Crazy contracts continue to plague NHL

[doniceage]

A little lost amid the frenzy of free agent singings last Friday was a comment made by Toronto Maple Leafs GM David Nonis after signing Dave Clarkson to a bonus-laden deal worth $36.75 million over seven years. When asked about the possibility that Clarkson might not merit a cap hit of $5.25 million in the latter years of the deal, Nonis responded: “I’m not worried about six or seven right now. I’m worried about one. And in Year 1, I know we’re going to have a very good player

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...daily_20130709

[centrehice]

Wow ..... How do these guys even get hired?, let alone keep a job.

[RGM81]

I believe I pointed out said stupid comment the day he made it; dunno how it can be considered "lost" in that regards. LOL

[mooneyes]

ONE, just one 30 G season and you are going to cash in big! Who knows though, that maybe the top end of their skill, not the beginning, very few guys scoring 40 plus never mind 50 these days....Different game today, but wow, the old school players must shake their head at the $$'s and term these guys get for 50 pts....GM's, some at least just don't learn, Long term deals can handicap their franchise for years...

[centrehice]

Some guys are getting 3.1 Million Dollars per year to fake injury. Or when they play, just Thumb, up and down the ice.

[Estovia]

The concept they're missing is that when players go UFA/RFA, their salaries aren't negotiated on the terms of what people have gotten in the years before them, or even what their own production was in any season prior to their contract year. The guys who are the cream of any given UFA crop are going to get the salaries that reflect that particular status that year, not whether they have any actual sustainable ability or not.

And I really think that the cap has brought parity. Their own argument against is is proof of it - almost half the league has been represented in the conference finals over the last 5 years. Now discount the teams who kill their own shot at "parity" by spending the bare minimum cap floor, and the teams who have been horribly mismanaged since the salary cap can't help anyone in either category, and you're well above 50% of the properly managed teams in the league who have made the finals since the cap went into effect.

And, by imposing any penalties for "cap circumvention" only at the end of a long contract and if a player doesn't meet the terms of that contract (interesting how the onus is placed on the player, but the penalty is assessed to the team) most GMs are assured that any penalty that would be assessed would be dropped squarely in the lap of their successor as most of these guys only last 5-7 years anyway. So why NOT mortgage the farm if you aren't the one who has to make payments on it ?