I dunno but it's a mess. Hossa said something about them tacking years on regarding retirement which was absurd of him, and unlike the Wings deals with Z and Franzen, his money decreases quite a bit for the last 3 years. Also his deal takes him to 42, while Z's takes him just to 40 and Franzen to 39 IIRC.

It seems like Chicago might be in deep once again though.

Interesting stuff.

sami, any new news on the Kessel/B's talks? Are they really just hoping he gets an offer sheet and they can rake in some picks?

Ok, I don't get it. What did Chicago do wrong? (Other than an absurdly long contract)

Also, why do teams think these players are all going to retire? In the NFL, there are less veteran guys but that is because they are released so they are no longer getting paid. Lots of MLB and NBA players hang on way too long as, strangely enough, getting paid more in a year than we do in a lifetime is a good incentive to put up with crap for another year.

SI

shouldn't they fine the Flyers too? even if they fucked up the contract, it was clear they were attempting to do the same thing

Unless Chicago said to Hossa specifically about retirement during contract talks, I can't see how the NHL has any case. It's a loop hole that is being exposed, but it is within the rules of the CBA.

I actually thought about this after I posted. Makes sense that the Wings would pick up a few veterans for GR, considering that Ericsson will be up with the big club this year, and Kindl can't be too far behind.

Even if they did discuss it, does the CBA specifically address this issue? They're obviously going against the spirit of the rules, but I don't see how you can fine a team or strip them of draft picks just because they exploited a pretty obvious loophole.

I know there is something in the CBA about how much a year by year salary can decrease, but that's about all.

I heard that all was quiet on the Kessel front and that the Bruins would likely have to deal either Bergeron or Kobasew to make room for any Kessel contract because they signed Morris to a ridiculous 3.3M deal.

I think Kessel realizes he will be in Boston or not playing barring a trade. I really doubt a team will sign him to an offer sheet at this point in the off-season.

1) Really long contract that possibly violates the CBA
2) Didn't give Hossa a physical before signing him to said contract
3) Tallon or one of his Asst GMs botched the mailing of the RFA offers, a major embarrassment to the organization

Those are three major gaffes by an organization, let alone in the same off-season.

No, I get the other boneheaded moves. But what is possibly illegal about the contract- that's the part I'm not getting

SI

There is always the KHL.

Right because all contracts have to be sent to the league before they are official. So you'd think the NHL Brass would've caught any issues.

According to one story Tallon has been marked man ever since he agreed to a Nylander for Khabibulin trade in December which was vetoed by ownership.

What is hurting Chicago is Hossa came out and said basically extra years were tacked on to help the cap # go down so he can retire before the deal ends. He said something to this effect which is probably the start of this.

Also he makes 3.5 million over the final 3 years. Off hand I believe Zetterberg makes 12 mil or so the last year years. The other thing is because his deal takes him to 42 when forwards almost never play into their 40's makes it suspect I guess, while neither Detroit deal takes a player past 40.

The problem for Chicago is it seems very obvious the player will retire before the end of the deal because Hossa will have been paid most of his money before 40 so what's his reason for continuing to play?

He'll still be chasing the Cup at age 40 after having played for the runner-up 12 years in a row. Poor Marian. :(

The KHL = where the Flyers go for starting goaltending.

Exactly. They're investigating something that they themselves approved just a few weeks ago.

Maybe the NHL passed it along to the Flyers lawyers?

Sak and I discused this a little already...and I am sure which side of the argument each of us was on.

The Hockey News: Backchecking: Backchecking: Clarke continues legacy in front office

For Wings fans, an interesting write up of their top prospects:

http://babcocksdeathstare.wordpress....pect-rankings/

No Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson, or Kopecky? No worries. Patrick Eaves will more than make up for their defections.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=286737

The Detroit Red Wings signed free agent forward Patrick Eaves to a one-year contract on Tuesday, financial details were not disclosed.

Over his 74 games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008/09, the 25-year-old scored six goals with eight assists and a plus-7 rating. Eaves has played in 242 career NHL games and has score 45 goals and added 45 assists.

He was originally selected in the first round (29th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in the 2003 Entry Draft.

Of all the available (and realisitc) options out there, I'm fine with this. There were many worse options out there.

The Wings have been very good at picking up guys off the scrap heap and turning them into useful players too. See: Dan Cleary, Mikael Samuelsson, etc..

Not a bad move for them.

Dola

Arbitration awarded to Hudler. No way he will take it considering what he is going to make in the KHL.

Jiri Hudler to get $5.75M from Detroit Red Wings if he returns - ESPN

Also, looks like the douche Roenick is finally quitting.

Jeremy Roenick reportedly will announce retirement Thursday - ESPN

As the last memory of Toronto's last playoff game is gone...

As expected, Rangers walk away from Zherdev's arbitration award of $3.9M. Hello KHL.

Amazing how young Roenick looks there.

New York Rangers make Nikolai Zherdev a free agent after turning down arbitration decision - ESPN

Not sure how a sane arbitrator thinks that a player is worth nearly 4 million with a whopping 58 point season. When did subpar point totals become acceptable in the NHL?

In any case, say hello to Hudler for us, Zherdev.

About 3/4 of a point per game? $4 M doesn't sound unreasonable to me. Stars (point per game types) are getting $6 M and much more.

Zherdev was the leading scorer on the Rangers (excluding Antropov who came over from Toronto at the deadline).

There are a lot players out there making more than what the arbitrator awarded Zherdev who scored fewer goals (23) and fewer total points.

Scott Gomez (same points, fewer goals)
Chris Drury
Dustin Penner
Shawn Horcoff
David Legwand
Ryan Malone
Kristian Huselius
Martin Erat

Those are just a few.

I would walk away from that salary too, but it's really not that far out of line with what similar players are making.

Perhaps it is just a difference of opinion. I don't see Zherdev as a star, or even close to it. People outside of hockey have no idea who he is, whereas they may be familiar with Gretzky, Zetterberg, Crosby, Lidstrom, Selanne, etc...

I just don't see any justification for 4m/year for 58 points, and obviously the Rangers feel the same way (surprisingly).

Exactly my point. All of these players you named are underachievers/overpaid. This is a lot of what is wrong with pro sports, inflated salaries for mediocre players. Drury, Gomez, and Horcoff may be 2nd line players on some teams, but these others would be 4th liners at best in the "old" NHL. What has Legwand ever done? Malone? Erat? I am not so naive to think that these guys are no good, obviously they have some skill or they would not be playing. But $4m/year is absurd to me. This is one of the reasons the NHL has had so many problems with finances and the CBA. They are trying to pay players on a scale that is comparable with a big sport, like the NFL or MLB, but realistically, the NHL is not a big sport in the U.S., and may never be.

Bottom line - too many overpaid players, congrats to Sather for saying "no" to this one at least.

Not really.

You said:


And


And I provided you the evidence as to how a "sane arbitrator" would think "that a player is worth nearly 4 million with a whopping 58 point season" and the "justification for 4m/year for 58 points."

Arbitrator's look at the player's past performance (Zherdev was coming off two seasons of 20+ goals and 30+ assists) and look at salaries of comparable players. Taking those factors into account, based on the facts, I think a "sane arbitrator" could have easily awarded 4m/year for Zherdev.

I don't think anyone would disagree that there are a lot of over-paid/under achieving players in the NHL (or any of the big professional sports).

NHL salaries are tied directly to league revenues per the CBA. So, the total team salaries really can't be out of whack with what the league is making. If the league makes more money, there is more for the players, if it makes less, there is less. So, there is no issue with the "scale" as to which players are being paid.

There certainly are issues, but that's not really one of them.

What "old" NHL are you referring to where Drury, Gomez and Horcoff would be 4th liners? The Original Six Era?

Regardless, I still think $4m/year is absurd.


Ok, makes sense.


Actually, what I said was...


...and I am referring to the "old" NHL of the '70's & '80's, the hockey I grew up watching.

Shanahan back to the Devils?

NHL.com - 2009 NHL Offseason News: Report: Shanahan returns to Devils - 08/05/2009

Not sure why people outside of hockey would need to know about Zherdev for him to get paid market rate. As HB noted, his salary seems about in line with the current market..

I agree it is in line with the current market. My point is that the market is over-inflated in the first place.

The market is always going to be a bit over inflated for certain guys. Bad contracts for under achieving players isn't a new phenomonen or something that sprung out of the CBA. Go back and look at some of those massive contracts that were bought out after the strike. The CBA is far from perfect, but, if anything, it at least made it so more of these kinds of mistakes were based on teams misjudging potential (e.g., Penner) as opposed to giving loads of cash to guys past their prime (e.g., Turgeon).

Someone mentioned Shawn Horcoff. Let me just say that I never understood how he was considered Edmonton's #1 center. Wouldn't he be a #3 grinding line center on most other teams?

I would say it definitely isn't in line with the current market, considering Sather would have loved to ship Zherdev's rights away for a pick, and any team who thought they would need to pay $3.9MM+ in the open market would have jumped at the chance to secure him at that price.

There's a pretty good divide even in Edmonton on this one. The real blame lies with MacT/Lowe for the contract they gave him (Lowe) and the man love/role push that MacT implemented.

Imho he's a good 2nd line center or an excellent third liner with his talent/skill set. For the right price and the proper amount of minutes a game he'd be a nice player to keep around. Unfortunately, at least salary wise, that's not happening any time soon.

I'm hoping with a new coaching staff that we'll see some open competition for the first line spot (as I think O'Sullivan could win that job), but given the contract that is now in place and how hard it'll be to move him, he's going to be a very expensive and unmovable roster piece. Will be interesting to see what they do with him this season, scary what they might have to do in 2-3 years when he's not even the player he is now.

This is kind of what I am alluding to. While I named Horcoff as a 2nd liner on most teams, that is more of a reflection on the current state of the NHL than on his talent. Many of today's 1st and 2nd liners would be 3rd and 4th line players twenty years ago, or even now if the NHL wasn't so convoluted with teams/players that should not be in the NHL.

I think you are remembering the league 20 years ago as better than it was.

Look at a team like Boston, who won the Presidents trophy, and lost in the finals the 89-90 season.

Their top center, arguably, was Craig Janney. CRAIG JANNEY!

Washington made it to the ECF with Michal Pivonka.

Look at Quebec's roster outside of Sakic.

Gomez is inferior to those guys?

You could be right. Maybe I just miss being younger? :(

Market as determined by currently paid salaries of similar players as precedent.

Obviously, the deflated market as a result of economic conditions and the presumption of a falling cap next year doesn't quite fit with Zherdev's market going forward. But an arbitrator's job isn't to determine what market conditions will be, just what is the fairest price for the player in question, given his options (the team's offer versus the player's offer), and the only evidence he has to go on is comparable players' salaries.

And those salaries were all received in the market, so, given the information he has available to him, the arbitrator did indeed elect to give Zherdev the salary that the market--thus far--has borne for a player of his level of ability.

You know that the Rangers offered $3.25M and Zherdev demanded $4.75M right? The end result we saw is what we see in 95% of NHL arbitration cases.

I guess in the NHL, they have the option to split the difference. Regardless, looks like the Rangers lowballed and Zherdev's agent aimed too high, and, surprise, surprise, split the difference and it about meets the market price for a comparable player to that point.

Not sure about this. He didn't seem to get along too well with Babcock and just wasn't the same after getting destroyed by Raffi Torres. Well, with the money available and the players out there, so be it...


Red Wings sign Jason Williams to one-year deal - MLive.com


DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are bringing back a familiar face.
The team signed free agent forward Jason Williams to a one-year contract on Thursday.


Williams, 28, originally was signed by Detroit in 2000, but traded in 2007 as part of the Kyle Calder deal. In 233 games with the Red Wings, he had 49 goals and 67 assists. His best season with Detroit came in '05-06, when he set career highs with 21 goals, 37 assists and 58 points.
Williams (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) has solid offensive skills and can play the point on the power play.


Williams spent last season with the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets, and finished with 19 goals and 28 assists.


In 376 career NHL games, Williams has 205 points (85 goals, 120 assists).


He also played 128 games for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League in '00-01 and '01-02 under the direction of current Red Wings coach Mike Babcock.

Christ. In re-signing Jason Williams the Wings have managed to bring the hatred from Babcock normally assigned to Hudler, and the horrendous shot selection and turnover proneness from Sammy.

Yeesh.

Oh well.

At least the Wings are only paying one guy that can piss off Babcock instead of two...:D

I was going to say I could never remember who Jason Williams played for and who Jeremy Williams played for but now I see Jason Williams was the Detroit/Atlanta guy and Jeremy Williams has played his entire career for Toronto. Wasn't there a Williams who played for Carolina though?

You mean Justin Williams. He's with the Kings now.

Holland knew he needed someone to catch all of Bab's evil stares, now that Jiri is gone. :)

Oh, great, there are three of them:

Jason Williams
Jeremy Williams
Justin Williams

Are any of them any good? I don't really think so but I get them confused all the time so how would I know?

Justin was good in his early years with Carolina, but had horrendous problems with injuries the last couple of years. This made him expendable for trading by JR at the last deadline, which resulted in getting Cole back from Edmonton.

Interview with Jiri Hudler.

Hudler in Russia: 'I don't know rules regarding arbitration exactly' - Puck... - NHL - Yahoo! Sports

Patrick Kane got arrested here in Buffalo this morning.

'Hometown hero' Kane arrested for robbing cabbie : Home: The Buffalo News

Ridiculous. They beat up a cabbie because he couldn't give them a few dollars change? What a punk.

Not to mention is he under 21 and coming from Chippewa Street, which is our big nightlife area and the bars/clubs are open until 4 A.M., so I'm guessing he is under-age. Chippewa does a problem with serving minors.

hohoho. Bettman and Campbell must be shaking in their boots to see one of their faces of the league get in trouble like this. It's a good thing this isn't the NFL or they might actually have to do something.

I expect to see a heavy fine and a suspension for Ben Eager very soon :lol:

I heard that about Kane too.

The only guy who might be a bigger prick then him is Phil Kessel from what I have heard.

I'm a huge Bruins fans and I've heard that Kessel is not Mr. Personality many, many times. I always expect him to have a very whiny, nasally voice when he speaks.

Seems much worse than that.

They beat up a cabbie over pocket change [edit: 20 cents]. Kane makes millions a year. Talk about disgusting.

I used to think Keith Tkachuk was a prick. He looks positively angelic next to Kane at this point.

Go fuck yourself Jeremy Jacobs.This is a joke at this point. I hope Balsillie smokes those arrogant old boys club in court.

Speaking of Jeremy Jacobs, someone on Twitter posted that the Bruins have increased ticket prices 95% overall over the last two seasons.

i generally dont care about who owns what team, but i honestly have been hoping very hard that balsille gets a team

of course, really, if you want hockey to get better, just do the opposite of whatever bettman says

I wish Mark Cuban would buy an NHL team, that would shake things up for the better. As for Balsillie, I'm not sold on him, but I'm not against him either.

I just want some more teams in Canada. It's pretty obvious that Phoenix and a few other of the warm cities (Florida Panthers) aren't working too well. Move them into Canada.

:+1:

Further proof the Flyers should've won the lottery that year and got Kane.

Bettman will never move those teams north. If he does, he acknowledges that it was a failed experiment and the NHL is on par with the CLF expansion down south some years ago and that the NHL is a second rate league.

And yet the CFL is kicking ass and taking names in recent years, primarily because it got out of the US and just focused on targeting the product at people that actually want it.

True, but in a majority of peoples minds, the CFL is a poor distant second to the NFL(something I dont agree with)

Talent wise there's no comparison, really.

Yeah, it's not even close to being second. That'd be college football.

Blackhawks PR staff sure is earning their money this off-season.

SI

??

I was meaning the Hawks, not you ;)

SI

Ahh OK...got it now. :D

Now I'm just trying to figure out who has had the worse off-season, the Blackhawks or the Broncos?

Pretty stupid(Kane and his cousin arguing over 20 cents with a cabbie), but he gets one pass due to his age. He still looks 13 for crying out loud. With that being said, he always comes across as a douche/insincere in interviews, and he cleary has the maturity of 13 year old, even if he plays the game like vet at times. The cabbie will want to settle out of court, and I hope he gets a nice check from Kane that hopefully teaches the kid a thing or two and forces him to grow up, just a bit...

For the record, I think the Hawks have had a solid off-season, not with off the ice issues, of course, but they added an elite talent, and they will be a better team than last year. As long as Bowman's kid isn't a total moran, it's all but impossible to screw this up thanks to the Hawks stock-piling of talent over the past 6 years.

F that. You don't get a pass for drunkenly beating up a cabbie over 20 cents regardless of age.

I am not exactly sure what "gets one pass" means. I don't care if he looks 13 or 43, sure, he's young, but he's 20 years old and an adult. While, he might get "one pass" because he's never run afoul of the law before, his age isn't the issue.



I agree that the Hawks are better than they were last year, but they are going to be in a very tough position after this season. If they win the Cup, it's all good and it was worth it.

Even if Bowman's kid is a genius, the Hawks stock-piling of talent over the past 6 years and the generous contracts Tallon has dolled out over the past 3 years (Hossa, Sharp, Bolland, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Campbel, Barker, Sopel, and Huet) are going to come to a head after next year. Tough choices will need to be made and it will be interesting to see what affect this dispute of 20 cents will have, if any, on what the Blackhawks decide to do...

I would disagree about their offseason. They signed Hossa without giving him a physical (he's going to be out the first couple months). The league is now investigating that contract. Kane gets into a dumb incident. GM forgot to fill out paperwork correctly and cost the Hawks money. Owner gets booed at the Hawks convention.

What does Dan Cleary have to do with this? I know he was a "busted" draft pick for the BlackHawks, but c'mon....;)

Looks like Kane has other experiences with cab drivers. Not sure if this other incident is him being a smart ass or just offering a genuinely good tip...

Icing: A memory of Blackhawks' Kane and a cab driver

You know, "20 Cent" Kane sorta rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Or we could call him "Two Dime" or "Two Dime Crime".

Haven't read the article, but saw that no actual alcohol related charges seem to have been pressed, which you would think would practically be an automatic for someone under 21 (just a hint of inebriation would get a charge). That makes me think (unless you guys are reading something in the article that clearly states it) that Kane was actually sober for all of this. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

F-Kane

They did tank for it.


The Hawks are up against it next year. $43M in contracts to 12 players...and none of those 12 is Kane, Toews, or Keith. Even if the cap stayed at $56M, to get those 3 for a combined $13M would be a steal...and still need to fill in another 6-7 spots.

One year does not make a tank. If you want to check out a team that tanked see who had top 5 picks for at least 4 years in a row. And traded their stars for the Kris Beeches of the world.

Sabres are brining back Mike Grier for a 1-year deal.

Wouldn't have minded seeing him with the Wings. Oh well.

Well, in the least surprising news of the off-season so far, Zherdev has signed with a KHL team.

Yep.

Good job setting market value, Mr. Arbitrator!

Ping: bsak
Robert Esche, the supermarket*goalie - From The Rink

Good thing he made that save or the baby in front would have bit it.