signed sets a new benchmark for the rest. By then, the 7.5 million Roberto Luongo will receive at the end of his contract won't seem like much, just as the 5.2 million New Jersey hopes to be handing out to Martin Brodeur in 11/12 will seem rather paltry by then.
Look closely, and while the 87.5 million over 10-years for Yashin bares a harsh rash on the mind, you will find many other long-term investments with big potential to keep star players locked up for an ever-shrinking piece of the salary cap pie. Pavel Datsyuk, Daniel Alfredsson, Martin St. Louis: they could all still be putting up great numbers and pushing their teams to great heights through the ends of their contracts, and by then become great bargain deals that leave room for the free agent signings and trade deadline deals that can make a Stanley Cup Champion.
Good things come to those who wait. We shall wait and see.
Rick DiPietro began this past season by signing only the second longest NHL contract in history, a blockbuster 15-year, 67.5 million dollar deal that will see him raking in 4.5 million annually. Some may balk at the huge investment, but when a team sees true value, long contracts are not as harsh as they may seem. Nobody would laugh at the 21-year deal Gretzky signed with the Oilers, but nobody would try to compare the two either.
The fact remains that DiPietro is a solid investment in the crease, one likely only to get better with time. While nobody would want to pay 4.5 million for a 40-year old goaltender well past his prime, DiPietro won't be that man, and won't disappoint the Islanders.
Look at the flip side now. After the first couple cap years, DiPietro's contract clocked in at just over 10% of the Islanders cap. This year the cap is expected to rise to at least 48 million, with some wild estimates predicting up to 52 million could be possible. This would lower his chunk to just over or under 9%. With Gary Bettman intent on increasing the appeal of the NHL and always mindful of the possibility of expansion - possibly even into areas hungry to accept a team such as Winnipeg and Hamilton - the cap could rise higher and higher in years to come.
Do the math. If the cap reached even 60 million, which is quite possible, the Islanders could have sunk their netminding share of their cap to only 7.5%. In this season's terms, that would account for only 3.3 million, and by the time the cap reaches 60 million, 3.3 million likely won't buy you the Backstroms, Vokouns, Millers, and Lundqvists of the league anymore, since each new contract signed sets a new benchmark for the rest. By then, the 7.5 million Roberto Luongo will receive at the end of his contract won't seem like much, just as the 5.2 million New Jersey hopes to be handing out to Martin Brodeur in 11/12 will seem rather paltry by then.
Look closely, and while the 87.5 million over 10-years for Yashin bares a harsh rash on the mind, you will find many other long-term investments with big potential to keep star players locked up for an ever-shrinking piece of the salary cap pie. Pavel Datsyuk, Daniel Alfredsson, Martin St. Louis: they could all still be putting up great numbers and pushing their teams to great heights through the ends of their contracts, and by then become great bargain deals that leave room for the free agent signings and trade deadline deals that can make a Stanley Cup Champion.
Good things come to those who wait. We shall wait and see.
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